Data Strategy articles from October 2005

Data Strategy archives from October 2005

Leader: Dive into data pooling to gain yard on rivals.
October 11, 2005... Most companies have faced the problem of how to rejuvenate flagging sales. Some opt to boost their marketing spend, others to spend it more wisely. But a third way is gaining acceptance in the UK, and that is the sharing of data (See Cover...

Phone tracking plans 'breach privacy law'.
October 11, 2005... Government plans to help combat terrorism by making it compulsory for companies to retain phone and email data breach European privacy laws, according to industry experts, who claim the scheme could cost firms more than #100m. Under the...

IN BRIEF: Random House picks Attunity solution.
October 11, 2005... Random House has signed a deal with Attunity, a leading provider of enterprise data-integration software, to provide improved data access at distribution arm The Book Service (TBS). Attunity will enable realtime data access and integration...

IN BRIEF: Banks to overhaul legacy systems.
October 11, 2005... UK banks believe they are being held back by overly complex legacy systems, and are planning to revamp them to stay competitive, according to a study. The report, by Accenture and SAP, exposes the high cost of running existing systems. ...

M&M Sports takes SmartFocus tools.
October 11, 2005... Mail order company M&M Sports has hired SmartFocus to supply management and marketing software. The company, the UK's largest buyer of end-of-the-line leisurewear and sports products with more than 2 million customers, will introduce a...

Home Office to tackle crime with SPSS tool.
October 11, 2005... The Home Office is aiming to slash crime by implementing predictive technology from analytic software provider SPSS. Government department the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) plans to use a text analysis tool, developed jointly...

Whirlpool adopts Seeburger solution to lift trade relations.
October 11, 2005... Home appliance giant Whirlpool - which manufactures washing machines, driers and fridges - is strengthening its links with trade customers by implementing Seeburger technology, providing a business integration solution for clients that use...

IN BRIEF: Rocket Science names Bradley head of Snapshot.
October 11, 2005... Former Mars chief Jim Bradley has been hired by Rocket Science to be managing director of its Snapshot division, which runs the data consultancy's paper-free salesforce tracking and reporting system. Bradley, who was at Mars for 15 years, has...

IN BRIEF: Firms boost spend on analytical technology.
October 11, 2005... Only a quarter of firms can confidently account for the value of marketing within their business, although this lack of belief is fuelling major investment in analytical technology. In a report by Unica and AMR Research among 120 global...

CCR Data selects Experian Intact file.
October 11, 2005... Royal Mail's database bureau and mailing house CCR Data is outsourcing its suppression file by signing up to Experian Intact. The bureau will have online access to most of the industry's suppression files, including Absolute Movers from...

Lift maker turns to Concentrix offer.
October 11, 2005... Lift manufacturer ThyssenKrupp is installing a Web-based customer management system to improve business processes. Concentrix will implement database software GoldMine, to enable ThyssenKrupp to efficiently manage its sales and marketing...

Data scheme to help combat house fires.
October 11, 2005... Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service (CFRS) has adopted a consumer classification system to help reduce house fires and ensure a better allocation of resources. Experian's Mosaic scheme, a postcode-based system, will be used to...

IN BRIEF: Industry welcomes Siebel acquisition.
October 11, 2005... The data industry is backing Oracle's acquisition of Siebel for $5.85bn (#3.2bn). Kevin Zaffaroni, chief executive of Acxiom Europe, says: "The practical implications mean that more firms will employ customer management-type systems." Roy...

IN BRIEF: Digital service ready to take over Europe.
October 11, 2005... SMS2Mail, integrating mobile and email delivery, is set to launch across Europe. Owner AllisBlue has been awarded a patent for its software, which allows users to send a text message to a short code, requesting digital material like video clips...

New personas at Active Hotels.
October 11, 2005... Online hotel reservation provider Active Hotels has appointed Brainbox, the analytical solutions division of Data Locator Group, to help it to build a customer-centric business model. The aim is to develop 'personas' - customer...

Product & service news: Catalina offers quick access for retailers.
October 11, 2005... Retailers are to be given access to quick customer data with the launch of a new service from Catalina Marketing UK. The company is promising enhanced insight into customer purchasing habits by using Netezza Performance Server (NPS). The...

Product & service: Data Locator Group unveils Everyone database update.
October 11, 2005... National consumer database Everyone, created by data and sales solutions provider Data Locator, is being re-released with an updated list of 41 million details. The database, now called Everyone 2005, originally launched a year ago and...

Product & service news: Jaywing rolls out Smartlists.
October 11, 2005... Data services provider Jaywing is rolling out consumer data service Smartlists. The product is based on a three-pronged approach of expert list management, responsive lists and analytics. According to Jaywing, Smartlists will allow more...

