Alternative data is about to be normalized.
Bloomberg LP is the latest mainstream financial company to wade into the once-obscure alternative data field with a new product that will give clients access to data from more than 20 niche firms.
The datasets will be immediately available, according to a release expected later on Thursday from Bloomberg, and will include stats on drug approvals, retail foot traffic tracked through cell phones, construction permits, and more.
And as those key datasets become more mainstream, longtime alternative data players foresee a future where they are simply known as data companies.
“Just because the technology didn’t exist to measure something before, does that make it an alternative measurement?” said Greg Skibiski, CEO of Thasos, a Bloomberg partner and a data company that tracks foot traffic in malls.
“This concept of ‘alternative’ isn’t going to be around too much longer.”
To read the full article, click here.