Realise that everything connects to everything else.
Leonardo da Vinci
These links are organised by topic, then by site type.
Topics
Site Types
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Gurus, Radicals and Pioneers |
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Information providers, professional bodies, conference organisers and magazines |
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Vendors & Consultants |
Reciprocal links
The power of the net is the power of networks. If you would like to set up reciprocal links between your site and this one we would be delighted to work with you (unless your site is something inappropriate like Mistress Fifi's thigh-boot heaven). Pleasecontact us
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Broken links
If a link on this site takes you nowhere,contact us
and we'll fix it or drop it.
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| Address Management |
Gurus, Radicals and Pioneers
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Graham Rhind
A top man on all matters of addressing. The site includes links to material on place names and address formats the world over.
www.grcdi.nl
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Information providers, professional bodies, conference organisers and magazines
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The Post Office
Huge portal to everything the behemoth offers. Go to the direct mail and address management sections for a stack of useful info
www.royalmail.com
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Vendors & Consultants
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Cognitum
Specialists in database design and implementation, data manipulation and cleaning, and address management. Winning combination of serious expertise with consultancy advice that has not lost the ability to call a spade a spade.
www.cognitum.co.uk
Global Address
Leading provider of international address quality products and services, acquired at the end of July by Harte-Hanks
www.globaladdress.net
Global Data Processing
UK and international address management, deduplication and data manipulation. Has the advantage of being run by someone with serious experience in direct marketing.
www.global-data-processing.com
Helpit Systems
Specialists in deduplication software.
www.helpit.com
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PAF resellers |
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PAF contains over 27 million UK addresses. Each month there can be over 100,000 address changes in the UK. If you have a database of any significant size you are going to have to become involved in address management, and that is going to involve reference to the Postal Address Format (PAF) file. The post office provide this through a number of authorised resellers, who generally also provide address management and deduplication products and services.
www.royalmail.com
AFD
You can download evaluation versions of the AFD software from their site, which is always useful
www.afd.co.uk
Allies Computing
Allies style themselves as "a forward thinking software development company", providing address management and rapid addressing software to a range of markets since the company was established in 1986.
Allies main offering is the PostCoder range, the most recent addition to which is PostCoder Web. This offers a "pay as you go" PostCoder service, available over the Internet. The company claims that the flexibility of this means it can deliver to businesses of all sizes the benefits of collecting and verifying the addresses of customers on their website, at the first point of contact. They include full technical support with all of their software.
Interestingly Allies are also responsible for the development and production of Royal Mail's UK Addresses software.
In addition to to software products, Allies offer a range of PAF® raw data options.
www.allies-computing.co.uk
Altwood Systems Ltd
Does anyone know what happened to these chaps?
Arc en Ciel
www.arcenciel.co.uk
BPH Data Ltd
www.bph-data.co.uk
Capscan
International Address Management, Postcodes, Rapid Address Capture.
www.capscan.co.uk
Data Discoveries
www.datadiscoveries.com
GB Group
www.gb.co.uk
Hopewiser
Meticulous and completely committed to high quality procedures. A partner for heavy duty address management solutions - not for the dabbler or the quick fix merchant.
www.hopewiser.com
Identex
See under Data quality
www.identex.co.uk
Intermedia Marketing Ltd
www.intermm.com
LM Software
www.lmsoftware.co.uk
Postcode Anywhere
www.postcodeanywhere.co.uk
QAS(Quick Address software)
The self-proclaimed "market leader" - now acquired by and part of Experian
www.qas.com
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| Business Intelligence |
Gurus, Radicals and Pioneers
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Seán Kelly
Explicator and populariser of difficult concepts in data warehousing, Business Intelligence, data mining and segmentation. The Simon Schama of the data-driven enterprise. If you get a chance to hear him speak, don't pass it up. As well as giving occasional courses and workshops for the IDM, Sean's current venture is COMRHA - a software vendor specialising in segmentation tools for the "Third Wave of Customer Intelligence".
www.seankellyassociates.com
www.comhra.com
Kurt Thearling
Information about data mining and analytic technologies.
www.thearling.com
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Information providers, professional bodies, conference organisers and magazines
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Business Intelligence
US site. Useful articles & news.
