One data vendor to rule them all. Really?

Exploring why relying on a single data vendor for financial research is unrealistic in today's complex market landscape, and how AI-driven platforms like OpenBB are transforming how professionals interact with diverse data sources to find alpha and gain competitive advantage.

Context

For those who don't know, the main reason I started OpenBB was because my investment research process started taking too much time.

As I was adding more data I wanted to analyze in my workflow (e.g. insider trading, macro, options), I spent more time doing "research".

I say "research" because in reality, I was spending most of my time on manual tasks.

Those tasks were a combination of:

• Going into a certain browser tab

• Logging in into my account in the website

• Selecting the ticker of interest

• Extracting the data (e.g. download or taking a screenshot to the chart)

• Potentially processing that data in some capacity (e.g. sentiment for text from Stocktwits or X)

• Putting that data into a document

As a full-time sensor fusion engineer, I didn't have that many hours a day to spend doing research - so this started to occupy most of my weekends.

As an engineer would, I decided to automate my workflow and that's when I started working on OpenBB as a data aggregator that I could use to become more efficient.

When I open sourced OpenBB, we saw hundreds of contributors adding data sources they were interested in exploring. Here are a few we incorporated: FMP, Intrinio, Polygon, Tiingo, Yahoo Finance, CoinGecko, CoinPaprika, Coinbase, Binance, CryptoCompare, Alpha Vantage, OANDA, ExchangeRate-API, Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), World Bank, OECD, U.S. Department of the Treasury, FINRA, Quandl, SentimentInvestor, Reddit, Stocktwits, Twitter, Google Trends, News API, Finnhub, Benzinga, Seeking Alpha, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Databento, CBOE, SEC EDGAR, Biztoc, StockGrid, Finviz, and more.

Yup, there was a lot.

My screen looked like this:

It turns out that professionals had the same pain points that I did. This widespread adoption revealed a fundamental truth about the financial data landscape that continues to shape our vision today.

A single data vendor

How likely is it that ALL the data you will want exists under a single data vendor?

It's just not realistic, even for a company like Bloomberg.

I mean, think about the following categories and the amount of companies that have a strong hold in the market:

• Equity Market Data & Analytics: Bloomberg, FactSet, LSEG

• Credit Ratings: S&P Global Ratings, Moody's

• Risk Analytics: MSCI

• Portfolio Management: BlackRock (Aladdin platform)

• Fixed Income Data: Bloomberg

• Derivatives & Exchange Trading Infrastructure: CME Group, ICE

• Commodities Trading Data: CME Group, London Metal Exchange (LME)

• Crypto: Dune, Messari, Nansen

This means that professionals have two paths:

Need multiple products

If they cannot do all of their work from a single platform, that means that almost by definition their process is flawed.

They will have issues combining data, finding edge between different datasets or even learning different tools to get the job done.

This gets particularly worse when professionals want to incorporate their own internal data.

Can do everything in one product

If they can do all of their work within one interface, then that's perfect.

The main question they need to ask is: "Can I trust this company to adapt to AI so I can be as efficient as my peers?".

If the answer is yes, then they shouldn't look at other products.

If not, then they should prepare to adapt.

The role of AI

As AI gets better, it will be harder for humans to find Alpha.

This isn't just speculation. We're already seeing evidence of this transformation.

I believe that AI will be able to find Alpha at the intersection of different datasets and their relationships, or even utilizing proprietary data (which third party products do not offer).

Regardless, for that you need an AI-first enterprise UI.

This is what we are building at OpenBB – not just another data aggregator, but an intelligent interface that:

• Unifies fragmented data sources into a coherent ecosystem

• Applies AI to identify patterns and relationships that humans might miss

• Adapts to your unique workflow and proprietary data

• Reduces the friction between question and insight

The role of data

Due to the role of AI, and how data-hungry it is - it's becoming clear that investment firms will start acquiring more and more data internally.

The issue with this is that data by itself doesn't do much.

You need an interface to analyze that data or for AI to do so.

OpenBB Workspace is precisely this – the critical missing piece that transforms raw data into actionable intelligence.

Where traditional platforms simply aggregate information, our solution applies intelligence to that information, creating a multiplier effect on your data investments.

The power shift: From data to interface

Historically, the power in financial markets has been centered around data access. The interface was merely a distribution channel - a means to an end.

But this model has been limiting for some time now.

Think about it: All humans are different in how we process information, yet somehow we're all expected to use the same software interfaces?

Make it make sense.

The reality is that each professional has unique cognitive patterns, analytical strengths, and decision-making processes. A one-size-fits-all approach to financial interfaces is fundamentally at odds with how humans actually work.

Owning your workflow

As firms consume more data from diverse sources, they should also own their workflow and interface.

Why?

1. Competitive advantage: Your unique process is what differentiates you in the market

2. Adaptability: Markets evolve rapidly - your tools should evolve with them

3. Integration: Proprietary data becomes truly valuable when seamlessly incorporated into your workflow

4. Personalization: Different team members need different views of the same data

This is why OpenBB Workspace is designed to be adaptable to your specific needs - not forcing you into a rigid framework, but empowering you to create the exact workflow that matches how your team thinks and operates.

Plus, you can fully own your workflow, data and everything in between.

Looking ahead

The financial data landscape will only grow more complex. The winners will be those who can seamlessly integrate diverse data sources, apply AI effectively, and maintain adaptability as technology evolves.

OpenBB Workspace is designed with this future in mind – not just solving today's problems but positioning our clients to thrive in the AI-driven financial world that's rapidly emerging.

If you're ready to transform how your team interacts with financial data, we'd love to show you what's possible with OpenBB Workspace.