IEEE Spectrum breed · Technology

History of Financial Data Terminals

The evolution of financial markets has been driven by the need for timely information, leading to technological advancements from telegraphs to electronic screens. Companies have profited by supplying this market intelligence.

Early innovations included ticker-tape machines in the 1860s and the Dow Jones Average in 1896. Paperless financial services emerged in 1960 with Quotron's electronic screens.

Michael Bloomberg founded IMS in 1981, believing Wall Street would pay for specialized data and analysis. His company developed the Market Master terminal, initially offering U.S. government bond prices and tools.

Merrill Lynch became IMS's first client, investing $30 million. The first terminals were delivered in 1982, coinciding with the global shift to electronic trading and volatile bond markets.

IMS rebranded as Bloomberg LP, and the Market Master became the Bloomberg Terminal. Its custom keyboard featured finance-specific keys. The system operated on a closed network.

Later iterations added a trackball, a speaker, and Instant Bloomberg for user chat. By 1996, keyboards supported multiple languages, and by the early 2000s, biometric authentication was introduced.

Bloomberg launched its own news service in 1990 and expanded offerings. The subscription model included hardware, network access, and services.

The internet led to 'Open Bloomberg' software and mobile apps, moving away from dedicated terminals. Discarded Bloomberg Terminals are now museum artifacts.

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