Transforming data into information and ultimately knowledge that helps enterprises gain - and maintain - a competitive-edge is part of the information delivery paradigm.
Over the last few weeks we looked at the business environment, information delivery vision, the technologies and enabling tools for information delivery, necessary architecture, and the methodologies for delivering a solution that works.
Companies increasingly need to understand the behaviour of their customers and to maintain long-term profitable relationships with them.
This week we`ll look at some of the ways in which information delivery applications deliver real value to some competitive companies in the marketplace.
Companies that have started to focus on the information delivery vision have different needs and requirements. Each implements their vision differently according to their requirements and the industry they are involved in.
 A case in point
MT&T, a Canadian telecommunications provider, uses data mining to obtain a detailed and clear picture of who its customers are and what services they need. Based on this information, MT&T is able to create service offerings customised for specific segments of its customer base. From the preplanning of capital expenditures to communication with the customer and ongoing delivery of services, MT&T is using data warehousing technology to help ensure it makes the right business decisions based on fact as opposed to speculation.
Phil Hartling, director of marketing with MT&T consumer services says the company has seen bottom-line benefits from better information.
He says that as far as broadband services are concerned, the company made some sophisticated guesses about where it should lay the "thick pipe" of its network. Now it is only putting broadband into areas where it knows its customers want it. MT&T is not only meeting the needs of its customers, but is spending its capital investment more wisely.
Better capital investment is only the tip of the iceberg for MT&T. The company has also used its information delivery processes to create a new customised approach to marketing that is yielding improved market share and stronger growth.
It recently used data mining tools to create a long distance program called Freedom Time designed to compete with the flat rate unlimited package of one of its Canadian competitors. Using the knowledge and capability of its people and its data warehousing tools, the company was able to learn as much about what customers didn`t want as what they did.
The benefits, of course, depend on the type of industry you are in but customer relationship management cuts across all industries, and many companies have moved away from a product-focused approach to a customer relationship management approach. Companies increasingly need to understand the behaviour of their customers and to maintain long-term profitable relationships with them.
A winning strategy
Halifax is the third largest bank in the UK and has more PCs than any other bank or building society in the UK. Customer relationship management is key to the success of the bank`s strategy.
Essentially the Halifax software application is an executive information system that reduces large amounts of information to the basic facts. Using the data warehousing system the Halifax CRM team can create meaningful profiles of customers so that it can understand their attitudes towards finance, their likes or dislikes, and the kinds of products they might like to buy in the future.
Underlying the development of customer relationship strategies lies the sophisticated technologies I described in early columns, and in a focus on an information delivery vision.
Adaptive IT architecture in many different permutations will give companies sustainable competitive advantage. Information delivery applications are key for coping with the turbulent business environment giving companies rapid and better informed decision-making.
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