Data Strategy articles from September 2005

Data Strategy archives from September 2005

Are you ready to be 'whiter than white'?
September 14, 2005... So, it seems, the Freedom of Information Act isn't quite such a closed shop as first feared, with many private sector companies poised to reap the benefits of the new era of openness. The full implications of the Act may still be being...

ONS reveals 'building block' Census units.
September 14, 2005... The Office of National Statistics (ONS) is making available local 'building brick' data that has been collated from the 2001 UK Census, providing a detailed resource for businesses. The ONS has broken down the data into 223,000 units,...

IN BRIEF: 1 Stop Data forms Datamonitor alliance.
September 14, 2005... 1 Stop Data, a B2B list management and database specialist, has formed a strategic alliance with industry report publisher Datamonitor, offering clients access to analytical industry research. Access to the reports will help 1 Stop Data...

IN BRIEF: CACI lures head of marketing.
September 14, 2005... CACI has appointed Paul Lewis head of marketing. He joins from Experian, where he started as creative services and communications manager in 1997, before gaining Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Wegener opens Euro data hub.
September 14, 2005... Wegener DM Results is creating a European centre of excellence for data intelligence. It will draw on the analysis and consultancy expertise of Wegener's data management and intelligence arm, to drive new revenue streams throughout the...

IN BRIEF: First launches members drive.
September 14, 2005... First, the global body which monitors security on the Internet, aims to broaden its membership from IT specialists to company boardrooms through a marketing drive. The organisation has hired direct agency Chemistry to raise awareness of...

IN BRIEF: Football body in ProTech deal.
September 14, 2005... The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is to implement ProTech Computer Systems' record management software Pro-7. The programme will be used to extend the PFA's membership system, to allow it to record and manage educational and...

British Gymnastics in Concentrix deal.
September 14, 2005... National sporting body British Gymnastics is installing a Web-based membership management system from Concentrix to enable 127,000 members to join clubs, register for events and receive news online. Concentrix is replacing a manual,...

Shearings in Euro Direct data boost.
September 14, 2005... WA Shearings Group, a transport company formed through the merger of Coach Holiday Group and Shearings Holidays, has appointed marketing database specialist Euro Direct to build, manage and host a 'single customer view' database. WA...

Newspaper groups to enhance databases.
September 14, 2005... Times Newspapers and The Telegraph Group are ramping up the data capability of their subscription programmes. The Telegraph Group is creating new data and customer management departments, while Times Newspapers has appointed fellow News...

IN BRIEF: Marie Curie clean-up.
September 14, 2005... Marie Curie Cancer Care is cleaning its database of 540,000 donors. The charity has appointed GB Group to secure more of the UK's #7.5bn annual charity donations. GB Group aims to cut direct mail costs and will use the National Register...

IN BRIEF: Powergen B2B plan.
September 14, 2005... Gas and electricity supplier Powergen Retail has appointed information solutions firm Experian as its key supplier for B2B marketing prospect data, to enhance new business activity. Experian will target consumers from its National Business...

First Choice takes flight with OTM.
September 14, 2005... First Choice has appointed customer communication specialist OTM to handle data processing and printing for personalised travel documents. Customers will receive personalised tickets and information on their holiday, featuring relevant...

CACI upgrades PUK classification system.
September 14, 2005... CACI is unveiling its redeveloped PeopleUK (PUK) product - a data tool which is designed to help companies to understand and target individual UK consumers. PUK, which classifies adults by life stage, now includes lifestyle information...

Abacus UK launches latest B2C Market Insight Reports.
September 14, 2005... Abacus UK, the data and research provider owned by DoubleClick, is expanding its offering with the launch of the latest set of B2C Market Insight Reports (MIR). MIRs seek to provide cost-effective, strategic, actionable research to help...

Experian sells retailer guide.
September 14, 2005... Experian is unveiling a comprehensive retail property guide for the largest 200 towns and cities in the UK. The dossier, Towns Future, is aimed at property professionals such as investors, developers, asset managers, agents and public...

UK Changes offers search application.
September 14, 2005... Data-cleaning specialist UK Changes is unveiling search system Fetch118 to the direct marketing and customer management sectors. It will enable companies to reduce costs and improve efficiency, by providing access tools to ensure data is...