www.businessintelligence.com
Business Intelligence Network
A key reource in the field, just don't get too hooked on reading all the fascinating expert blogs, or you'll never get any work done
www.b-eye-network.com
Information Age
Their positioning statement says "Information Age magazine is for all executives, regardless of job title, involved in the application of technology for strategic, competitive advantage and improved efficiency". While it contains a fair amount that aims at pretty hardcore IT readership it is very strong on areas like Business Intelligence, and should be read for its level-headed analysis of the likely business impact of coming technology trends.
www.information-age.com
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Vendors & Consultants
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Actuate
High-end Enterprise reporting tools.
www.actuate.com
Applix
Reporting, Analysis, Data Integration.
www.applix.com
Ascential
Data Integration, ETL, Applications Integration.
www.ascential.com
Business Objects
Leading BI tools and applications provider. Bought into Data Integration in 2002 with acquisition of Acta. Further strengthened hold on the reporting market in 2003 with purchase of Crystal Decisions.
www.businessobjects.com
Cognos
Now firmly positioning themselves as CPM providers.
www.cognos.com
Computer Associates
Reporting, Decision Support, OLAP and Predictive Analysis tools.
www.ca.com
DataMirror
www.datamirror.com
Datawatch
www.datawatch.com
DecisionPoint Software
Financial performance management software. Now acquired by Teradata, andrenamed Teradata Decision Experts
www.dpapps.com
GEAC
Business performance management software. Now acquired by Golden Gate Capital and marketed under the Extensity banner.
www.extensity.com
Hummingbird
Business performance management software.
www.hummingbird.com
Hyperion Solutions
Business performance management software. Widened their offering from financial management base with the acquisition of Brio Technology in October 2003. Now clearly aims to play in the same space as Cognos, Business Objects et al
www.hyperion.com
Information Builders
Reporting, Analysis, Data Integration.
www.informationbuilders.com
MicroStrategy
Integrated BI Suite.
www.microstrategy.com
OutlookSoft
Reporting, Analysis, Scorecards.
www.outlooksoft.com
ProClarity
Analysis.
www.proclarity.co.uk
SAS Institute
The big name in statistical analytics
www.sas.com
SPSS
Statistical Analysis specialists.
www.spss.com
Sunopsis
Data Integration specialists.
www.sunopsis.com
Temtec
OLAP reporting and analysis software and business intelligence solutions.
www.temtec.com
White Cross
Business analysis tools and services.
www.whitecross.com
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| Data-Driven marketing (Direct Marketing, CRM, One-to-One) |
Gurus, Radicals and Pioneers
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The Drayton Bird Partnership
As you might expect, the website of the Godfather of Direct Marketing is an object lesson in applying direct marketing principles to interactive media. The site is as generous as the man himself and is packed with case studies, answers to common DM questions, pointers, tips and hints. It is also shot through with Drayton's trademark humour and down-to-earth approach.
www.draytonbird.com
Marketing Hybrid
A networking group for people all engaged one way or another with extracting value from data every day. Come along to one of their quarterly get-togethers and hear people talking with real passion about their day jobs. All pioneeers in their own way.
www.marketinghybrid.net
John McKean
A pioneer in teaching organisations how to develop competetive advantage through the use of customer information and author of "Information Masters - Secrets Of The Customer Race". This site is mainly promotional material showcasing Mckeans Centre for Information Based Competition, but just looking at how the site is structured gives a good sense of his approach.
www.informationmasters.com
Jim Novo
This site is a detailed description of, and impassioned polemic for, simple nuts and bolts direct marketing techniques. And that's not a criticism. Novo's back to basics message, actionable approach and refusal to collude in the obfuscation that too often surrounds CRM, Relationship Marketing, 1to1 and all the rest will give new heart to all of you who believe that the value of data-driven marketing remains undiminished whatever acronym the vendors and big consultancies are dressing it in this season. He's unashamedly out to sell loads of copies of his book, and good luck to him. There is still enough sense and useful information on this site to make it worth a visit whether you heed the sales pitch or not.
www.jimnovo.com
Cluetrain
Recently went offline. In its day it was one of a kind: a book, a website, a movement. Somehow it never quite sparked the revolution it was aiming for - but maybe keeping the flame alive even after the dot.com crash was in some way a contributor to the whole Web 2.0 phenomenon which does begin to look like it's bringing real change
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Information providers, professional bodies, conference organisers and magazines
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B2B Marketing
Launched in the latter half of 2004, this magazine/website/email newsletter combo positions itself as "the only UK magazine focusing on the entire B2B marketing mix". Be that as it may it is the strong data-driven element in the content that makes it an essential read.