Product & service news: Ogilvy signs Cisco for wireless IT.
October 11, 2005... Advertising and marketing specialist Ogilvy is building a converged communications infrastructure with Cisco Systems Technology. It is to support a wireless network for Ogilvy's 800 UK and European staff. The network infrastructure provides...

Product & service news: Callcredit enhances online identity system.
October 11, 2005... Credit reference agency Callcredit is launching an enhanced version of CallML, its online identity verification system. The product, which is now simpler and easier to use, references more datasets for increased verification power and...

Product & service news: Charity group site boost to track member events.
October 11, 2005... The Charity Finance Director's Group (CFDG) is upgrading the software on its website to track members' events and conferences activity. The CFDG, an organisation that specialises in helping charities to manage their accounting, tax and...

Product & service news: Henley tops shopping table.
October 11, 2005... Henley-on-Thames is the home shopping capital of the UK, according to Experian. Consumers in the affluent riverside enclave in Oxfordshire spend the most per head in the country on catalogue and mail order goods. Experian analysed...

Product & service news: RightNow answers call for SmartGuide.
October 11, 2005... Customer management specialist RightNow Technologies is introducing SmartGuide, a solution that enhances the quality, speed and consistency of service by guiding customers and agents to answers via a 'decision- tree' interface. Customers...

DAWN ORR: Insight flawed without behavioural data.
October 11, 2005... For the past 20 years, most data products available in the UK have adhered to the tried-and-tested presumption that 'birds of a feather flock together'. While this may be true in the main, for a detailed analysis of consumer preferences, it...

Letter: Why firms must calculate customer churn correctly.(Letter to the Editor)
October 11, 2005... I read with interest Patrick Dye's article 'Gaining the knowledge' (DS, July/August) and would like to pick up on the comments made by Stuart Broughton regarding customer churn. I agree with Stuart when he highlights the importance of...

Letter: More effective measures against identity fraudsters.(Letter to the Editor)
October 11, 2005... Alan Timothy is right to bring identity theft-based fraud to our attention (DS September), but in his list of solutions, he neglects to mention the most powerful weapon in combating this fast-growing trend. By adopting the use of deceased...

IAN ROBINSON: Pitch decision must be handled with care.
October 11, 2005... Pitches are important. No business can flourish without being heavily involved in getting new clients in through the front door. But they are both loved and hated. Pitches are loved because, at their best, they are exciting and stimulating -...

The joys of swapping.
October 11, 2005... Instead of jealously guarding their records, more data owners are opting to share their information with other companies in the sector to gain a greater depth of knowledge about their market. David Reed looks at how companies organise their...

ADDRESS MANAGEMENT: Addressing vanity issues.
October 11, 2005... In principle, getting customer address details right should be a relatively simple exercise, with the likes of Royal Mail's PAF system on hand. Yet things are not quite as simple as they seem. Patrick Dye looks at how firms handle the...

Data at download risk from portable devices.
October 11, 2005... iPods, smartphones and laptops are becoming an increasing threat to corporations' data security. Network solutions development company Centennial Software has discovered that 'podslurping' and 'bluesnarfing' - using portable equipment to...

Five steps to combat rise of inaccurate data.
October 11, 2005... Companies are losing vast sums of money through poor data management, warns information intelligence company Detica. Imam Hoque, head of technology innovation, says: "If companies start off with inaccurate data, every decision based on...

IT downtime could lose companies 'millions'.
October 11, 2005... Companies are running the risk of losing millions of pounds by frustrating their customers with technology-based service failures, according to research. A survey carried out by ICM Research on behalf of Tertio Service Management Solutions...

CASE STUDY: Question of taste.
October 11, 2005... Edrington Group, owner of The Famous Grouse brand, turned to Rocket Science to distil customer knowledge into an effective strategy Data-engineering consultancy Rocket Science has worked on The Famous Grouse, probably the best-known whisky...

ETML: A painful extraction.
October 11, 2005... Inhouse data extraction is a costly business, and software vendors are wise to it. But employing extraction, transformation and loading technology is far from the easy task that many suppliers claim, argues David Reed Whatever information...

Legal column.
October 11, 2005... Lewis Silkins' Spencer Davis answers pressing legal questions What are my business' first obligations under the Data Protection Act? Any business which is processing personal information must notify the Information Commissioner's...

DAVID REED: Data, data, everywhere, but no analysis.
October 11, 2005... Data rich, information poor. That is the business equivalent of consumers who are money rich, time poor. Your company may be awash with data, but can you do anything with it? For some companies, it is easier to raise capital than it is to...