WRDS at 15 A +230 and Growing Global Subscriber Base Fuels Expansion for Wharton Research Data Services
Federal Reserve Banks, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Chicago are among the more than 230 business schools and research institutions worldwide that rely on WRDS to access a variety of databases.
Wharton Research Data Services, or WRDS, is an internet-based business data research service consisting of historical financial information for banks, government bonds, stock exchanges, and major companies. First developed at Wharton in 1993, WRDS introduced Stanford University as its first subscriber in 1997. Since then, its rapid growth has been worthy of its own data set — many new institutions join the service each year.
How does it work? WRDS processes raw data from databases in the fields of finance, accounting, banking, economics, management, marketing, and public policy including CRSP and Standard & Poor’s Compustat, the major data providers for equity prices and company reports respectively. Once the data is on the WRDS system, it is accessed easily and quickly through a uniform web interface.
WRDS has won accolades for its innovative product including the 2003 CIO Magazine Enterprise Value Award and the Computerworld Honors Laureate Award for "visionary use of information technology."
Ever Expanding
The WRDS team is continually improving the product. “We would like to increase our impact in research worldwide and extend our reach globally,” says Deirdre Woods, Wharton’s associate dean and CIO. “We are also working on extending our data offerings in different disciplines.”
“The WRDS team is always looking to add to the system. If there's data that we think could be useful, they're willing to pursue it,” says Professor Gavin Cassar. “They’ve expanded a lot over the years from just financial research. I am using it for some of my research on entrepreneurship.”
WRDS is currently beta testing a new interface. The new design will focus on improving the ease-of-use of the site, adding new customer support tools. “We need to cater to the doctoral students of today, not ten years ago,” notes Bob Zarazowski, senior director of WRDS. Among the new features is an interactive form that generates frequently asked questions as members type their inquiries into the system.
WRDS also provides customer support to all subscribing institutions. Should a researcher at a particular school have trouble navigating the system, a member of the WRDS team will assist through the help desk. WRDS customer support receives well over 8,000 emails each year, or one every 12 minutes during business hours.
“We have a team of both research and tech experts,” says Robin Nussbaum-Gold, marketing director of WRDS. “For the subscription fee, we grant schools an unlimited amount of users, 750MB of storage per user, and fast customer support – with the promise that all questions will be answered within one business day.”
Wharton First
The highest priority of WRDS, since its founding, has been the Wharton community. Wharton faculty and staff have the unique advantage of being both the instruments and beneficiaries of WRDS’s expansion. A faculty advisory board meets four times a year to provide feedback and advice to the WRDS team.
“We’ve given the WRDS team lots of feedback on the website -- on kinds of features it ought to have, on creating tools that link databases together, and on improvements that would be very useful to faculty,” says Professor Robert Holthausen, chairperson of the Wharton Accounting Department and chair of the faculty board that advises WRDS.
“I couldn’t ask for a better feedback structure,” says Zarazowski.
Each Wharton student automatically gets full access to the complete range of data sets supported by WRDS. Most universities subscribe to a select number of data, based on their academic needs and their budgets.
Although regular financial research is more likely undertaken at the doctoral level, a significant number of undergraduates and MBA’s also use WRDS. “I give assignments to my undergraduate and MBA students that involve utilizing WRDS to analyze data on companies,” says Holthausen.
The Next 15 Years…
In addition to expanding its global reach and improving its product and support systems, in the future, WRDS may consider offering a form of its service to private sector firms.
"To be successful globally, we must have the data and features required by a global community," says Zarazowski. Initiatives are underway to expand the number and types of international data available through the system. Plans are also in place to enhance data delivery through technology upgrades and by adding on-line training in multiple languages.
