Waters Rankings 2016: Best Cloud-based Services Provider — Thomson Reuters

Cloud computing is now fast becoming the new normal in terms of software, service and technology delivery. Driven by the consumer and retail sides, institutional finance firms have moved on from any early misconceptions regarding cloud services, and are now embracing the benefits of reduced burdens on existing technology stacks, a pay-as-you-go cost structure that eliminates up-front licensing fees, secure data storage, and the flexibility of not being tied to a specific device, especially relevant now given the rise of mobile solutions and platforms.

Thomson Reuters, a key provider of market and reference data, trading platforms and accounting systems for a large swathe of capital markets participants, has tapped into this trend and has pushed many of its solutions into the cloud via the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. Much of the vendor’s accounting offering is based on a cloud approach, such as the SaaS for CS Professional Suite, a platform that provides functionality for tax and accounting, asset management, document management, and workflow operations, providing clients with the opportunity to pick and choose which capabilities to access and pay for, instead of having to pay for the entire suite. 

Eikon, Thomson Reuters’ flagship data and analytics desktop offering, has also been given a recent hefty upgrade for buy-side users. In March this year, the company completed a multi-year project to consolidate a buy-side-centric range of data, analytics and applications onto the Eikon platform, creating a single point of access for data and a more streamlined workflow.

The consolidation means that asset managers are now, for the first time, able to access I/B/E/S estimates, Reuters news, StarMine quantitative models, environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics, the Thomson Reuters Deals database, fund ratings from Lipper, Datastream economics, and other products from a single portal. The Eikon Messenger application, which can be delivered as a standalone solution or as part of the Eikon dashboard, has also received a boost through the addition of FX Monitor, featuring a foreign-exchange dedicated chat room, as well as access to real-time currency pricing data and market news to help corporate treasurers manage cash flows on a regional and global basis. 

Much of the vendor’s accounting offering is based on a cloud approach, such as the SaaS for CS Professional Suite, a platform that provides functionality for tax and accounting, asset management, document management, and workflow operations, providing clients with the opportunity to pick and choose which capabilities to access and pay for, instead of having to pay for the entire suite.