This article was written by Konstantin Rabin, co-founder and CEO of forextradingbonus.com.
Last week Apple presented its new model of iPhone and everyone has gone a little bit crazy about the lack of audio jack. Well, I cannot really say that the news was applicable to me. The reasons for this are simple:
a) I am not an iPhone user
b) I have been using Bluetooth earbuds for four years already.
Having said this, I can easily understand this move from Apple. The company has been known as an innovator, they were the first to remove the floppy disk from their desktop computers, and now they are the first ones to get rid of another, probably outdated, technology - audio jack.
Can we relate this to the Forex market?
MetaTrader 4 is by far the world’s leading platform for both brokers and traders. It has been around for over a decade and many of us would certainly agree that it is quite dated. In 2010 MetaQuotes, the software development company behind MT4, released a newer platform - MetaTrader 5. Well, up until now it has gained almost no traction and it has been pretty much unwelcomed by traders. Why is that? Even though MT5 comes with a few neat features (like Marketplace for the apps), it still lacks two main features:
- Compatibility with MQL4 EAs
- Inability to reverse positions
While both brokers and traders have invested money into custom EAs, those are incompatible with a newer platform. Well, imagine if you own a Beats Pro priced at $399 and you are just unable to use those with your new iPhone due to the lack of compatibility. This is why Apple still offers you an adapter so you can still use your favourite headphones. This is, however, not applicable to MT5.
When I think of reverse positions in MT5, I imagine an iPhone that cannot send text messages. That’s right, with WhatsApp, Viber and other messengers I rarely send SMS messages, but sometimes it is needed. For some people it can actually be a primary way of using their mobile device. However, the main difference between a phone and a Trading Platform is that the latter is used to generate profits, and this is certainly not a field where one can force people to adopt features.
Should one force its clients to adopt new technologies?
This is a hard one. I’d say it depends. If your company is a true innovator like Apple, you may certainly force your clients to adopt new technologies and standards. In fact, this is why your customers are choosing your brand - they pay you because they trust you to design the products they want. However, this is certainly not applicable to MetaQuotes, or to the retail FX industry as a whole. It would be amusing to call a company innovative because it has released a browser supported platform after being on the market for a decade. Hence, don’t try to be innovative if you aren’t an innovator.
Next to this, the financial trading industry is pretty different from electronics. People trade with the aim of making profits and software companies should never stand in the trader’s way. Hence, it is a wise idea to actually provide the traders with the maximum flexibility and not to restrain them in any way.
