Databases, cloud computing, analytics and similar technologies are table stakes in today’s financial services industry. It’s all about the new, tech-focused frontier.

With data taking center stage as the driving force behind enterprise innovation and success, Amazon Web Services Inc. and FactSet Research Systems Inc. have collaborated to equip capital market players with crucial, tailor-made data sets — from foundational and specialized data to portfolio analytics.

“What we’re seeing in capital markets is that to remain competitive, firms are mining both new and existing sources of information and engaging in transformation initiatives targeted at lowering their cost structures,” said Nicole McQueen (pictured, left), head of global technology partnerships for capital markets at AWS. “AWS and our community of partners are helping capital markets [and] firms power data-driven decision-making, accelerate their time to market, lower costs, strengthen security and comply with regulations — all while striving to enrich our customer’s experience.”

McQueen and Chris Ellis (right), senior director of business development at FactSet, spoke with theCUBE industry analyst John Furrier, during a CUBE Conversation from SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the current trends and challenges in the capital markets, the role of data management, the significance of cloud computing and the potential of data as a service in an age of generative artificial intelligence.” (* Disclosure below.)

New data management challenges in an evolved capital market

There’s been a rapid transformation of financial services over the last decade, driven by factors such as evolving customer expectations, emerging technologies, new industry players and complex regulatory standards. In addition, the pandemic further accelerated the digital transformation in the industry, pushing firms to adapt to a remote work environment.

To adapt and stay competitive, capital market firms are prioritizing consolidation and establishing deeper relationships with strategic partners. Accordingly, they expect their partners to collaborate in data management and integration to simplify operations, according to Ellis.

“This is as true, if not more true, for data warehousing and data management than it is for any other critical component of a firm’s target operating model,” he explained. “A critical source of data and analytics to capital markets firms worldwide, AWS becomes a more important partner for FactSet every single day.”

Notably, the data management challenge extends to private capital, where data is less structured and may vary significantly between different entities. To succeed in this complex environment, data must be treated with utmost hygiene, ensuring it is clean and standardized for reliable analysis.

Cloud computing for today’s financial services

The cloud’s infinite elasticity of compute and storage provides firms with the ability to pivot quickly and react almost instantaneously, a capability that was previously unattainable. That added efficiency and agility have made cloud use an essential component in capital market firms’ data management strategies, with many adopting a hybrid approach that combines cloud solutions with traditional data warehousing, according to Ellis.

“You’re no longer constrained; if you know how much data you need to store and how much compute you want to do on it, AWS gives you that ability to pivot quickly and react almost instantaneously,” he explained. “It’s all about bringing the data and the analytics into the data warehouse container or cloud solution that the client wants.”

For its part, FactSet offers a wide range of data sets, including foundational data, specialized data sets and portfolio analytics, all tailored to the specific needs of capital market firms. 

“From FactSet’s perspective, it starts with our own sourced data, [and] there are about 30 foundational data sets inside of FactSet, like company fundamentals, estimates, ownership, macroeconomic data [are] your core foundational data sets,” he said. “But then beyond the data that’s in FactSet, because [it] is so open, there are over a thousand different third-party data partners across a really broad range of categories, whether it’s indices, risk models [or] ratings.”

With the advent of gen AI, the demand for high-quality data sets is set to increase. Financial services companies expect data sets that are easily accessible, well-structured and consistent. The availability of data sets and their quality can significantly impact the success of AI applications, making it essential for firms to maintain a strong data management foundation, Ellis added.

Here’s theCUBE’s complete video interview with Nicole McQueen and Chris Ellis:

(* Disclosure: AWS sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither AWS nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE