This TowerGroup paper, sponsored by Sybase looks at real-time analytics and complex event processing (CEP) in securities trading in the context of the critical roles they play in the management of diverse data sets and other inputs in the institutional trading process. It describes some of the data analysis challenges traders face in the evolving high frequency, multi-asset, global trading world, and then offers a view of the expected future state of the business. Lastly, it offers prescriptions and lessons from leading firms regarding the means they are employing to successfully master an increasingly fast-paced and complex trading environment.