4 4999 $883 3% ie SS B 5% us’ ne less " ve 10D A 22, a ot res Ww $: Ot 2S Turning Data Into Profit by Lars Nyberg (NAPSA)—Many businesses have found an important key to turning profits is getting the right information in the hands of employees on the “front lines,” so they can takeaction. Business takes place in real time. Employees on the front lines Lars Nyberg —those who touch the customer directly— need information in real time. For example, suppose an airline has a flight for Chicago that leaves in 15 minutes, but economy is overbooked by five seats. There are only two seats remaining in first class. In less than ten minutes, a decision must be made about who gets bumped and who gets the seats. Such a situation requires the employees dealing with the customers to think and act quickly. There is no time for a decision to flow down a chain of command that starts with upper management. In addition, the decision that is made could have negative repercussions. Potentially, loyal customers could be lost. To make the best decision, employees need information. Among the things they need to know: Whatis the profitability by passenger (not just the ticket they hold at that moment)? Which passengers fly with the airline most frequently? Have any of the passengers been bumped by the airline before? Which passengers have connecting flights in Chicago? Mostlikely the airline will have that information available somewhere, but it may not be readily available. A technology architecture that integrates all data sources—an enterprise data warehouse—canhelp solve this problem by turning the massive amounts of data a businesscollects into usable information. This allows companies to extend their decision-mak- ing capability, to uncover efficiencies, identify new opportunities and proactively manage customer relationships. This is when data becomes a true company asset, and the data warehouse becomes a business-critical system to the organization. At the end of the day, it is all about return on investment. Leveraging the value of your data asset can help turn that data into profit and deliver a compelling return on your technology investment. For more information visit www.ner.com or www.teradata.com. Mr. Nyberg is chairman and chief executive officer at NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR). NCR is a provider ofRelationship Technology solutions, including the Teradata database and analytical applications, automated teller machines and store automation systems. NCR is ranked number one worldwide in data warehouses above one terabyte in size.
