Markit has integrated its industry contacts directory with Thomson Reuters’ Eikon Messenger service.
The deal will see Markit’s Collaboration Services, which contains an address book of 250,000 individuals, made available securely via Eikon Messenger, which the firms said will provide new opportunities for collaboration and business.
Thomson Reuters added that disparate closed systems across the financial industry have created inefficiencies and hampered collaboration and it hopes its deal with Markit will alleviate these problems while also ensuring instant messenger use remains secure and compliant.
“Thomson Reuters has always been a proponent of open systems, reflecting the need of the financial industry for greater compliance, interoperability and cost control,” said Yvette Jackson, global head of collaboration services at Thomson Reuters. “The integration of the Markit directory into Eikon Messenger is just the latest development in the continuing evolution of our instant messaging service.”
Thomson Reuters was one of the founding members of the Collaboration Services network, launched in October 2013, which enables different messaging platforms in use across the industry to connect together and remove barriers to communication.
The contacts database is available via Eikon and as a standalone application and provides access to financial professionals across 180 countries.