Outsell, Inc. Cites Fundamental Transformation of Financial Information Industry; Expands and Deepens Coverage in Response; New HotTopics Report Explores Changes Ahead for Companies in This Sector, from the NYSE to SunGard

Business Wire, Oct 31, 2005

BURLINGAME, Calif. -- Outsell, Inc.

WHAT:

Outsell, Inc., the leading research and advisory firm for the information industry, says that "it's the end of the world as we know it" for the financial information industry, which encompasses companies like Standard & Poor's and the New York Stock Exchange.

In the HotTopics report, Landscape View of the Financial Information Industry, Outsell Vice President and Lead Analyst Michael Atkin elaborates on the forces pressuring financial information providers to transform business models -- from regulations requiring full transaction transparency, to increased global competition, to lower margins for equity transactions. From a supplier perspective, the industry includes organizations that create, aggregate, and distribute data about financial markets, instruments, companies, and events, such as D&B, FactSet and SunGard. From the consumption perspective, it includes buy-side broker/dealers, sell-side investment managers, and securities servicing companies.

Given this dramatic transformation at hand, Outsell is expanding and deepening its coverage of the financial information industry, an influential part of the larger Company, Credit and Financial Segment (CCF) valued at $27.5 billion, a little more than 10 percent of the whole $263 billion information industry.

SECTOR PERFORMANCE:

The CCF segment grew 10.1 percent in 2004, in line with the economic recovery and global concerns about market and economic risk. The leading credit companies (32% of the total CCF market) leaped ahead, benefiting from new market and regulatory concerns about risk mitigation and growing at an impressive rate of 15%. Other sub-segments, however, lagged behind. The leading financial information companies (47% of the total CCF market) emerged from the economic slowdown with a composite growth rate of about 7 percent. Major company information providers (21% of the CCF market) grew at just 4 percent in 2004.

EXPANDED OUTSELL COVERAGE:

The new research is one of several executive-level reports Outsell will publish to help financial information companies in every sub-segment navigate the massive changes that are occurring. Each will focus on several Essential Actions to quickly capitalize on new market opportunities. Sample report topics that represent Outsell's data-gathering and deep analytic agenda include:

--Direct sourcing and its impact on the business of market data.

--Riding the wave of disintermediation, direct delivery and product unbundling.

--Redefining datafeed strategies and the nature of value-added services.

--Business models, data usage policies and units of payment for non-display applications.

--Business cases for reference data (including monetary baseline template).

--Fantasy versus reality in the financial information standards landscape.

--Regulation impact and implications for data management.

Outsell analysts are available to explain the trends in the recent HotTopics report to journalists. To arrange an interview, please contact Dawn Ringel, Warner Communications, 781-449-8456 or dawn@warnerpr.com. To purchase this 23-page report and to learn more about Outsell, go to www.outsellinc.com/financiallandscape or contact Outsell directly at 650-342-6060 or info@outsellinc.com

ABOUT OUTSELL, INC.:

Outsell, Inc. of Burlingame, CA is the leading research and advisory firm providing actionable market analytics for the information industry. Founded in 1994, Outsell helps publishers, commercial information providers, and content software technology vendors identify, maintain, and grow markets and revenue streams. Outsell also works with information management executives in top corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions to benchmark spending, optimize performance, and demonstrate best practices. Outsell invests heavily in unique information industry data assets that form the core of its high-quality, fact-based research, analysis, and recommendations for clients worldwide.