www.b2bm.biz
CMC: The Customer Management Community
Now back in the public domain, after a period as a marketing vehicle for BT. Claims to be Europe's leading CRM service, and certainly has breadth and depth of content. So how does it stack up against ECCS? I’d say more lively, though perhaps not as authoritative; more hands on, less empirical; more what’s happening now, less trend spotting. Very complementary actually.
www.insightexec.com
CRM Guru
CRM site with a strong US bias, but still full of interesting viewpoints and some lively discussions. Definitely a CRM as strategy rather than CRM as technology site - and all the better for it.
www.crmguru.com
Database Marketing Magazine
The magazine is a must-read for anyone involved in data-driven marketing. Reasons to visit the site include the archives of articles, the job ads, a genuinely useful page of links and, of course, the monthly Dilbert cartoon.
www.dmarket.co.uk
The Direct Mail Information Service
The Direct Mail Information Service provide data and statistics on the UK direct mail industry. The site offers free information on direct mail expenditure, volumes, senders and response rates and enables you to order a number of related publications.
www.dmis.co.uk
DM Review
Styles itself "The premier publication for business intelligence, analytics, integration and data warehousing", and pretty much lives up to the large promise. Probably the best single site for information, news and views across the whole spectrum of information management. Bookmark it now.
www.dmreview.com
ECCS
Since CRM sites are so heavily biased towards the US experience, calling this the the best European CRM site might sound like faint praise, but this site speaks for itself. Packed with information.
www.eccs.uk.com
The Institute of Direct Marketing
Virtually all claim Direct Marketers can make of belonging to a serious profession is down to the tireless efforts of the Institute to educate, inform and raise standards over the last decade.
The Institute journal recently changed its' name from 'Interactive Marketing' to the "Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice" in an attempt to keep up with some perceived change in the marketing landscape. It's all still Direct Marketing to me
Notwithstanding, anyone who is serious about a career based on communicatingwith customers notat them should be a member
www.theidm.co.uk
SIC codes
UK 1992
Click here for list
NAIC codes
US Government version
Click here for list
The Wise Marketer
Daily news and articles about customer retention and loyalty marketing, world-wide, without bias (says the editor). And it's free.
www.thewisemarketer.com
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| Data Quality, Data Strategy and Data Resource Management |
Gurus, Radicals and Pioneers
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Michael H. Brackett
There is no one better on Data Quality. A necessary pedant who insists on forcing our 'lexically challenged' field to define terms with proper precision he regularly brings clarity to areas where woolly thinking abounds. Also one of the best explicators of the information value chain.
http://members.aol.com/mhbrackett/
Frank Dravis
Frank's blog on data quality reminds us of the continuous attention that needs to be paid to this area, and his passion for a subject most people find dry is infectious
http://weblogs.firstlogic.com/dravis
Larry English
Larry isthe guru on IQ - Information Quality. He visits the UK reasonably frequently. Hear him speak if you can.
www.infoimpact.com
www.irmuk.co.uk
See alsowww.iaidq.org
Thomas C. Redman
Another wizard of data quality. See bibliography and reviews for his books. Currently works at Navesink Consulting Group
www.dataqualitysolutions.com
See alsowww.iaidq.org
Steve Tuck
Not all Data Quality are based in the US. Steve has years in the UK Industry under his belt, but retains his enthusiasm and capacity for fresh thinking. His blog is always worth a look.
http://dqview.com/
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Information providers, professional bodies, conference organisers and magazines
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The CDI Institute
The CDI Institute was founded in 2004 in San Francisco, California "To help IT organisations become more efficient, effective, and timely in their use of master data management (MDM) and customer data integration (CDI) technologies to achieve their customer-centric business goals."
www.the-cdi-institute.com
DAMA International
The Data Management Association
www.dama.org
The Data Administration Newsletter
An online newsletter containing articles pertaining to data resource management and related topics. New articles are added quarterly.
www.tdan.com
International Association for Information and Data Quality (IAIDQ)
Co-founded by Larry English and Thomas Redman
www.iaidq.org
IRM UK
Providers of strategic IT seminars, conferences, exhibitions and training, and producers of probably the best data quality event in the UK. Their ability to get top people in every field is remarkable. If you want to learn from the likes of John Zachman, Graeme Simsion and Larry English, to name but a few, this is the place to go.
