Waters Rankings 2017: Best Enterprise Data Management (EDM) Provider—IHS Markit

It goes without saying then that the London-based data and technology firm is no stranger to the winners’ circle in this or any other WatersTechnology awards program. For example, at the recent Inside Market Data/Inside Reference Data awards, it was adjudged winner of the best new data product category, thanks to its bond-pricing service that combines machine-driven algorithms with evaluator expertise and market data, while in the 2017 Sell-Side Technology Awards, it walked away with the best sell-side data management product category, emulating its win in the same section of the 2016 Buy-Side Technology Awards some six months earlier. Yes, IHS Markit knows a thing or two about data management and winning awards.

The firm’s success in this perennially competitive realm can be traced back to its May 2012 purchase of London-based Cadis—one of the most astute acquisitions this industry has witnessed—a specialist data management technology provider that carved out its buy-side niche thanks to its eponymous EDM platform. Such is the nature of the capital markets that data management tools tend not to receive the recognition they deserve, although scratch under the surface of pretty much any middle office across the industry and you’ll find humble data management tools beavering away to ensure application and database interoperability. It’s hardly the stuff that gets pulses racing, but it’s a crucial aspect of firms’ day-to-day lives. IHS Market has since transformed the platform into an all-conquering, sector-agnostic offering, adding large numbers of sell-side firms (including exchanges) and regulatory bodies to its traditional asset management client base. 

But while IHS Markit has dominated this category over the years, it has suffered the odd bloody nose along the way, courtesy of GoldernSource, winner of the EDM category in this year’s IMD/IRD Awards, and Eagle Investment Systems, which emerged top in the corresponding category in last year’s Waters Rankings, thanks to its Enterprise Data Management offering that continues to enjoy significant North American success. However, according to a number of buy-side sources, IHS Markit’s most significant future threat might come from Rimes Technologies, which already possesses the wherewithal in its armory to mount a meaningful data management challenge, especially given its deep buy-side penetration. What is certain, however—and this is underlined by this year’s win—is that IHS Markit will always be in the mix in what continues to be one of the industry’s most keenly contested markets.