MarketAxess rolls out DataBP's self-service portal to simplify market data licensing

Exchanges and trading venues across asset classes are struggling to manage the number and diversity of the contractual relationships they have with subscribers and redistributors. So, to address this challenge, MarketAxess has partnered with market data administration platform provider DataBP to optimize market data licensing management and post-sales processes for institutional fixed-income trading clients of its trading platform.

Two weeks ago, MatketAxess went live with a solution that integrates DataBP’s cloud-based self-service e-commerce portal into the broker’s website, to automate data licensing and subscription management. DataBP provides exchanges and data businesses with solutions for building customer portals, product catalogs, management of licensing workflows, and data contracts.

As MarketAxess expands its offerings—such as its recently-launched index tracking the performance of dollar-denominated investment grade corporate bonds, the platform’s first tradable index—it needs to be able to manage post-sales relationships efficiently and at scale, says DataBP CEO Mark Schaedel.

“The partnership is mainly to enable MarketAxess’ new products, like their recently launched corporate bond index, to be built and launched quickly and efficiently,” Schaedel says.

Clients can connect via an API to the post-sales process to automate synchronization of contracts and policy details, like product information, pricing, and data licenses.

DataBP’s platform also integrates with Salesforce to support MarketAxess, post-sales. “Once the salesperson establishes an opportunity, the system is fully integrated with their Salesforce CRM and downstream billing system which allows workflow beyond the sales process,” Schaedel says. After that, the platform automates data usage reporting, data licensing rights, and makes for quicker product launches through identification procedures and configurations in DataBP’s internal data stores.

Schaedel says customers who expect immediate access to data can become disgruntled while waiting for licensing, instruction, and data access via traditional, time-consuming methods. “If not automated, these processes can become quite disruptive and archaic for customer experiences,” he says.

All change for exchanges

In 2021, WatersTechnology reported how exchanges have realized that direct billing relationships are increasingly critical in running their businesses. However, establishing these requires investment in understanding customers, and exchanges are still balking at the costs involved.

Some, however, have invested in new reporting platforms. The Australian Securities Exchange, for instance, launched its Data Reporting Module in 2019. This module, which was built by DataBP, is facilitating more direct billing relationships with clients, and automates license agreements. The exchange said then that it had only rolled the module out to non-display customers, it could extend it to those using data in display applications at a later stage.

Other DataBP exchange clients include CME Group, Canadian exchange TMX Group, and the Singapore Exchange. TMX has also invested in revamping its reporting and audit processes, to make them less painful for customers and to better track data usage.

“Our clients are becoming more sophisticated in terms of how they use technology, and market data is rapidly changing. You have to pivot and make sure that you build a model around something that is scalable,” Michelle Tran, president of TMX’s information services division Datalinx, said at the time.