According to theorist Erik Erikson who coined the term, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself. We’re seeing a fair amount of this self-evaluation from order management system (OMS) vendors as they struggle with where they fit in today’s marketplace. Some vendor products have stayed close to their roots while others have expanded to include a wide variety of functionality.

So what does an order management system look like today? Or perhaps, more significantly, what should it look like? As the OMS has become the centerpiece of the trader’s desktop, users have demanded more functionality within it, as well as unspoiled integration with a variety of third party products. In other words, they want it all and they don’t really care where it comes from – just so long as it is fast, reliable, and robust.

Beyond the trading desk, the OMS has proved valuable to portfolio management, compliance, trading operations, and firm management. All of these constituencies have been overwhelming vendors with enhancement requests and, eager to please, many vendors are exploring ways to expand their products.

What can you find in an order management system today?

This breadth of offerings comes at a cost. OMS vendors are playing in a very competitive market and the wider their focus, the more difficult (and expensive) their product becomes to implement and support. As vendors broaden their offerings, there has been some loss of quality when it comes to the core product – more breadth than depth. This has resulted in some opportunities in the market place for new players to specialize in one of the above components. As FIX and XML have taken hold, messaging between modern systems has become more standardized so integration between best-of-breed vendor applications may not be the hurdle it once was.

It may be time to sit your OMS vendor down on the therapist’s couch and help them get a grip on this identity crisis. Who are they? What do you want them to be?