Any discussion of privacy wouldn't be complete without visiting the logical and physical storage place for all of that customer information: the database. Securing databases from internal and external snooping is critical to protecting both your customer data and one of your key competitive assets. Additionally, the database as an entity is a conceptual part of the privacy debate-- one of the biggest ongoing controversies is DoubleClick's effort to blend off-line and online customer information databases, an effort that is currently on hold after tremendous public outcry.

Organizing personal data into a database is key to efficient and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). CRM analytics builds on data warehousing, data-mining, and business intelligence. Although not always recognized as such, privacy is a key element in managing customer relationships. If customers lose trust because a business collects unnecessarily personal information or doesn't protect that information properly, the goals of CRM will not be met.

With respect to the database, CRM analytics deals with the analysis of information while data warehousing focuses on the management of information. International Data Corp. (IDC) expects all CRM data warehousing software and services to soar from under 4.2 billion in 1999 to over $20 billion by 2004. In this market, it is a viable option to outsource your data management to specialists that deploy the latest analytical and security technology.

If you do decide to manage your data internally, make certain that your security plan not only includes protection against outside hackers but also against inappropriate internal use. Who has access to the database, and what protections are in place to prevent theft or corruption of your business data? Additional steps are necessary to protect sensitive medical or financial data. These might include establishing a database for this information that is entirely offline and disconnected from your Internet operations.

Experian
Security Magazine