Best Mobile Initiative: Thomson Reuters

Judges awarded Thomson Reuters the first win in this new category for its Thomson Reuters Eikon Messenger on Mobile offering, which was designed to offer financial services professionals greater flexibility. 

Instant messaging is crucial for investment professionals, and in November 2015 Thomson Reuters announced that its Eikon Messenger service would be made available across all major mobile device types. Eikon Messenger has over 250,000 users across more than 170 countries and at 24,000 firms, and mobile access is now available to all users via iPhone, Blackberry or Android devices.

Judges called the service a “WhatsApp for financial professionals” and praised Eikon Messenger for its user-friendly interface and improvements. Eikon Messenger can be used as part of a Thomson Reuters Eikon subscription or through a free, stand-alone account, making it the first free instant messaging solution designed specifically for financial services professionals and available on all major mobile devices. Using Eikon Messenger, users can also connect with hundreds of thousands of other contacts via interoperability with other messaging systems such as Yahoo! and Microsoft Lync.

Considering the fast-paced financial markets and the benefit of accessing information at any time and from anywhere, coupled with a new generation already accustomed to information at their fingertips, it is clear the demand for mobile instant-messaging functionality is here to stay.