S&P Capital IQ vs. Catalyst, by EBM Software

Best in class tool to source financial data from public companies. Great integration with Excel. Must-have tool for anyone performing financial analysis on a regular basis. Easy to use interface with excellent product support to answer questions about functionality and capabilities. Tool has continued to grow in features over the years and expect to continue in the future.

Incentivized

Catalyst works well, when it works and is very well suited for an ABA environment. But the app development process and the continual list of bug fixes that are never-ending makes this product very hard to recommend.

Incentivized

• S&P Capital IQ's blackline tool allows for the effortless comparison of changes in company filings over time.
• The screening tool when searching for comparable companies and/or transactions is very comprehensive and customizable.
• It allows users to customize their dashboards and tearsheets in any number of ways.

Incentivized

• The GUI is easy to navigate on the iPad mini, which we use for charting.
• The options are simple so there is very little room for mistakes.
• Charting is easy and the setup allows for necessary fields that must be completed so charting stays uniform.

Incentivized

• Sources. In Bloomberg, when you click on a figure anywhere it leads you to the source. That is a great feature, as in finance everything has to be backed with the original source.
• Cannot always find the needed information, the menu is too complex.

Incentivized

• The browser closes unexpectedly at times when refreshing the page and you get logged out
• The incorrect vendor is chosen by Catalyst a few times
• The Catalyst file is occasionally not placed on time in the folder

Incentivized

[It's the] best ever.

Incentivized

S&P CIQ Pro has great data, however, the new pro version is currently difficult to use given how slow the data is to process

Incentivized

Well.... when it works... it's good. When it doesn't it is very frustrating for our staff.

Incentivized

The support for Catalyst is great and they are usually within the 48 hour response time. There could be a little quicker upload time for invoices that are submitted. They usually show up until the next day on the system and sometimes gives us a stress on time. Overall, the support is quite good

Incentivized

While Bloomberg has a much more comprehensive view of the markets and typically has more up-to-date information in terms of overall news, Cap IQ is easier to integrate into existing financial models, and the formula builder included with the Excel plugin makes it easy to pull relevant financial data as well as update it based on a specific time frame.

Incentivized

[Catalyst, by EBM Software] is a very easy system to use and is very user friendly. It gives you different ways of researching an invoice and not just one. Catalyst also helps to allow us to research an invoice within seconds and eliminates a lengthy and confusing process. It is a great software for first time users to learn quickly and efficiently.

Incentivized

• The breadth and depth of the company's financial data set are what sets it apart as the finest in the industry.
• Having the ability to pay the monthly fee online is a major benefit. Neither is it very high, but I wouldn't characterize it as low, either. It's quite economical.
• Data quality and accuracy are what set it apart from competitors.

Incentivized

• Helps to keep our vendors happy
• Helps to keep our systems updated
• Helps to manage our expenses

Incentivized