# Introduction

Switchboard is the **fastest**, most **customizable**, and only **permissionless** way to bring data on-chain.

We're the go-to data provider for prominent DeFi projects such as [Kamino](https://kamino.com/), [Jito](https://www.jito.network/), [MarginFi](https://app.marginfi.com/), and [Drift](https://www.drift.trade/). We secure billions of dollars of on-chain volume, process hundreds of millions of requests weekly, and deliver real-time information for hundreds of projects and assets across 10+ blockchains.

Why use Switchboard? Our protocol is designed around 4 principles:

* **Fastest Oracle Updates**
  * With latencies of 2-5ms with Surge, or 400ms with our standard oracles, no one beats Switchboard's speeds. In the fast-paced world of DeFi, faster price updates directly translate to increased security and higher returns.
* **Low Costs**
  * With pull feeds, feeds are created and used only when needed. This eliminates constant data streaming and *significantly* reduces latency and costs.
* **Permissionless and Flexible**
  * Deploy your new data feed, stream from any source on or off-chain, and set the exact parameters that you need. No need to wait for contracts or red tape.
* **Secure and Private**
  * Switchboard prevents anyone, including node operators, from altering, exposing or frontrunning your data. Inside Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), your code and data stay safe and secure.

The Switchboard Protocol is [open-source](https://github.com/switchboard-xyz) and contributions are welcome. Need help using Switchboard? Our support team is available around the clock on [Discord](https://discord.gg/TJAv6ZYvPC).