Data Strategy articles from June 2005

Data Strategy archives from June 2005

LEADER: Could your firm cope with 'data disaster'?(Editorial)
June 7, 2005... Picture the scene. You're the first person to turn up for work on Monday morning, bright and breezy, and raring to get stuck in to another week at the coalface. The office seems a little darker than usual, but nothing will keep you from that...

Prudential in deal with Informatica and Wipro.(Prudential Insurance Company of America)(Wipro Technologies Ltd.)(Informatica Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Prudential is overhauling its customer satisfaction and revenue operations with the appointment of data-integration software provider Informatica, and global IT services and solutions firm Wipro Technologies. The insurance company is using...

In brief: Air Miles names data strategy chief.(appointment of Charles Ashby in AIR MILES Travel Promotions Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... The Air Miles Travel Company has appointed Charles Ashby head of data strategy, a newly created position in its customer insight department. Ashby joins from Rapier, where he was senior data planner, working on the Telewest account and...

In brief: Virgin Mobile picks Atlantic Global tool.(Virgin Mobile Telecoms Ltd. uses Corporate Vision)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Virgin Mobile is to implement Atlantic Global's business portfolio management software, Corporate Vision. It will provide the organisation with a single, realtime view of all projects within the IT department, including project status,...

DS unveils line-up for first awards.(Data Strategy )(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... The line-up of judges for the Data Strategy Awards 2005 has been set, with key representatives from all sides of the industry. The full line-up includes Nigel Grimes, customer insight director at The Air Miles Travel Company, who will be...

3M signs up Caspian as sole data partner.(Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.)(Caspian Partnership Ltd)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Global technology company 3M has appointed Caspian Partnership its sole data partner. The move will see Caspian manage all of 3M's data- purchasing and -processing across its full range of UK brands. It is the first time that 3M UK has...

National Audit Office picks Applix TM1 monitoring tool.(Applix TM1 Software)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... The National Audit Office (NAO), which reports to Parliament on central government spending, has chosen Applix's TM1 software solution to monitor projects. The contract was awarded to Applix partner Anite Public Sector, a leading...

In brief: Experian scores home shopper lifetime value.(Experian Information Solutions Inc. launches Lifetime Value Score)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Experian is unveiling Lifetime Value Score, to enable the home-shopping sector to score prospects, enquirers, active and lapsed customers according to their future lifetime value. The product is claimed to help companies to make...

Abacus invests #1m in technology.(database industry)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Upgrade Abacus has invested #1m in new technology, as part of a commitment to improve and develop its systems. It is the largest single spend that Abacus has made, bringing all of its technical operations inhouse, hosting the core Abacus...

Allied Domecq in global data deal.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Allied Domecq has signed a global contract with Decisions Made Easy for the installation of software and services. The deal will allow the drinks giant to manage and analyse its sales and supply chain data. The solution, installed across...

Redcats appoints Response One.(Redcats Nordic AB)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Redcats, the catalogue owner which lists brands including La Redoute, Empire, Daxon and Vertbaudet in its portfolio, has employed Response One Direct Marketing for cold-list planning. The supplier has devised an automated system to allow...

First ScotRail awards MarketDeveloper brief.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Scottish train operator First ScotRail has selected Market-Developer hosted marketing automation software and services to centralise and manage over 250,000 passenger records. The move will enable it to better understand customers'...

In brief: AtlasCapture gains MS accreditation.(Microsoft corp)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Hopewiser address-capture product AtlasCapture has won official accreditation as a Microsoft CRM ISV solution. Atlas is a tool that allows users to retrieve an accurate and complete address from a postcode or partial address, and place it...

In brief: Pier outsources to Exact Abacus.(The Pier outsources its mail order furniture business)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... The Pier is outsourcing its IT services to direct marketing solutions provider Exact Abacus. The company aims to improve its mail order operations by implementing Exact's 3EX multichannel software, integrating The Pier's website and...

Portlock launches Marketing Metrix.(Bill Portlock )(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Former WWAV Rapp Collins planning director Bill Portlock is launching data-analysis company Marketing Metrix. Direct marketing veteran John Watson is a shareholder in the business. Tony Masters, Portlock's former WWAV colleague, also...

Callcredit offers online check to combat fraud.(Callcredit PLC launches CallFraud )(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Credit reference specialist Callcredit has developed a 'potent weapon' for businesses to use in the battle against identity thieves. Designed to pinpoint potential fraudsters before they have a chance to act, CallFraud is a realtime...

Experian bolsters home shoppers to 11m records.(Experian Information Solutions Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Experian has expanded its Club Canvasse home-shoppers database by 40 per cent. The multibuyer pool has been expanded to 11 million records. It now holds information on customer transactions worth #10.4bn. It can be used in conjunction...

