The raised profile of the issues surrounding reference data has sparked many data management projects, but reference data cannot be considered in isolation. What is needed is a coordinated approach to data and its integration with operational software used throughout the financial services enterprise.
After all, the uncoordinated approach that saw millions spent on technology projects to implement new technology and middleware between legacy systems through the 1990s – with little or no consideration for the data flowing through those systems – is what has led us to today’s reference data predicament.
In order to ensure a coordinated approach, the interfaces between the software used by the operational functions within a financial institution and the reference data sourced from data vendors must be closely evaluated. The operational functions include risk management, portfolio management and performance measurement, order management, regulatory and client reporting, compliance and many others.
This is an issue that A-Team Consulting, publisher of Reference Data Review, has been examining through its A-Team Research division. The result is the release at SIBOS of a new research report –- Software Providers: Working with Reference Data.
A-Team has surveyed close to 100 software providers across the range of operational areas to gauge the range and depth of integration with the main reference data suppliers, including those from vendors such as Financial Times Interactive Data (FTID), Reuters, Telekurs, Bloomberg, and Standard & Poor’s.
The result is a series of in-depth cross-reference tables illustrating for each software applications provider the reference data interfaces supported, categorized by operational area.
To assess the depth of integration, the report breaks out – for each software provider – the interfaces supported by data type, including pricing data, static data, corporate actions, securities identifiers, ratings and index data. It also lists the geographical coverage of the data interfaced to. A-Team Research has collated indicative ratings from key data vendors related to the quality of the interface supported by each software provider profiled.
The report also provides an industry overview, examining the key drivers for taking a coordinated approach to data management, looking at the current status of cooperation between software providers and the data suppliers and how this is evolving. Company fact files for all software providers, including an overview as well as key product details and contact information, is included, as are key fact files for the data suppliers.
Software providers profiled – numbering close to 100 – include: Advent, ADP Brokerage Services, Charles River Development, DST, Eagle Investment Systems, Misys, Princeton Financial, Reuters (Kondor+), Sophis, Summit Systems, Thomson Financial (Portia), Wall Street Systems and Xcitek.
For anyone considering a reference data strategy, or evaluating risk management, portfolio management, order management, reporting, accounting, compliance or other operational software applications, Software Providers: Working with Reference Data will provide an invaluable guide to the level of integration between the two essential aspects of a successful data strategy.
This report follows the highly successful Securities Administration Data: The Essential Piece of the STP Puzzle, also published by A-Team Consulting. For more information or your complimentary information pack, please see Page 4.
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