Friday 5 August will be the end of an era for energy traders that have relied on the Yahoo messenger over the years, as the tech company winds down the traditional service.
A proliferation of companies have looked to step into the gap – read more on that here. The result is most energy traders will need at least two different messaging services to go about their daily business with the trading world, at least while the change works its way to a conclusion. Many might have a third internal messaging service too, to speak with those within their company. So just the three messaging services to open each morning, along with email.
The fragmentation has led some market participants to yearn for one dominant player, to make their lives simpler. Similar sentiment has been expressed in others areas that have had multiple providers emerge, such as how to report trades under various EU regulations. With more regulation in the post, the use of multiple messaging services is a likely precursor to the growth in fragmentation to come.