Trade surveillance technology spending has increased significantly due to compliance weaknesses identified during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Greenwich Associates.

In the last 10 years, the trade surveillance technology market has grown between 13% and 14% year on year.

At the beginning of this year, Greenwich Associates predicted that the trade surveillance technology market spend would reach $1.2 billion in 2020.

However, market volatility and uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 pandemic have meant firms have had to adapt.

This volatility and the subsequent need for infrastructure upgrades have led Greenwich Associates to predict that the trade surveillance technology market will now grow 23% in 2021 taking the predicted spend to $1.5 billion.

“Financial service firms have suddenly encountered a perfect storm of compliance challenges,” said Greenwich Associates market structure and technology senior advisor Danielle Tierney.

“Some firms were simply unable to maintain compliance and surveillance monitoring while continuing operations during at onset of the crisis.”

Compliance difficulties relating to the pandemic identified by Greenwich Associates include: difficulties obtaining monitored and secure system access, alert backlogs at firms with insufficient surveillance resources to manage market volumes and volatility, and problems adjusting monitoring capabilities and holistic surveillance integration.

“The demand for surveillance technology has attracted an influx of new entrants attempting to win a share in this growing market,” said Greenwich Associates in a statement.

In February earlier this year, the US-based trade surveillance and market risk software provider, Eventus Systems, raised more than $10 million in a Series A funding round, as it looked to expand its business.