Many of our clients question whether they need to support more than one fee-based platform for their research needs, especially as some products provide minimal upgrades once the platform has peaked in the market.
Common questions from procurement and collections specialists include:
- Why are we continuing to pay for two products that provide similar content?
- Who requested the second product and why is it needed?
- Was there a thorough review to determine if the product we were using already could be eliminated?
- Is the second product supplementing the other, or are we supporting it to appease a select group of users?
We will take a closer look at this common occurrence by comparing two major online services for securities research, Intelligize and Lexis Securities Mosaic.
This is not an endorsement or recommendation for one of these services over the other. Our intention is to share considerations to guide you as you consider streamlining your own subscription services and resources, whether it’s for securities research or any other information requirements.
Also note that our descriptions of Intelligize and Securities Mosaic do not represent all of their features and functions.
Intelligize
Ease of use is a key strength of Intelligize. As one of our legal research analysts says,
“To me, Intelligize is so granular and well-designed that I can just plug in data and be able to easily review results.”
Ease of use doesn’t mean that support is never required. Since Intelligize is a small company dedicated to securities research, support is direct and almost personal. According to another LAC Group researcher,
“This company only does one thing and it does it well. Also, their customer service team is dedicated and top notch. Really, I think I’ve dealt with the same people every time I’ve contacted them for two years. They’re really helpful and responsive.”
Yet while easy, Intelligize is also sophisticated. One research analyst dedicated to a specific law firm client had this to say:
“Intelligize delivers a sophisticated, in-depth approach to research and analysis. It excels in searches for precedents and it also offers a risk factor ranking that is a great resource for tracking industries and business sectors.”
The same firm has a Finance/Banking practice that views Intelligize’s analytics and depth of coverage as one of the best ways to strengthen and develop knowledge and expertise within the group.
Lexis Securities Mosaic
Lexis Securities Mosaic was formerly Seattle-based Knowledge Mosaic until acquired and rebranded by LexisNexis in early 2013. Securities Mosaic continues to be a standalone product, along with being integrated into other Lexis solutions.
As well as a slight name change, the interface was tweaked to look more like other LexisNexis products. Canadian SEDAR filings were added as well as news feeds like SEC updates and global news.
One LAC researcher cites the Securities Mosaic news feed as a key strength and differentiator, along with financial legislation and regulatory updates:
“Securities Mosaic is good for many common securities information requests and basic company or filing research. Along with the news feed, it does a good job of tracking and staying on top of financial regulations and legislation.”
Another research analyst cites Securities Mosaic’s alerts and search strengths as well, along with exporting options for creating reports:
“I enjoy working in Securities Mosaic due to its search functionality, Boolean language capacity, export options and alert feature.”
Finally, depending on your situation, being part of the LexisNexis family may be a key advantage. As one of the leading providers of a wide range of subscription-based information services, its strength and market position are important considerations.
Why it’s important to compare more than features
With any similar subscription services, you will find unique capabilities and strengths as well as overlap. It may not be wise to base a decision solely on a content and feature comparison of two similar services like Intelligize and Securities Mosaic.
Other considerations include:
- The needs of your clients and practice areas if you are a law firm, or the needs and objectives of your business if you are general counsel.
- The training, skills and knowledge of your research staff, lawyers and other users.
- The availability of reliable free resources for similar information. In this case, EDGAR, available free on the SEC website, is an excellent supplemental resource for securities research.
- The stability, reputation, strategy, customer support and other considerations related to the product vendor.
- The licensing and distribution model of the product, and one that grants the licensor the right to copy, modify and distribute content within reasonable means.
- Finally, costs.
It is important to advocate for costs that are realistic based on the product’s capabilities and the firm’s needs, not solely on the vendor’s expectations. For example, if you are supporting the entire platform of a particular product and a new database or collection is introduced, there should be no additional fees.
At times, one size does not fit all. In other cases, one product may be all that’s needed. It comes down to the core requirements and competitive pricing.
Sometimes we recommend a mixed-use approach by scaling back on one service as opposed to removing it completely. For example, if the second product has an important function or other reason to be maintained for a specific research need, why not retain a smaller subscription for users that require that information?
We often work on bundling or integrating products that are necessary but used less into an overall subscription plan, if the solution is owned by the one of the large research conglomerates.
This example, limited to one narrow slice of research, illustrates the kinds of questions and considerations that need addressing before making a decision to eliminate or reduce a particular subscription service.
Library and information center services are one of our core area of expertise.
Please contact me if you would like to ask a question about Intelligize, Lexis Securities Mosaic or any other information resource.
Robyn Rebollo
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