The £15 Million Journey

Details how a leading financial institution in the UK developed a£15 million relational database from scratch. Roger Ivey, head of Direct Marketing at the Leeds Permanent Building Society, had the task of bringing together a dozen previously unconnected and non‐communicating customer information databases into one central information storehouse. Explains why the move was competitively necessary and how the society has benefited from the new database. Although the new database has not provided the impetus for any new products or services, it has helped the Leeds to understand better their existing and potential customers so that they can more effectively serve these customers and segment them into existing product lines.