Grappling with big data: Market data management in energy trading systems

Using analytics to manage multiple large data sets in energy commodity markets should not be an insurmountable challenge – provided the right tools are used, says Mike McSpedon, global head of sales at GlobalView, who discusses the firm’s sterling performance in the Energy Risk 2016 software rankings.

Energy Risk: In view of the downturn in energy and commodity markets, what key factors do you attribute to the continued success of the GlobalView solution? 

Mike McSpedon: Firstly, as organisations attempt to rationalise their operations under difficult market conditions, GlobalView’s streamlined approach to market data management helps customers consolidate and replace resource-hungry systems with its minimally invasive software-as-a-service-based (SaaS) technology. GlobalView’s delivery of data allows organisations to access, analyse, share and act upon the full range of business-critical information. This is something that is particularly important in current markets. 

With many traders, analysts, IT and risk managers using GlobalView’s data visualisation and analytical tools, organisations not only achieve a cost saving, but also benefit from reduced risk, better collaboration and better buy-in across all departments.

The second factor is the robust technology underlying GlobalView products. Recently rebuilt from the ground up, our customers benefit from GlobalView’s emphasis on the user experience and the latest technology. As seen in Energy Risk’s 2016 software survey and rankings, GlobalView was voted number one in the data management/data providers categories for ease of use, preferred system, and best data analytics and charting (see rankings tables opposite). Through constant feedback from a global user base in the energy and commodities sector, GlobalView has taken the time and care to understand and anticipate the needs, processes and expectations of clients to ensure the right information is getting into the right hands or systems at the right time. Its advanced technology makes it easy for customers to integrate products and data with other systems, as evidenced by GlobalView receiving over half of the votes for this category in the Energy Risk software rankings.

The third factor is superior customer support and service. Garnering over half the votes in the best customer service category is the result of an emphasis on providing live, knowledgeable and timely service around the clock and around the globe. Our global technical support team is made up of industry experts and highly trained support personnel who provide ongoing training and support to new and long-standing customers. 

Finally, GlobalView understands that an organisation’s success depends on high-quality data. GlobalView implements MarketView’s state-of-the-art data validation and error-handling techniques to maintain data integrity standards. 

 

Energy Risk: How has GlobalView approached enterprise data management in a different way from other vendors in the energy and commodity space?

Mike McSpedon:GlobalView has redefined market data management by providing a single platform that bridges the front, middle and back office, which ensures that traders, analysts, IT and risk managers speak the same language and base decisions on the same information. This approach helps organisations simplify data access and management, reducing risks and costs. GlobalView also provides greater control over data as an enterprise asset by ensuring seamless integration with Excel and business-critical downstream systems.

Instead of many data sources being accessed by many vendor solutions at many integration points, GlobalView provides a single golden source of data and a single solution that integrates with all downstream systems. All users across an organisation benefit from a common framework and familiar set of tools, providing for better collaboration and more timely and accurate decisions.

 

Energy Risk: Are you finding that more of your clients are using analytics across multiple large sets of market data – what some might call ‘big data’ – to increase profitability?

Mike McSpedon: Yes, which makes having a streamlined, consolidated approach to data management even more important. GlobalView allows organisations to replace many non-compatible applications and spreadsheets with one front-to-back solution to improve communication between departments. In addition, our flexible integration capabilities allow organisations to feed downstream business intelligence systems, or commodity and energy trading and risk management systems with high-quality fast data. GlobalView provides greater control over data as an enterprise asset and allows traders, analysts, IT and risk managers to communicate effectively and base their decisions on the same information.

 

Energy Risk: From a development perspective, what sets GlobalView apart from the rest?

Mike McSpedon: We operate in an agile manner within the work environment, and we have the ability to respond to new feature and enhancement requests in a real-time fashion. Additionally, we maintain shorter life cycles for our product development timelines, which allows us to release new versions more regularly while keeping our development risk to a minimum. Our open product architecture and SaaS-based deployment model also provide significant competitive advantages, including seamless integration and product updates. We also maintain an early-adopter programme for our inner circle of customers that gives them the ability to test and provide feedback on new products and data initiatives before we offer them to market.

 

Energy Risk: What’s next for GlobalView?

Mike McSpedon:As a result of feedback from our user base and a streamlined development process, GlobalView recently released two major products: MarketView CurveBuilder and MarketView Prop Data Hub. 

MarketView CurveBuilder is a next-generation curve and workflow automation tool. Unlike other curve managers currently on the market, CurveBuilder is fully integrated into the desktop environment, providing all users with the ability to generate and push curves to downstream systems, not just curve specialists in the middle office. The CurveBuilder also benefits from the real-time infrastructure supporting the MarketView Desktop, with the user experience and speed decidedly superior to current offerings. 

MarketView Prop Data Hub connects directly to internal data silos and feeds into MarketView’s solutions – all within the protection of the organisation’s firewalls. This enables organisations to view market data alongside internal client marks and forward pricing. But, unlike full enterprise installations, it adheres to GlobalView’s policy of offering superior performance that is minimally invasive, which means that organisations get the benefit of a full on-site enterprise-data management system but with the footprint and costs of a SaaS-based system. 

 

Energy Risk: In short, why GlobalView?

Mike McSpedon:We understand that, as the volume of data required to remain competitive in energy and commodity markets continues to expand at an exponential rate, how organisations access and analyse this data becomes ever-more critical. GlobalView’s solutions were developed to create the most efficient path from raw data to actionable information regardless of where the information originates or where the final decision-maker sits in an organisation. GlobalView aims to empower all users with the ability to quickly and easily perform analysis, build curves and integrate results into other systems without the inefficiency of relying on others to perform these tasks. GlobalView will provide immediate transparency from the middle to the back office as all users will have access to the same intuitive interface, thereby dramatically reducing the spreadsheet risk that haunts most organisations. 

By being able to deliver real-time market data as well as historical, proprietary and operational data to front-, middle- and back-office users, GlobalView makes it easier for organisations to access, analyse, share and act upon the full spectrum of information that influences business-critical decisions.

Read/download the article in PDF format 

 

 

Sponsored content