Market data sales are becoming more collaborative, says Burton-Taylor

The market data distribution model is shifting toward a more collaborative partnership approach, according to a new report from Burton-Taylor, a financial market data and information research and consulting firm.

“Meeting The Client Where They Are: A Look at The Move Toward Mobility And The Challenges Data Providers Face” provides a comparison between the traditional market data vendor model and the new model.

Financial institutions are looking for more advice from data providers on what data is available and how it can help them gain a competitive advantage. As such, data provider salespeople need to understand not only their client’s technology, but their business as well. Clients expect data providers to be able to propose data sets that offer the best value for their particular business.

“The providers you partner with need to be more business analysts in addition to data analysts. They need to understand customers, workflows and data. We have to get involved.”

You also need a way to get the data into the client’s system. This becomes more complex as the devices used to receive data expand from traditional desktops with multiple screens to tablets and smartphones with much more limited display space.

“Data providers must be aware of what is important to see on the first/top screen where space is limited. display, etc.”

So it’s no surprise that data providers said the biggest change between 2020 and 2021 was a 12% increase in time spent with customers to better understand their needs. Most market data is still provided in the traditional model, but more and more clients are asking for more. They want to buy only the subset they use, and while they’re looking for partnerships, sometimes he also wants shorter, more flexible contracts, as short as six months.

According to Burton-Taylor researchers, “Data providers have maintained a traditional model, but are now adapting to new demands. , have to spend more time writing contracts and reviewing contracts.

There are many contradictions. Clients want a consulting relationship, but they also want self-service portals, faster processes, and the ability to run independently. But self-service independence can lead to unintended consequences, the report notes, citing Snowflake as an example.

“Snowflake allows users to click on datasets. However, each dataset contains its own license agreement. The client’s legal department should discuss with the data provider to determine who is using the data and for what purpose. What should only take a few minutes can take up to a month, if not more, while the customer finds another dataset. is needed.”

It doesn’t help that the data provider is “not a large monolith…occasionally there is conflict between the data provider’s employee group”. For example, one group advertises devices, while another seeks to sell data.

According to the report, new generations of customers are more technically skilled than their predecessors, changing what they are looking for in data providers.

“When people who are now 45 graduated from college, they were trained in spreadsheets. Meanwhile, people who are 25 are already trained in Python and R. Some millennials are accustomed to data, and even TV, audio, and video, wherever they want, whenever they want, and on any device. Once in place, “meeting the client they are approaching” only continues. ”

In the post-Covid era, data delivery becomes more complicated. Burton-Taylor researchers noted that financial firms began working from home in March 2020 without a test run, leaving people in centralized locations like just three years before Covid hit. The report cites a forecast that 25% of all professional jobs in North America will be remote by 2022.

“Although we did not see a breakdown by specialization or subject, we can reasonably assume that advanced technology is advancing so rapidly that it may be across all disciplines,” said the researchers. added.