SmartFocus buys up Aims for Euro reach.
September 14, 2005... SmartFOCUS Group has acquired software provider Aims to create a vendor of enterprise marketing management programmes with a pan-European reach. The two companies will integrate the functional components of their key back- and...

Acxiom unveils online data segmentation application.
September 14, 2005... Acxiom is launching an online data-segmentation service to enable marketers to observe the Internet market and follow customer usage and lifestyle trends. Personicx Onliners will offer quick access to up-to-date, segmented data. Taking...

OneSource offers business analysis.
September 14, 2005... Information services provider OneSource is launching a product to provide marketers with up-to-date business information on companies and executives. OneSource Express will provide job titles, financial analysis, news and indepth company...

Global Datastore in Enterprise upgrade.
September 14, 2005... Global Datastore Enterprise has launched the sixth version of software used by contact centre agents and customer management and database managers. It will allow users to retrieve accurate data in a single step, via a new graphical user...

Marketers can tackle card fraud head-on.
September 14, 2005... The fear of identity theft is a real one in the UK, with a recent survey showing that 80 per cent of Londoners are worried that they could become a victim, and many local authorities citing 'bin raiding' as a growing concern. The aspect...

Letter: Customer insight relies on getting data basics right.(Letter to the Editor)
September 14, 2005... Regarding your article 'Gaining the knowledge' (DS July/August), which covered return on investment from customer data analysis solutions, no organisation can even begin to know its customers, or analyse how to develop customer relations, if...

Letter: Card loyalty schemes key to gaining buyer insight.(Letter to the Editor)
September 14, 2005... Patrick Dye's article 'Gaining the knowledge' (DS July/August) explored some interesting angles. Yet I was surprised that it didn't touch on loyalty schemes, as the basis of a customer insight programme. For retailers, transactional data...

Top loyalty schemes conceal hidden flaws.
September 14, 2005... Ever since the launch of Green Shield Stamps, a debate has raged over the benefits of loyalty schemes. Over the years, I've heard various customer views on how much they value these initiatives, and what effect they have on purchasing...

Price of freedom.
September 14, 2005... The Freedom of Information Act has forced local authorities and Government departments to rethink their entire operations, ensuring 'openness'. The private sector is coming to the rescue, but there's a sting in the tail for supplier firms....

CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT: Calling for change.
September 14, 2005... Sophisticated analytics represents the future of customer management, with contact centres acting as the frontline. But will data volumes prove prohibitive? David Reed reports Customer management is all very well in theory, but does it...

Hitches creating UK public 'techno-rage'.
September 14, 2005... Everything you've ever wanted to know about data but were too afraid to ask Big businesses' lack of reliable technology is the biggest cause of consumer frustration, and the main reason why people take their business elsewhere, an...

Website to address women recruitment problem.
September 14, 2005... A newly launched industry website is addressing the shortage of women working in IT. The site, www.womenin technology.co.uk, is designed to encourage women into the sector. It sends job alerts to registered users and has a recruitment...

Finance companies warned to address insurance fraud.
September 14, 2005... Financial companies are being urged to reduce the risk of falling foul of insurance fraud. SPSS, a provider of predictive analytics software, is unveiling a solution to reduce fraud, significantly improve the claims process, and cut costs....

CASE STUDY: Enquiring credibility.
September 14, 2005... Gay and lesbian directory enquiries service Gay-Lo chose GB Group's GB Accelerator 118 to enhance its data accuracy - with impressive results Established in 2000, as part of the deregulation of the directory services market, Gay-Lo is now...

SINGLE CUSTOMER VIEW: Outside edge?
September 14, 2005... In the Quest for a single customer view, many companies are naturally quick to buy data from external suppliers. But they would be unwise to do so before carrying out a major examination of internal sources, especially when budgets are...

Legal column: Lewis Silkins' Spencer Davis answers legal questions.
September 14, 2005... The Freedom of Information Act 2000 has important implications for UK companies. Whether your firm is commercially involved with a public authority or not, you must appreciate that information which is disclosed to them could also be disclosed...

Difficulty managing data firms deters investors.
September 14, 2005... Would you invest in a data company? While marketing services providers have seldom been star performers in terms of revenue or share price, data owners and data service providers might be expected to buck this trend. After all, data is a...