CRM News: Customer Data

Reading Into IBM's Tealeaf Buy
May 03, 2012

IBM is building out its digital marketing functionality in its Smarter Commerce portfolio with the acquisition of Tealeaf Technology, a provider of customer experience analytics. Tealeaf software records and analyzes customer interactions on a company's website and any mobile channels it offers. It allows the company to catch any mistakes or glitches in the system that may be hindering the customer experience.

Harnessing Big Data Through Customer Intelligence
April 24, 2012

Driving revenue performance and applying data in order to influence/generate buying behavior throughout the customer life cycle is not new -- it's an ongoing goal. Real-time marketing, which relies on capturing data in real time, improves revenue performance and is the optimal way to drive 1:1 customer interaction throughout the customer life cycle.

How Outside Experts Can Refine the Customer Experience
April 17, 2012

When it comes to technologies that provide the foundation for customer experience management, there is no shortage of options. The marketplace today is deluged with platforms, including self-service solutions that offer multimodal and open response survey vehicles for soliciting customer feedback across multiple channels, including in-store, email, website and call center.

Flashback's Mac Malware Mess
April 09, 2012

In what could be the largest mass infection of Mac computers to date, the Flashback Trojan was estimated to have reached some 700,000 Macs by the end of last week. The Trojan is being planted on the Macs by owners who've been lured to infected Web pages that send a malware downloader to their computers as soon as they land on the page.

Catching the Mobile Commerce Wave
April 07, 2012

Riding the wave of technology change these days is a bit like surfing. The ocean and waves often change much faster than our ability to stay out in front of the transformation. Now another current is approaching the wireless world as mobile commerce curls to challenge conventional e-commerce.

Customer Relationship Metrics Takes On the Unstructured Data Challenge
April 02, 2012

Customer Relationship Metrics has launched Text BI, its latest offering in its suite of managed analytics solutions. Text BI enables companies to take unstructured text-based data from surveys, emails, social media, CRM systems and other applications, and organize it into a format that makes it easier to analyze.

Google Gives Users a Gander at the Trails They Leave
March 29, 2012

Google has launched a new tool called "Account Activity," designed to give users a detailed glimpse into their Web usage across all Google sites and services. Account Activity is a personalized, detailed monthly report on Web activity with Google search, Gmail accounts, YouTube and social network Google+.

FTC to Congress: Shorten Data Brokers' Leash
March 28, 2012

The Federal Trade Commission this week urged Congress to impose new regulations on companies that collect consumer data related to Internet browsing habits. Under the policy the FTC suggests, data brokers, or the holders of personal consumer information, must allow consumers access to that information.

FTC Report Calls for Transparency, Stops Short on Do Not Track Law
March 26, 2012

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission released a report Monday calling for greater privacy protections for online users, including increased transparency regarding the data companies collect from consumers. The report also addressed Do Not Track systems, which allow consumers to opt out of online behavior tracking mechanisms.

Customers, Big Data, and the Internet of Things
March 22, 2012

The top 10 trends in CRM was the topic of the lead-off talk by analysts Gene Alvarez and Ed Thompson at Gartner's Customer 360 Summit last week. Most of the items were evergreens that are fixtures when such trend lists are drawn up, but there were two that caught my eye, if only because of their juxtaposition on the list. First was the issue of "big data."

Partnership to Align Phone System Data With CRM
March 19, 2012

M5 Networks has partnered with InsightSquared to create a solution that will allow customers to manage data generated from M5, along with data from other systems, in InsightSquared's business intelligence product. The solution will help customers manage data from their business phone system and other applications in one interface, and to visualize trends in voice and data to understand the "why" of spikes and valleys in activity.

It's Raining Real-Time Customer Intelligence
March 05, 2012

FirstRain, an analytics software company that provides personalized, real-time customer intelligence to sales and marketing professionals, has announced the launch of the first Enterprise Customer Intelligence System. The system delivers targeted customer, prospect and industry intelligence directly into enterprise-deployed iPads, CRM systems, collaboration portals, mobile devices and other platforms.

Google Hires Headliner to Direct Government Relations
February 28, 2012

Google has hired veteran lobbyist and former member of Congress Susan Molinari to represent the company. Molinari served as a Republican member of the House of Representatives from New York between 1990 and 1997. Since then, she has represented major businesses as a lobbyist. Molinari, who will be based in Washington, D.C., will become Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations for the Americas.

US Offers $10M to Jump-Start ID Security Tech Research
February 07, 2012

Identity theft and privacy breaches are reported almost daily. For example, last month two utilities in New York reported that an employee of a software contractor allowed unauthorized access to a database containing social security, date of birth and other information. That same day the DoJ reported the arrest of three women in California for engaging in a scheme to use stolen identities to illegally collect tax refunds.

Google on EC's Privacy Request: How About No?
February 06, 2012

Google has rejected the request of European regulators that it delay the implementation of its new privacy policies to give authorities time to review the changes and ensure that users' data will remain secure. The European Commission's Article 29 Working Party asked Google to hold off on launching its new policies until after the committee could analyze the changes.

Privacy Advocates, Businesses Dig In for EU Lobbying Campaign
January 26, 2012

Both privacy advocates and representatives of businesses that handle consumer data are flocking to Brussels. Why? The EU has proposed a strict set of new data privacy rules that would restrict companies such as Facebook even more than they currently do. Facebook, et al., have descended on the city in the hope of softening some of the restrictions, while privacy advocates are there to keep the EU on its intended path.

Privacy Advocates Fiercely Furrow Brows at Google
January 25, 2012

Google will consolidate about 60 of its privacy policies across its products in March, creating one overarching policy and leaving only about another 10 unchanged for legal and other reasons. The company is also changing its terms of service. It may combine information on Google account holders across all the company's services the account holder uses.

Data Plunderers Run Off With Zappos Customer Info
January 16, 2012

Thieves have made off with personally identifying data on 24 million customers of online shoe and apparel retailer Zappos. Announcing the hack on Sunday, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said that the thieves broke into the company's system through one of its servers in Kentucky. Although customers' personal data was stolen, the secure database that stores their credit card and other payment data remained untouched, Hsieh said.