In my last job, I used the Bloomberg terminal on a daily basis. I loved it -- the breadth and reliability of their data is unmatched. As I see it, the two main

In my last job, I used the Bloomberg terminal on a daily basis. I loved it -- the breadth and reliability of their data is unmatched. As I see it, the two main weaknesses to the business model an upstart could use are: (a) DOS-like UI/UX: though many of their clients take pride in their skills at navigating the arcane maze of commands to access data (and once you know how to access the data you need it becomes lightning fast), it's a serious hurdle to overcome for more casual users. The terminals sat relatively idle in my office when I first joined because no one went through the trouble to access them. They have excellent customer service on call who basically does the work for you at no further cost if you need it, but that's a very expensive band-aid, and it's time-consuming. Many of the senior directors at my company preferred to use Thomson's browser-based data from their desktops to get information more quickly. (b) Privacy/secrecy: In May 2013, a few banks, including Goldman, complained Bloomberg reporters was spying on their traders' activity on the terminals: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/business/media/bloomberg-admits-terminal-snooping.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/business/media/bloomberg-a... Secrecy is paramount to these traders. I'm not surprised they're backing a new chat feature.