Unit of Count

The unit of count initiative is part of an ongoing discussion related to multiple access fees, double billing and an improved user/vendor entitlement reconciliation process.

FISD's User Committee has developed this proposed unit of count definition (including device equivalencies) as well as recommendations on how they are to be applied in vendor and exchange contracts:

Unit of Count Definition
July 23, 1998

The FISD User Committee has been working on a uniform and consistent definition of unit of count and device equivalency as the basis for contractual discussions and as the first step in addressing multiple access fees/double billing.

The underlying concept is a belief that the unit of count should be based on users with continuous access to and control of the information delivered. The most efficient and fair mechanism to accomplish this objective is to count the least common denominator of people and control devices for each situation, as illustrated by the following examples:

1. A setup with a single user (e.g. an office) with any number of control devices should count as a single access.
   

2. A common area setup with many periodic users should count as a single access (or one access per keyboard).
   

3. Two users sitting together with a single control device should be counted as a single access. If they have two or more control devices they should count as two accesses.
   

4. A user with multiple setups that are not used simultaneously, such as a home and office setup, or an office and a trading desk, should count as a single access. (Any direct vendor expense for providing dual connectivity should be covered).
   

5. Third-party sources already covered on a users desktop should not be again counted beyond provision expenses for a wireless device.

Occasional usage by persons other than the primary users should not affect the count. Additional displays placed on desks other than those of the primary users should be counted (at some level).

Direct-bill exchanges agree, in principle, with the user definition and have agreed to work with user firms on the identification of the policy mechanisms and administrative procedures required to reconcile user/vendor entitlement reports. The FISD User Committee is working on the creation of a pilot project related to reconciliation (i.e. how units of count are tracked, identification of the change management/global inventory management process, understanding of the internal client site rules database, and the administrative or procedural methods of reconciliation). Indirect-bill exchanges do not currently buy into the concept/definition and don't readily see how they would implement the recommendations associated with double billing.

For vendors, the issues relate to the unit of count for a single user who maintains more than one location (i.e. home/office and trading desk/office) and for the counting of (duplicate) devices for firms going through technology migrations. Vendors indicated conceptual support for the user definition (as it relates to vendor data costs only), but are concerned about implementation and the problems of reconciling exchange reporting requirements as well as their own.