Overview

[December 26, 2002]   NYSE Market Data Group and FISD Release VRXML Schema for Billing and Reporting.    The version 1.0 specification for Vendor Reporting Extensible Markup Language (VRXML) has been published on the VRXML website. The release includes an XML Schema, sample document, and UML diagrams for the VRML conceptual model. VRXML 'XML for Market Data Billing' is now being tested for wider use.

"VRXML is an XML-based interchange format and common data dictionary on the fields needed for market data billing, reporting and inventory management. The initial draft was developed by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to improve the quality, timeliness, and efficiency of reporting information from vendors. The objective of VRXML is to define and normalize all of the data elements required throughout the billing and reporting information chain with the objective of enabling all segments to produce, transmit, receive, and process invoices and reports in a common XML format."

"FISD [Financial Information Services Division of the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA)] has assumed ownership and maintenance of the specification and is actively exploring its extension to support the full range of industry requirements associated with billing and reporting. FISD members support the migration to an industry-wide XML reporting format and have confirmed their interest in using VRXML as a component of the overall billing and reporting initiative. (VRXML website 2002-12-26)

[July 22, 2002] "New York Stock Exchange and FISD Develop Vendor Reporting Extensible Markup Language (VRXML)." - "In cooperation with the SIIA's Financial Information Services Division, the Market Data division of the New York Stock Exchange is developing a new formal structure for vendor fulfillment of billing and reporting obligations. The new Vendor Reporting Extensible Markup Language (VRXML) is "based upon the original VARS format but adds additional functionality and efficiency." Under the old system, vendors would send data files to TCB Data Systems, which would provide one level of processing and extraction, then disperse the files to the appropriate markets including NYSE Market Data. The teams are developing more efficient, industry-accepted data transfer methodologies to enable direct reporting via straight-through-processing. The new system also supports the transformation of an existing VARS file into a VRXML file. The June 2002 draft of Vendor Reporting Extensible Markup Language (VRXML) includes, in addition to prose specification, a conceptual model diagram in UML, an independent XML schema file defining standardized reporting and billing data elements, and sample XML instance. This draft "deals with NYSE reporting obligations but could be extended to cover a broader set of industry requirements."

Principal References

• VRXML website
• VRXML Resources
• VRXML specification version 1.0, 2002-12-04:
  • W3C Schema of VRXML 1.0 [cache]
  • Sample XML document for VRXML 1.0 [cache]
  • VRXML Conceptual Model 12/3/2002. [cache]
  • Changes in VRXML v1.0
• Pre-release versions of VRXML:
  • Vendor Reporting Extensible Markup Language (VRXML) Main Document. [cache]
  • Appendix A: Conceptual Model of VRXML Vocabulary. UML. [cache]
  • Appendix B: Draft XML schema [cache]
  • Appendix C: Sample VRXML file [cache]
• VRXML contact: Michael Atkin, +1 202.789.4450
• FISD (Financial Information Services Division of the Software and Information Industry Association)
• Software & Information Industry Association
• New York Stock Exchange - Market Data
• See also: "Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL)."

Articles, Papers, News

• [December 26, 2002] "An Introduction to VRXML." December 17, 2002. By Bryan Palmer (Gemini Systems, Inc). 21 slides. "VRXML is designed to address a major disconnect between billing and reporting. There are Terminology/Vocabulary issues, Customer service issues, and Tri-Party reconciliation issues (vendor/exchange/subscriber -- inaccurate reporting based on time differences; intensive reconciliation problems). Why create yet another Reporting Format? (1) VRXML has the potential to turn over 100 different reporting formats into one standard format. (2) Extensibility: the ability to add additional functionality or modify existing functionality without impacting the existing system functionality..." [adapted] Note: On December 23, 2002 Gemini Systems announced a 'VRXML FastTrack Program' to support "the reporting of inventory and other administrative data between exchanges, vendors and subscribers; the VRXML FastTrack Program is packaged to help organizations quickly realize the benefits and positive ROI of VRXML by adapting their systems and operations to take advantage of this powerful new communications standard."

