London, March 31, 2026, 17:12 BST
London Stock Exchange Group on Tuesday announced a multi-year deal with Dell Technologies aimed at rolling out a new private cloud platform for segments of its data and markets businesses, expanding its broader tech overhaul. LSEG said the platform is meant for business units not currently served by its public cloud setups. 1
The reason this matters isn’t hard to spot. Just last month, Reuters said Elliott Management was pushing LSEG to clarify exactly what it’s getting out of its Microsoft tie-up—and to boost margins, too. Shareholders applauded the record buyback in February, but some made it clear: they want more than just cash returns. 2
Dell is set to design and build the platform, tapping its own servers, storage, and automation software, according to LSEG. The group’s Chief Information Officer Irfan Hussain said optimizing both on-premises and public cloud infrastructure is essential for maintaining “best-in-class services.” Dell’s Doug Schmitt added that the arrangement is expected to give LSEG “full control of their environment.” 1
LSEG has been expanding its tech stack. Back in February, it told investors it struck AI-ready data deals with Anthropic, Databricks, Microsoft, OpenAI, Rogo, and Snowflake—those all run on the Model Context Protocol, or MCP, an open-source standard linking AI apps to source data. For 2026, the company is sticking with total income growth guidance of 6.5% to 7.5%. 3
The Dell partnership falls in step with a strategy LSEG has been advancing for a while. Back in 2022, when Microsoft bought a 4% stake in LSEG for $2 billion, chief executive David Schwimmer made clear that LSEG would stick with a multi-cloud approach, even as the company tightened its relationship with a major provider. At the time, regulators had already started to probe whether financial firms were relying too much on just a few cloud vendors. 4
Similar decisions have cropped up across other market infrastructure firms. Back in 2022, Reuters said CME Group landed a $1 billion cloud agreement with Google. That same month, Nasdaq revealed a multi-year tie-up with Amazon, highlighting the trend: exchanges increasingly tapping Big Tech to update their backbone systems. 4
LSEG isn’t letting up. Just earlier this month, it signed on to support Australia’s ASX as it revamps the ASX 24 derivatives platform, bringing in low-latency tech. That’s another step away from simply operating markets—LSEG is now more deeply embedded, supplying the tech backbone too. 5
Plenty of uncertainty still hangs in the air. Investors are demanding that technology deals show real results—think growth, margins, not just resilience. Back in February, Stephen Yiu at Blue Whale called the Microsoft partnership a disappointment so far. Ben Needham of Ninety One cautioned against chasing quick fixes or “instant gratification” plays. 2
LSEG posted 7.1% income growth for 2025 and announced plans for an additional £3 billion share buyback in February. Still, supportive shareholders didn’t mince words. “We want growth.” 3