www.irmuk.co.uk/
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Vendors & Consultants
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AKMA
One of the the very few UK consultancies to have developed a convincing specialism in Data Quality, which has been the subject of increasing focus recently. With their MD now on the board of the IAIDQ, these chaps are serious about delivering actionable advice on DQ right across the organisation, from customer data to the supply chain.
www.akma.com
Ascential
Ascential software is now absorbed into the IBM fold as IBM WebSphere Information Integration
ibm.ascential.com
Datactics
Based in Belfast.
www.datactics.co.uk
Dataflux
US with an office in Windsor
www.dataflux.com
DataMentors
US. DataFuse - Matching and Merging Products: Validata - data profiling Pinpoint - Marketing
www.datamentors.com
Datanomic
UK based Datanomics are in the vanguard of new thinking on data quality. Their latest product offeringdn:Director looks capable of putting control of data quality firmly in the hands of the business.
Detailed product review in preparation.
www.datanomic.com
DQ Global
US, with a UK office in Fareham
www.dqglobal.com
Evaxyx
Leeds Based consultancy with a major service offering which covers Enterprise Data Management, Data Quality and Customer Data Integration
www.evaxyx.com
Firstlogic
US providers of specialist information quality solutions. Now absorbed into Business Objects
www.firstlogic.com
Group1/Pitney Bowes
Description
www.g1.com
Human inference
Dutch company with pan European reach. UK office in Warwick
www.humaninference.com
Identex
Known to many direct marketers for their data bureau services, the strength of the data quality offering from Identex is often overlooked.
www.identex.co.uk
Identity Systems
International presence, UK office in Reading. The former Search Software America (SSA), founded in 1986. Identity Systems became a wholly owned subsidiary of Nokia earlier this year..
www.identitysystems.com
Innovative Systems
US, with a UK office in Woking
www.innovativesystems.com
MSI
Top Dogs in Data Quality - in Australia and New Zealand
www.msi.com.au
Pervasive
US, with a UK office in Camden
www.pervasive.com
Similarity Systems/Informatica
Informatica, leading provider of data integration software, from Redwood California, acquired Dublin-based Similarity Systems in January of 2006
www.informatica.com
Siperian
CDI (Customer Data Integration) specialists. Primarily US, but working with some UK partners, including Evaxyx
www.siperian.com
Synaxis
Pioneers of the approach of building data processes through a flowchart style visual representation. Their EnvisionIT software was one of the first to demystify data integration and provide a tool that allows organisations to take control of this key activity. Adroit marketer extends the offering to encompass list selection and direct marketing functionality
www.synaxis-ds.com
Trillium
Data quality Management.
www.trilliumsoftware.com
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| Data Protection and Privacy |
Gurus, Radicals and Pioneers
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Seth Godin
Though Godins book Permission Marketing was a response to the internet explosion, his thinking on privacy and respecting the customer's communication preferences has application to all channels.
www.sethgodin.com
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Vendors & Consultants
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Trust e
A US site devoted to the whole issue of privacy and offering a commercial solution to proving that your site takes privacy and customer confidentiality seriously. You may doubt the direct applicability if you are operating in Europe, but this is the wave of the future.
www.truste.org
Opt-4
Consultancy with a comprehensive offering in the area of data protection, combined with a deep understanding of the commercial realities of Direct Marketing
www.opt-4.co.uk
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| Data Warehousing, Data Handling, Databases |
Gurus, Radicals and Pioneers
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Information providers, professional bodies, conference organisers and magazines
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The Data Warehouse Institute (TDWI)
Course and conference provider
www.tdwi.org
Database Marketing Magazine
www.dmarket.co.uk
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Vendors & Consultants
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Informatica
ETL specialists
www.informatica.com
Kalido
With their take on the need to embrace constant change in business models, and an architecture designed to support just that, Kalido are rising stars in Data Warehouse creation and management. One of the few vendors with a convincing Master Data Management offering
www.kalido.com
NCR Teradata
High-end data warehouse platform with query engine.
www.teradata.com
Netezza
Low-cost, high-performance Data Warehouse platform. All right if you are happy to buy into the proprietary hardware.
www.netezza.com
Oracle
The standard database tool of choice for many corporations
www.oracle.com
Sand Technology
High end Data Warehouse platform for analytic applications.
www.sand.com
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| Worth a look |
Sites that are hard to categorise, but then so are many of the best things in life.