• [November 04, 2002] "XML Offshoot Aims For Accuracy. Stock Exchange Gathers Industry Insight into VRXML Initiative To Simplify Vendor Reporting." By Cristina McEachern. In InformationWeek (November 04, 2002). "The New York Stock Exchange has said it will use the Vendor Reporting Extensible Markup Language in an effort to simplify its vendor-reporting requirements. The language was created to help improve the accuracy of reporting for stock exchanges, vendors that resell market data such as stock prices and volume, and financial-services companies. The NYSE is the first exchange to set forth an XML-based standard for reporting, and it envisions extending VRXML into other areas as well. Under the current Vendor Automated Reporting System, market-data vendors send data files of their reporting requirements to TCB Data Systems, an NYSE spin-off, which processes and extracts the data, then passes the files along to the stock exchange. In general, vendor-reporting requirements include information such as customer location, product identification, and ZIP codes for state-tax calculations. As a direct-bill exchange, the NYSE also invoices the customer -- typically brokers, asset managers, or business publications -- using the data provided by the vendor... The VRXML initiative looks to simplify the vendor-reporting process by letting vendors report directly to the exchange or continue to report through the Vendor Automated Reporting System, which would convert the files into the VRXML format and pass them along. 'The NYSE is saying you need to report to us in our format, and our format is VRXML,' says Mike Atkin, VP of the software association's financial information services division. 'The exchange doesn't really care how they do that, but that will be the obligation.' He adds, though, that the stock exchange is being flexible in the transition to the VRXML format. Everybody wants accuracy to 'make it easy to meet the obligations, so the NYSE is working with the industry to make sure they can adopt it and what the transition might be,' he says... The financial information services division of the software association has sought industry feedback to make sure the draft version of the VRXML format meets user requirements and to determine if it can be extended for internal inventory management, what kind of conversion-process problems are possible, and what areas might need some work..."

• [October 30, 2002] "VRXML Strategy Defined by FISD Members." October 30, 2002. ['FISD members are planning on using VRXML as the XML standard for market data billing. This report outlines the strategy moving forward.'] "Last week, NYSE invited FISD to take over ownership, maintenance of the specification and encouraged us to explore its extension to support the full range of industry requirements associated with billing and reporting. FISD members support the migration to an industry-wide XML reporting format and have confirmed their interest in using VRXML as a component of the overall billing and reporting initiative. There are two core priorities associated with the initial action plan within FISD. The first focuses on the adoption and implementation of VRXML as an industry standard reporting format including normalization of the data elements throughout the billing and reporting information chain with the objective of enabling all segments to produce, transmit, receive and process invoices and reports in VRXML. FISD and NYSE are working on a series of implementation pilots to define the operational implications associated with migration to VRXML. The second focuses on the importance of data set consistency among all segments. Data consistency is a critical component of reconciliation and includes such areas as reporting requirements and standardization (best practice recommendations) for billing/reporting cycles..."

• [October 07, 2002] "NYSE Launches XML Standard for Vendor-Reporting Requirements." By Cristina McEachern. In Wall Street & Technology Online (October 07, 2002). "NYSE taps FISD to gather industry insight into VRXML, an initiative aimed at streamlining market-data-vendor reporting requirements. VRXML aims to streamline and improve the accuracy of reporting for exchanges, vendors and financial-services firms. In an effort to streamline its vendor-reporting requirements, the New York Stock Exchange has announced its Vendor-Reporting-eXtensible-Markup-Language initiative to standardize market-data-usage reporting. While the NYSE is the first exchange to set forth an XML-based standard for reporting, the exchange envisions VRXML extending into other areas as well. Under the current Vendor Automated Reporting System, market-data vendors send data files of their reporting requirements to TCB Data Systems, an NYSE spin off which processes and extracts the data, then passes the files along to the NYSE... VRXML initiative looks to streamline the vendor-reporting process by allowing direct reporting to the exchange by vendors, as well as the transformation of existing VARS files into VRXML through TCB Data Systems. The idea would then be for vendors to use the format to either report directly to the exchange, if they can convert to the XML standard, or to continue to report through the VARS system, which would convert the files into the standard format and then pass them along..."