Waters Rankings 2020: Best Enterprise Data Management (EDM) Systems Provider—IHS Markit

Managing data across multiple systems is a challenge that touches all investment firms, large or small. IHS Markit’s Enterprise Data Management (EDM) product is core to its overall information and analytics suite, and this year WatersTechnology’s readers have voted it best EDM system at the annual Waters Rankings. 

IHS Markit’s EDM creates a single version of “the truth” across integrated systems, enabling consistency, traceability, and a fully audible work environment. The platform is designed to ingest data from multiple disparate systems and enable greater control of data assets, provide transparency, and support regulatory compliance.

It is one thing to offer a solution that can resolve data problems, and another to meet clients’ specific technical needs. There is no one size that fits all, says James Penniman, global head of business, EDM at IHS Markit, which is why the vendor built the data platform from the ground up with the purpose of offering flexibility in terms of integration and client-specific requirements. “There is the flexibility to be able to solve a variety of different challenges for different clients, whether it be an asset manager, a pension fund, a wealth management shop, or even an energy firm. So, the platform is designed to enable clients to manage constant change, such as regulatory requirements, business requirements, changing market demands or organizational demands,” Penniman says.

IHS Markit’s EDM is tightly integrated with its data warehouse where it stores only cleansed, validated, and authoritative data for reporting purposes. The data solutions are cloud-enabled and available as managed services, proving clients with access to on-demand outsourcing support.

A continued objective for the firm over the next year is to work closely with individual clients to build out more customizable features and functionality on the platform and expand its reach beyond financial services into other verticals, including the energy sector.