Introducing Data Scout: From Data Discovery to Execution, Finally Connected
Every capital markets firm has ways to discover data.
Very few have a clean way to act on it
That gap — between interest and execution — is where most data programs break down.
Today at BattleFin Discovery Day Miami, PostSig is launching Data Scout, a new product that connects data discovery to execution through a catalog-agnostic workflow layer designed for how institutional teams actually evaluate and onboard market data.
Data Scout is now live, with its first external integration powered by a curated slice of BattleFin’s data catalog.
The Hidden Problem in Data Discovery
Across hedge funds and asset managers, discovering a new dataset is rarely the hard part.
What happens next is. Once interest turns into action, teams fall into a familiar pattern. Discovery happens in one place, vendor conversations move to email, NDAs are negotiated elsewhere, and trials are tracked across Jira, spreadsheets, and calendars. Documents land in shared drives. Context fragments just as risk, cost, and obligations begin.
By the time a trial ends, teams often cannot answer basic questions with confidence: what was agreed, who owns the relationship, what obligations exist, and whether the data should be converted, expired, or reused.
This isn’t a tooling failure.
It’s a missing execution layer.
Up until now, most firms treat market data and vendor management as a System of Record problem: store what was signed, store what was bought. But the breakdown happens earlier, during engagement, NDA, and trial, when ownership is unclear, and obligations are easy to lose. Data Scout adds structure to that workflow, and PostSig becomes a System of Intelligence by keeping decisions, constraints, and next actions continuously visible as the relationship evolves.
In practice, that means a dataset record doesn’t just show “trial started.” It shows who owns it, what the NDA permits, when it expires, what obligations exist, and the following action to convert, extend, or close it out.
Data Scout Is Not Another Data Catalog
Firms already have catalogs. Often more than one.
Data Scout sits above them.
It connects any internal or external catalog into a single, structured workflow that governs what happens after discovery — from first engagement through NDA, trial, onboarding, and beyond.
“Data Scout is not another data catalog,” said Phil Kim, Chief Product Officer at PostSig. “What’s been missing is a system that connects discovery to execution. Data Scout brings structure to everything that happens once interest turns into action.”
A Purpose-Built Workflow for Institutional Data Teams
Data Scout replaces fragmented tooling with a native, Kanban-style workflow explicitly designed for market data discovery and onboarding.
Each dataset or vendor moves through clear, auditable stages:
- Discovery
- Engagement
- NDA
- Trial
- Purchase
- Onboarding
At every step, documents, notes, decisions, and discussions stay together, so the workflow remains accountable and traceable instead of being reconstructed later. The result is fewer parallel vendor threads, fewer redundant contracts, faster evaluation cycles, and clearer ownership.
Launch Partner: BattleFin + Exabel
Through its integration with BattleFin, firms can move directly from external discovery into structured execution.BattleFin supports discovery. Data Scout governs the engagement, NDA, and trial workflow once a dataset moves from 'interesting' to 'in motion'. Exabel can sit alongside that evaluation process, supporting research and insight consumption, without losing the workflow record of how a dataset progressed.
All while maintaining governance and visibility as relationships progress.
“Discovery can be painful,” said Tim Harrington, CEO of BattleFin. “The Exabel platform allows users to focus on the signal and not the noise. By integrating BattleFin’s catalog with PostSig’s execution layer, firms can move faster while maintaining transparency and governance.”
Built for Consultants, Too
Data Scout is designed not just for buy-side teams but also for market data consultants. Instead of running discovery and trials across clients in spreadsheets, consultants can connect proprietary catalogs, manage engagements and evaluations across clients, and maintain visibility into negotiations, obligations, and outcomes, with context preserved end-to-end.
This enables cleaner client execution without losing control or context.
Where Data Scout Meets Contract Performance Management
In most data relationships, the first signed documents are NDAs and trial agreements.
That’s where execution risk begins.
Data Scout seamlessly transitions into PostSig’s Contract Performance Management (CPM) platform once agreements are signed, keeping contractual intent continuously visible without re-keying, handoffs, or manual reconstruction. Trial agreements can be explicitly tracked, including timelines and expiration dates, obligations and deliverables, usage constraints, and the associated discussions behind the decisions.
From evaluation through trial, purchase, renewal, and expiration, contractual intent remains continuously visible — without re-keying, handoffs, or manual reconstruction.
This is CPM applied exactly where it matters most: after the signature, while leverage still exists.
One Execution Layer, Wherever Discovery Starts
Discovery doesn’t happen in one place — and Data Scout doesn’t require it to.
Whether discovery originates from external platforms, consultant-maintained catalogs, or internal inventories and spreadsheets, Data Scout connects them into a single execution layer. By unifying discovery, inventory, and engagement, firms gain a clearer view of what they already own, better reuse of existing relationships, fewer redundant trials and contracts, and stronger governance from day one.
Available Now
Data Scout is available immediately as part of the PostSig platform and supports integrations with both internal and third-party data catalogs.
Discovery will always be noisy. Execution doesn’t have to be.
If you’re at BattleFin Discovery Day Miami, see Data Scout live. Otherwise, reach out to schedule a walkthrough and discuss catalog integration.