Authentic
I can't make my mind up on this one. A real (authentic?) attempt to leave behind the stifling conventions and unhuman perspectives of big business and the machine-like conformity of american-model capitalism? Or one chap's clever idea to make himself a few bob, dressed up as radicalism. You decide.
www.authenticbusiness.co.uk
Businessballs
Hidden behind the name (engagingly quirky or just daft?) is a fantastic quick reference on an amazing range of business, management and marketing topics. Next time you want a quick refresher on Maslow’s Heirarchy of needs, Porter’s five forces model or the Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum, this is the place to go. Special mention here because it has full lists of values for SIC 1992, as well as demographic systems such as ACORN and CACI.
www.businessballs.com
The Register
When it comes to the IT industry, theses chaps deliver all the news that's fit to print - and then some. Keep up with your IT colleagues on IT trends, industry gossip and insider information.
www.theregister.co.uk
Whatis.com
Fantastic site for keeping up with/finding out about IT jargon, terms and acronyms. Never be lost for a TLA again!
whatis.techtarget.com
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| WOW - Word of Web |
I thoroughly believe in the power of WOW, providing recommendations for those who deserve credit and warning the unwary against those who don't. As you go through your career you inevitably encounter some people with whom you particularly enjoy working. Invariably they are as enthusiastic about their area of expertise as you are about yours, they do good work, they make you look good and they generally behave more like partners than suppliers. Here are a few links to people and organisations I have enjoyed working with or from whom I have learned something useful.
Ready2Web
The place to go for website design that concentrates on clarity, function and navigation, and in doing so achieves an elegant simplicity that many corporate websites have signally failed to achieve despite the depth of their pockets. Indeed this is the key selling point of Ready2Web. By capitalising on the fact that good design costs no more than bad, they offer SMEs the opportunity of a presence on the web that will not bust the budget, but will look and function as well or better than their biggest rivals.
www.ready2web.com
Cognitum
Specialists in database design and implementation, data manipulation and cleaning, and address management. Winning combination of serious expertise with consultancy advice that has not lost the ability to call a spade a spade.
www.cognitum.co.uk
Information Arts
One of the first and certainly one of the fastest growing specialists in data driven B2B marketing.
www.information-arts.com
Responsive Marketing
Freelance help with all your Direct Marketing needs: strategy and implementation, database marketing, copywriting and design.
www.responsive-marketing.co.uk
Legal Resources in the UK and Ireland
As it 'says on the tin' an excellent site of resources for lawyers, students, companies and individuals.
www.venables.co.uk
Pearce Goodwin
Small but high quality design shop. Ideal for those who like to talk to the designer doing the work, not an account handler. Particularly strong on illustrations, providing visual interest to topics that you or I would struggle to put a picture to.
www.kaf64.dial.pipex.com/index.html
Profit Focus
www.profitfocus.co.uk
Windsor print
In the days when I was on the front lines of operational direct marketing a reliable, straight-talking printer, capable of delivering quality to schedule and budget was worth their weight in gold. This one's platinum.
www.windsor-print.co.uk
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| Online Bookshops |
Books - still the best way to read up on a subject. Don't forget there is more to books online than Amazon. Size isn't everything, and specialists can be well worth a visit too.
Abebooks
Books on obscure subjects like data management tend to have small print runs, and the best stuff easily drifts out of print, but tracking down something "obscure" in the world of bricks and mortar second-hand bookshops requires spotting likely haystacks before you start searching for the needle. The answer is to visit this fabulous network of second-hand hand bookshops worldwide. Just try to ration yourself to 30 mins browsing at a time or you will end up missing meals.
www.abebooks.co.uk
Alibris
Out of print books.
www.alibris.com
Bookbrain
www.bookbrain.co.uk
Bookfinder
Out of print books
www.bookfinder.com
Pearson Books
IT specialists, with the added incentive of free P&P in the UK.
www.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop
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"...an invaluable
compendium of information on the most pressing challenge in
business today"
Sean Kelly
Comhra |
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"At last! Something
on data even an old Luddite like me can understand!"
Drayton Bird |
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"...a really useful resource to understanding all issues relating
to data management"
Prof Derek Holder
Institute of
Direct
Marketing |
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"...a down-to-earth, no-nonsense site designed to cover the
new practices and theory of Information Management"
Simon Lawrence
Information Arts |
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