Disrupting Bloomberg

It has a high learning curve. (A comprehensive training course takes eight hours to complete.)

The average user uses only a small fraction of its functions.

Bloomberg fits the Christensen incumbent model not just because it exceeds the needs of some customers but also because it ignores the needs of others.

The Bloomberg-as-social-network analysis is a useful one because without it, it’s hard to see how Bloomberg has survived:

Yet in the US$32 billion industry for financial data, Bloomberg is the dominant player, with a third of the market. Its position has become even more entrenched over the past ten years, as those around it have lost market share.

It has a poor user interface.

In data and analytics, Bloomberg is being challenged by a raft of start-ups. Some of them target smaller investors like me who baulk at paying Bloomberg’s US$24,000 subscription fee. Others target bigger customers who want to go deeper into more specialised data than Bloomberg supports. I use two alternatives—Koyfin and Sentieo.

Symphony’s challenge currently is squeezing revenue out of its customers. It overtook Bloomberg’s 332,000 user count in 2018. But it charges US$24,000 for up to 100 seats, rather than the US$24,000 Bloomberg charges for one. Also, its network tends to be more internal than Bloomberg’s, with as many banks on it but fewer of their clients. Last year ... See more

But Bloomberg’s a tough device to dislodge. It retains prime real estate on its users’ desks and it’s a social network and it’s a luxury good. In combination, these features have lent it immunity to Christensen’s disruption theory. Slack may be an easier challenge.