KTS Launches Wireless Access To MarketTerminal Via PDAs

UK data display software vendor Knowledge Technology Solutions is to release its new all-in-one mobile solution at Dealing with Technology 2006 on Wednesday, May 17, officials tell Inside Market Data.

The service offers the same content available via KTS' MarketTerminal product but is deployed via Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ mobile device. The deal with HP is exclusive, says KTS chief executive Mark Pinter-Krainer.

"The customer gets a box shipped to them and they take everything they need straight out of the box," says Pinter-Krainer. "It's compatible with Microsoft, so it is possible to download email attachments and open them on the device because it comes with the PDA version [which is compatible with] the Microsoft Office applications. It has Word and Excel on there. It is easy to seamlessly integrate with existing Office systems."

Clients pay £90 a month for unlimited access to MarketTerminal as well as 250 minutes of free voice calls, Pinter-Krainer says. "If multiple users within a client organization take this bundle they can call each other free of charge as much as they like on this device," he adds.

He declines to name the voice network provider.

Pinter-Krainer says several clients are already using the mobile service, but declines to name any of them.

The service is targeted at everyone from individual investors to financial services professionals such as stockbrokers, asset managers, fund managers, private wealth managers and investment bankers, Pinter-Krainer says.

"At the higher end there are also the larger banks that have requirements as part of a trend towards a more mobile workplace," he says.

In addition, he says, "Apart from convenience there is also a risk perspective—who takes responsibility if an important trade manager or fund manager misses an important update in the market because he has been away from his desk for half an hour? In this PDA, alerts can be sent to the mobile device in real time when there is market movement."

The service is only available in Europe and there are currently no plans to offer it globally.

Pinter-Krainer says that KTS looked at other companies other than HP to provide the devices, but declines to name them.

The desktop version of MarketTerminal, on which the PDA service is based, offers the same content and functionality as KTS' original product, QuoteTerminal but adds international market data. Like QuoteTerminal, it has been marketed to users within the UK.