In our recent article, The Market Data Blind Spot Costing Organisations Millions, we outlined a structural problem with market data management: fragmented ownership, poor visibility and spend that no one can fully explain. But how much is market data truly costing an organisation? And how much could an organisation be saving?
For many organisations, exploring a ‘fix’ can sound like a large transformation programme and disrupt BAU. New governance. New tooling. New processes.
It may sound like a big project. So we wanted to break it down into something practical, bounded and achievable. Let’s start with the first 30 days.
The first 30 days are not about transformation. They are about clarity.
This phase should be diagnostic, evidence-led and deliberately bounded. The goal is to replace assumptions with facts and give leadership a defensible view of where value is being lost — and where action is possible.
What Good Looks Like: A Practical 4 Week Plan
Week 1: Establish scope and signal
- Nominate a clear executive sponsor
- Agree what “market data” includes (terminals, feeds, indices, benchmarks, niche providers)
- Communicate intent: visibility, not control
Week 2: Build the spend and contract baseline
- Consolidate invoices and vendor lists from Finance
- Collect contracts from Procurement, Legal, and teams
- Identify renewal dates and notice periods
Week 3: Overlay usage and process reality
- Request usage data from key vendors
- Interview business users to understand workflows
- Map entitlements vs actual access
Week 4: Connect the dots
- Identify unused licences and duplication
- Surface redistribution opportunities and constraints
- Produce a prioritised opportunity and risk view
By day 30, leadership should have a clear, shared picture and the confidence to decide what happens next.
Download the 30 Day Market Data Action Plan
If you are ready to move from assumption to evidence, download the full infographic and practical guide.
It will help you:
- Frame the conversation internally
- Avoid common early missteps
- Create an evidence base leadership can act on
Clarity does not need to take months.
If you want to understand what this could mean for your market data spend, speak to Sean or Gabby below.
Sean Russell
Managing Principal at Ortecha
Gabriele Dubosaite
Consultant at Ortecha