Wegener fleet data relaunch.(Wegener Direct Marketing relaunches VehicleFile)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Wegener DM is relaunching VehicleFile - a database covering the UK's automotive fleets. The new Fleet Data File contains actual and modelled data, providing information on more than 487,000 company cars, vans and trucks, including...

Plexus implements #3.8m eFirst deal.(Plexus a division of BancTec Inc. will provide eFirst to Employment Tribunals Service)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... eFirst, a business-process management suite from enterprise system specialist Plexus, is to form the basis of a #3.8m case management solution for the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS) and ACAS. The project covers the design, piloting and...

Equifax suppression tool to slash waste.(Equifax Inc. launches disConnect )(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Equifax is rolling out disConnect - a suppression product which it claims will reduce marketing campaign waste significantly. The company says that, in any given year, companies can lose contact with up to 15 per cent of their customer...

Ebiquita to reveal online data-processing service.(EbiquitaDirect )(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Ebiquita has launched a data-processing service which it claims will set new standards for the industry. Benchmark testing has demonstrated that EbiquitaDirect is among the most accurate and intuitive systems on the market, says the firm....

Cims to release UK PrivacyGuard.(Cims UK launches identity protection service PrivacyGuard)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Cims, the affinity marketing specialist, is unveiling a UK version of identity protection service PrivacyGuard. It is used by 4 million customers in the US, where it has been available since 1992. PrivacyGuard aims to increase...

Broadsystem plans Ascential upgrade.(Ascential Software Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Broadsystem is implementing a selection of data-management solutions from US-based Ascential Software, to enhance the functionality and accuracy of its data-processing services. The move will allow the News International-owned customer...

Discipline key to prevent data frustration.
June 7, 2005... The world of data can be frustrating. When things go well, they go very well. But when they go badly, they can go horribly wrong. The worst case I have observed involved the attempted creation of a global single customer view from all of...

Letter: Even small companies can take full advantage of ERP.(enterprise resource planning)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is no longer the sole preserve of monolithic application vendors, and therefore large organisations. It can be cost effective even for the smallest of the UK's SMEs. ERP is about rationalising business...

Letter: Managing data internally has some distinct benefits.(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
June 7, 2005... Patrick Dye rightly points out that when software is 'dumbed down' it can lose its ability to detect subtle differences in data (DS April). But this is equally true of both the software used by outsourced agencies and that which is managed by...

Data analysis fuels multichannel retailing.
June 7, 2005... Retailing has undergone a major transformation with the emergence of the Internet. And it's clear this evolution isn't over yet. Competition for a share of consumer spending is fierce. Retailers are broadening their distribution and...

Pre-emptive strike.(data management services)
June 7, 2005... Protecting data assets and processing systems may not be a glamorous pursuit, but when disaster strikes business-continuity planning comes into its own. In addition to implementing sophisticated technology, there are a number of simple...

BUREAUX SOLUTIONS: Confidant approach.
June 7, 2005... When clients choose a data bureau, they need to not only exercise extreme caution, but then engage in an easy dialogue to determine exactly what is expected of both sides. Patrick Dye outlines the basic rules of engagement A newcomer to...

Personal knowledge banks 'to kill off' CRM.(Customer relationship management)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Personal knowledge banks, which hand the accessing, ownership, management and control of data back to individuals, are set to replace CRM systems, according to personal records management specialist Paoga. Corporate disillusionment and CRM...

Marketing managers under-utilising databases.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Marketers are still struggling to get to grips with their customer databases, claims outsourced data-management company EHS Brann Discovery. In a survey carried out among middle and senior managers at blue-chip organisations, 78 per cent...

Skybox Security promotes risk-management upgrade.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2005... Security risk management (SRM) specialist Skybox Security is urging companies to upgrade their systems to reduce the threat of fraud. The call follows extensive analysis of business risk. Questions to client companies focused on how to...

CASE STUDY: Fleet feat.(Volkswagen UK hires agency Key Parker )
June 7, 2005... Volkswagen UK hired agency Key Parker to integrate a new media solution into existing systems so that it could handle fleet enquiries more efficiently Volkswagen UK has a dedicated Fleet Services department based at its head office in...

ADDRESS MANAGEMENT: Moving targets.
June 7, 2005... With fraud costing UK business billions of pounds a year, data-owners have a duty to employ checking procedures that flag up potential bad debtors and high-risk locations. The additional data-sets introduced by value-added resellers hold the...

Legal column.
June 7, 2005... The DMA (UK)'s Caroline Roberts answers pressing legal questions Q. My company regularly sends personal data overseas, under various outsourcing arrangements. I'm concerned that we may be breaching the Data Protection Act 1998. Please can...

DAVID REED: System failures can crash whole business.
June 7, 2005... Data is everywhere. Until the lights go out, that is. Then you discover that what seemed like a readily available commodity has become a scarce and precious gem. The records you rely on to run your business - from orders taken and cash...