As the volume of transactions and the cost of the associated market data services consumed continue to rise steeply against a still bleak economic background, it has never been more important for financial organisations to ensure that they are utilising and managing their market data service accesses as efficiently as possible. MDSL’s new range of MDX Usage Reporting services has been designed specifically to extract the information from market data vendors, credit ratings agencies and FX brokerage systems and present it in an easily-accessible form for detailed analysis and monitoring.
Central to the new suite of MDX Usage services is the reporting function. Desk heads now have easy access, via a web dashboard, to in-depth reports on (for example) the number of hits, who is accessing the system and when, last log-in details and other usage statistics. With this data, managers can now see usage trends and track whether their market data systems are being fully employed or are under-utilised. Other benefits include the ability to compare usage with the user’s market data services inventory to see if it matches or to identify whether ex-employees are attempting to use their log-ins and whether these log-ins are being handled by unauthorised users.
The new features will enable users to renegotiate and optimise contracts with market data vendors if the usage reports show that they are not using their log-ins to full advantage, and identify potential compliance issues if incorrect log-ins are discovered.
User access reporting has become a mature environment, with usage now being the primary concern. There is often a marked difference between the number of accesses for which a company pays, and those which they end up using regularly. The solution to this problem is regularly to obtain an accurate usage report; the challenge – given most financial institutions access a vast number of complex services across numerous suppliers – is to be able to transform and sieve this massive amount of data into insightful reports.
The MDX Usage Reporting service takes care of the end to end process – working with firms and their vendors to obtain precise usage data. Usage data, per URL or specific http access, can also be retrieved direct from the organisation’s firewall. This returns a massive set of data points which are then collated and the results displayed in a series of easy-to-follow Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), trend charts and animated graphical pods. The resulting analysis gives a far more efficient view of usage, in addition to the access costs of inventory already managed in MDSL Market Data Manager.
Ben Mendoza, CEO of MDSL said: “First of all, this is an essential service. The client just needs to give MDSL permission to collect or access the usage data and then sit back while we do our work. The value of the MDX Usage Reporting service derives from the different options available to you once you understand how the different products and services are being utilised or – in some cases – not being used. The service takes care of collating the vast volumes of usage data for you, while MDSL’s reporting experts prepare and transform the data into a catalogue of useful and actionable reports every month, building up a clear picture of usage and trends”.
He added: “Usage is now the main focus of any cost analysis – just consider how irrelevant a ‘user access count’ is for a third party, web-based service on its own, without any monthly access usage data. There is often a significant difference between the number of accesses for which you pay, and those you regularly use. MDSL’s new MDX Usage Reporting solution is invaluable for Compliance and Business Managers alike because each month you build up an historic picture of your actual usage: with the new MIFID 2 regulations now requiring firms to show evidence of activities across a whole range of asset classes, the MDX Usage Reports will become indispensible. They give market data managers everywhere the tools to maximise the benefit they derive from their different services, maintaining compliance while eradicating wastage and minimising costs”