Investments

Thomson Financial Integrates AOL(R) Instant Messenger(TM) (AIM(R)) Service Within AutEx to Enable Direct Negotiation Between Equity Trader and Broker

Thomson Financial Selects IMLogic to Launch Real-Time Broker Communications

NEW YORK, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Thomson Financial, an operating unit of The Thomson Corporation (TSX: TOC, NYSE: TOC) and leading provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community, today announced the launch of Thomson AutEx with the integrated AOL(R) Instant Messenger(TM) (AIM(R)) service over the Thomson ONE desktop.
A strategic agreement with America Online, Inc., and technology provider IMlogic, Inc. streamlines and improves upon the price discovery process by enabling the direct negotiation of price and quantity between buy-side trader and broker. IMlogic IM Manager enables Thomson extensibility to integrate AIM presence and the AOL(R) messaging network into the Thomson ONE application, reducing the latency of communication between investment managers and brokers, and increasing the competitive advantage and ROI for end users.

Instant messaging integration is part of Thomson Connect, the Thomson Financial communication and collaboration strategy, comprising a series of tools and capabilities embedded throughout Thomson's market leading information and solution offerings. These capabilities enhance the Thomson ONE user's ability to connect and collaborate with clients and counter-parties, resulting in improved client servicing, and increased order flow and business opportunities.

AutEx sell-side traders are able to set up instant messaging contact details (name, email, phone, or AIM screen name) from within Thomson ONE, so that buy-side trading partners can respond to indications of interest (IOI) details using the embedded AIM screen name. The broker publishes the AIM(R) screen name to buy-side traders for each IOI message sent. Buy-side traders immediately see the AOL(R) Running Man(TM) icon associated with the IOI and use the instant messaging capability to directly communicate with the broker. Once the Running Man icon is clicked, it launches an AIM instant messaging window embedded with all IOI details. In addition, the buy-side trader is able to configure AutEx by associating the coverage team's AIM screen names with specific IOIs within AutEx, further enhancing communications between the buy-side and sell-side trading partners.

"We are extremely pleased to be working with Thomson Financial and IMlogic to extend the reach and real-time capabilities of the AIM service to the Thomson ONE desktop," said Brian Curry, vice president, AOL Premium and Subscription Services, America Online, Inc. "In addition to facilitating transactions and adding a new level of interactivity to the AutEx service, AIM presence has the power to help Thomson users be more productive at work."

"Instant Messaging has become the standard communication medium for traders and creates competitive advantage when integrated with powerful applications such as Thomson ONE," said Francis de Souza, CEO, IMlogic. "By integrating with IMlogic IM Manager, industry leaders such as Thomson and AOL are ensuring that financial services professionals are using best-of-breed technology for their mission-critical real-time communications."

"The Thomson Connect suite of capabilities, exemplified by the integration of AutEx and the AOL Instant Messenger service, is generating positive and enthusiastic feedback from early adopters," said Jeremy Condie, senior vice president, Thomson Connect, Institutional Equities, Thomson Financial. "Speed and effective communication and collaboration are critical success factors in today's marketplace. Thomson Connect's capabilities embedded into Thomson ONE provide the Thomson Financial global client base with the very latest tools and capabilities to help them earn a greater share of their client's investment dollars," said Condie.

Other Thomson Connect capabilities include the Contacts Directory, a searchable database of over 80,000 financial professionals serviced by the same Thomson team responsible for the Nelson Directories. A Capture capability allows the Thomson ONE user to snap any content out of Thomson ONE and seamlessly place it within a new email. The user can address the email using the Contacts Directory or own address book. The combination of the Contacts Directory and Capture capability provides users with an unprecedented ability to share insights with clients and prospects, and as a result, generate more business.

About IMlogic, Inc.

IMlogic, Inc., headquartered in Waltham, Mass., is the market leader in enterprise software for Instant Messaging (IM), the world's fastest growing communications medium of all time. The largest Fortune 1000 companies across the financial services, energy, healthcare, government, media, telecommunications, technology, and manufacturing industries depend on IMlogic solutions to secure, deploy, and leverage IM and presence technology for real-time business communications. The company's flagship product, IMlogic IM Manager, enables enterprises to manage, control and secure corporate IM usage, while satisfying compliance requirements associated with real-time electronic communications. IMlogic is backed by leading venture capital firms Venrock Associates, General Catalyst Partners, Kodiak Venture Partners, Crosslink Capital, and Goldman Sachs. For more information on IMlogic visit http://www.imlogic.com/.

About Thomson Financial

Thomson Financial is a US$1.73 billion provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is part of The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com/), a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to more than 20 million business and professional customers in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With revenues of US$8.10 billion, The Thomson Corporation lists its common shares on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

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