With market data and associated costs typically representing a firm’s third-largest expense, there’s a lot of incentive to manage data and its usage more efficiently.
Most financial firms that consume market data will have an inventory management system. These unsung tools track the data services a company uses. They count how many people use these services—and, for some systems, how much an individual uses them. They alert users to upcoming expirations and renewals. They can also help monitor changes to terms and reconcile vendor invoices against what the firm is owed.