Thomson Reuters to Launch Desktop

Thomson Reuters Corp will roll out on Tuesday its next-generation desktop product for financial professionals, incorporating Twitter-like social media features that it hopes will help it win customers from Bloomberg LP and others. Thomson Reuters Eikon will knit together dozens of disparate products that provide data, news, analytics and trading tools, as well as social media applications familiar to users of Twitter, instant messaging and Facebook. Eikon accounts for the biggest part of a $1 billion investment in new financial products that includes video news service Reuters Insider and data network Elektron. Along with improved search, customers will also be able to access Eikon on devices such as Apple Inc's iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry.

 "What we are trying to do is take the best learning from the consumer media world and apply that to professional tools," said Devin Wenig, CEO of the company's Markets division, which sells to financial institutions. "Our clients say 'you've got great stuff but we can't get at it because it's in too many places.' And they say the whole industry is looking a little tired and it's time for a refresh," Wenig said in an interview. The new desktop is designed to be more cost-effective for the company and will provide better service to customers because it is easier to install and provide upgrades, he said. "Eikon really simplified the plumbing issues," said Doug Steiner, a consultant to investment bank Scotia Capital, one of 1,000 clients that took part in beta testing the product. Wenig declined to give revenue or installation projections. Thomson Reuters will continue to support existing products but expects clients to take up Eikon quickly, Wenig said.