The New Democratization of Market Data

When a major global investment bank piloted an initiative to swap many of its legacy, expensive market data terminals with more flexible, cost-effective MarketMap terminals , we suspected something was afoot. The rationale for the change went beyond simple cost reduction. The rich functionality of the expensive terminals was fully utilized by only a select few users. Meanwhile, the growing need for immediate, useful market data had spread across the firm’s broad operating footprint, exacerbating the need for something more utilitarian, affordable and accessible to all.

The firm’s decision to tap into more flexible, cost-effective market data terminals centered on three trends we think you should examine more closely.

• The cost of traditional exchange data is rising. In response, alternate, low-cost or no-cost index services and trading venues are proliferating across the landscape. As a result, many organizations are looking to partner with data providers who can stream real-time news, data feeds and indices on a wide spectrum of global and regional financial instruments and asset classes and aggregate the information to meet industry-specific needs. New options are available. You are no longer locked in.
• Data overload is creating a need at every desk. Institutional investors, wealth managers and trading firms are seeing massive increases in the variety, volume and velocity of data available. The ability to access it quickly, determine what’s relevant, analyze the input and act on it is not easy. Internet content, fake news, social media and other peripheral influences, if not validated properly, may blur the picture for decision makers. On the other hand, this information, when combined with metadata such as executive profiles, company sentiment ratings or reputational risk scores and others, may provide the competitive edge that other players don’t have. Having the tools to quickly scrape the newsfeeds, filter the input and index the data in meaningful ways has never been more important.
• Effective communication supports organizational goals. To act quickly and nimbly on opportunities as they arise, organizations must break down the silos, provide egalitarian access to the best information and communicate fluidly on the fly. Therefore, data terminals are evolving to support secure, integrated document, chart and screen sharing, hashtag messaging, mobile capabilities and auditability via integrated messaging tools such as Symphony. Even the best of the old-line data terminals do not provide this. To compete in today’s fast-moving markets, you need flexible messaging capabilities that anyone in your organization can use.

In short, the confederacies of the past have given way to the democracies of the future. If your business relies on the best available data to run efficiently, talk to FIS and discover how you can configure your market data platform to serve a greater community of users.

For more about MarketMap Terminal, learn more here .