Market Data Matters: The March 2026 edition

Following a recent A-Team Insight article on why data governance is becoming critical to the modern market data stack, we’ve been reflecting on the themes that sit behind that conversation.

The article was prompted by the launch of our independent research on the hidden cost of market data management, also recent press coverage of the challenges banks face regarding data lineage tracking from source to solution, alongside an interview between Mike O’Hara and TRG Screen’s Nadine Scott, Chief Customer Officer, and Raushon Uddin, Director of Product. What came through in the discussion was a clear articulation of a challenge many firms are navigating but also how, when done well, it enhances the market data value proposition.

As market data environments have grown more complex and distributed, maintaining a joined-up view of how and where data is consumed, what it costs and how it can be used has become both more difficult and more important.

In this month’s Market Data Matters, we take a step back from that discussion to explore what it means in practice, and why visibility across spend, usage and rights is becoming so critical.

For most firms, the challenge isn’t simply a market data problem; it’s a symptom of how IT environments have organically expanded over time, consuming diverse data sets from multiple disconnected sources.

More datasets. More users. More complex use cases. Data consumers move quickly with new ideas. New sources often being brought in for specific use cases, often at pace as “time to market” on idea implementation becomes critical.

All of that makes sense. It’s how modern investment processes work.

As Nadine noted in the A-Team discussion, this has led to data being sourced and used across the business in ways that don’t always follow a single, consistent process. What was once relatively centralized is now spread across teams, systems and use cases. And that’s where visibility starts to break down.

Market data has always been complex and difficult to define. As Nadine highlighted, in its purest sense, it is licensed intellectual property, with specific terms around who can use it, where and for what purpose. What’s changed is the disconnect between knowledge of those terms and day-to-day usage.

Responsibility for contracts lives in one place. However, Data consumption is managed somewhere else; often by multiple different teams, in different contexts and at different speeds.

The issue is not that the information to inform data users of usage rights isn’t there. It is more ensuring necessary rights information is accessible easily, and that data users are aware enough to understand when they have to check usage rights before embarking on a use case. Without that joined-up view, it becomes harder to manage it effectively and increases business risk significantly.

One of the key points Nadine raised was the need to think about market data as a triangulation problem – bringing together oversight on spend, usage and licensing.

Most organizations can answer parts of that to some degree. They may know what they’re spending. They may have a view on how data is being used. And they may understand, at least at a contractual level, what is permitted.

However, the challenge of finding the node in the organization that is aware of all three aspects – and can act as the reference point for questions – makes it difficult to answer the questions that actually matter. Can you clearly link what you’re paying for to how it’s being used? Is this dataset actually delivering value? Is it being used in line with licensing terms? Is there duplication or waste that isn’t visible?

As Nadine outlined, the real shift happens when those dimensions are brought together. That’s when firms can start to see whether what they’re paying truly reflects how data is being used and the value it’s creating.

A clear example of this disconnect is in how licensing terms are applied in practice. The detail exists, but it’s buried in contracts. Meanwhile, the people using the data are working at pace, often far removed from those agreements.

Traditionally, bridging that gap has meant manual work by increasingly rare and expensive expert resources. Reviewing terms. Interpreting clauses. Checking whether a use case is allowed. That approach doesn’t scale.

As Raushon pointed out, the direction of travel is towards making those terms more accessible and readily queried, so teams can understand what is permitted in the moment they need it.

It’s a small shift, but it changes the dynamic. Governance becomes an integral part of the workflow, especially early in a suggested use case, not something that sits outside it.

As that visibility improves, the role of market data teams naturally shifts with it.

Less time spent chasing information or managing process. More time spent helping the business make better decisions – whether that’s around vendor strategy, data selection or how new datasets are brought into the environment.

It moves the conversation away from saying “no” and towards guiding how things should be done.

Once firms start to bring that triangulation into place, the impact becomes much clearer.

The research highlights what that looks like in practice: reductions in market data spend of around 10%, alongside savings of up to 25% in reference data. At the same time, firms are reducing internal administrative effort by up to 50% and cutting exchange compliance workloads by as much as 90% - freeing up teams to focus on higher-value activities.

These outcomes come from having a more connected view of the data environment. When spend, usage and licensing are understood together – as Nadine outlined – inefficiencies become easier to spot. And once they’re visible, they can be addressed.

That’s what ultimately underpins the ROI story. Firms that take a more structured, end-to-end approach – and invest in the tools to support it – are seeing payback in just over five months, with triple-digit ROI over time.

If anything, this challenge is only going to become more pronounced.

Data is moving faster. AI-driven workflows are accelerating how quickly new datasets are tested and used. The distance between procurement and consumption isn’t shrinking… it’s growing.

Which means governance has to evolve with it. Not as a layer of control after the fact, but as something embedded, accessible and aligned to how data is actually used.

For firms that get that right, the benefit isn’t just lower cost or reduced risk. It’s being able to move faster, with confidence – knowing that spend, usage and rights are properly aligned.

And that’s ultimately what this comes down to. Not just managing market data but understanding it well enough to make better decisions.