Managing Market Data

Does your company have naming standards and definitions? Do they extend to your daily work, or do they only exist for internal resources such as HR staffing, 401K requests, vacation and sick days, email addresses, hardware, software, etc. Many industries have agreed upon standards such as USB plugs, Cat 7 cabling, credit card formats, etc., which all facilitate the ordering and tracking of each of the services. Those standards did not come easy or quickly, but it certainly helped to move the process forward.

One key component in effectively managing any workload is agreeing on a common language, standards, and definitions. As English is the common financial language, we can then discuss the benefit of using naming standards for Market Data services. First, understand that identical services are often labelled differently by different supplying vendors: i.e. NYS, NYSE, NYSA may all refer to New York Stock Exchange Real-Time Equity Quotes. Inventory systems are then setup with all the naming variations and while systems function under those variances, the reporting function can confuse all but those most familiar with the process. The end result is that it can be difficult to deliver simple reports showing a single total for NYSE Real-Time quotes.

There have been industry attempts to agree upon standards, but it has fallen apart on whose standard: Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, or some other third party. Typically, each company’s internal data team has worked to define standards within the company, but that is only maintained within the company walls. This then requires duplicate efforts when moving the next company.

Perhaps someday we can agree upon a common set of service names and acronyms to avoid the initial headache of discovering that we are actually all taking about the same service!?

Managing Market Data is not an easy job. Communicating with users, collecting requirements, resolving problems, negotiating contracts, managing staff, tracking inventory, etc…all can add up to an onerous headache. Let’s agree upon features that increase our efficiency but not endanger the business’s competitive landscape.

To discuss further, please email Greg Kozar at gkozar@3di-inc.com