Treasury teams relying on Bloomberg’s Disaster Recovery services face uncertainty.
During the pandemic, many treasury teams accustomed to sharing a Bloomberg Terminal in the office have made the most of Bloomberg’s so-called Disaster Recovery services (DRS), which has allowed multiple users, working from home, to access a Terminal subscription from different computers.
- The value of that access has some NeuGroup members worrying about the expiration of their company’s ability to activate DRS as some workers—but not all—return to offices.
- One member at a recent meeting of risk managers said using DRS has been very helpful, but was told their access would expire within the next month, forcing them to return to their previous workarounds.
- Another NeuGroup member expressed frustration with the monthly renewal process and the need to prove the company still deserved access to DRS.
- One member reported having no problems renewing the service.
- Another, hearing about the option for the first time, saw it as a natural solution for the team’s short-term needs.
Bloomberg’s response. A Bloomberg spokesperson, in an email, told NeuGroup Insights, “During this time, Bloomberg is extending the use of DRS for the duration of office closures or ‘work from home’ scenarios that are the result of government mandates in regards to the COVID-19 outbreak.
- “We continue to revisit limitations to this use case in light of evolving guidance from authorities. We suggest firms contact their Bloomberg reps to understand their options.”
- The spokesperson also wrote that DRS is intended as a temporary solution to enable remote access for “short periods of time.”
- Also, they said, “Bloomberg Anywhere (BBA) is the most appropriate option for long-term remote Terminal access,” confirming that BBA subscribers in effect always have DRS in place, in contrast to shared Terminal users.
- In May, NeuGroup Insights reported that Bloomberg had extended DRS use for users sharing a Terminal during the pandemic until the end of June and that it cost $35 per subscriber.
- The spokesperson this week did not comment on any end date or the price.
