Database Systems,

Data Centers,
and Business
Intelligence

Information Systems in the Global Economy

Aquent, United States
Leveraging Database Technology to
Empower Marketing
Professionals
Aquent is a global leader in marketing staffing.
The company works with Fortune 500
marketing organizations to fill positions with
highly qualified professionals drawn from a
pool of thousands of marketing experts
worldwide. Aquent works to place brand
managers,
copywriters, data analysts, Web designers,
search-engine optimizers, and other

specialists in full-time positions as well as

short-term contract positions. According to
Aquent, the industry is changing from one
in which marketing experts join a company
and work their way up the corporate ladder,
to one in which marketing projects are hired
out to specialists who move from company
to company applying unique high-level skills

to challenging projects. Aquent believes

that it plays a key role in enabling this new
era
of marketing. It provides challenging
projects for marketing professionals to hone
their
skills and advance in their field, while
elevating the quality and effectiveness of
marketing efforts within organizations

Aquent has unique database and information

system needs. Its clients are both large
corporations and individuals. Although its
primary business is staffing, it also provides
ancillary services such as project management,
translation and localization, and healthcare
consulting. Its information systems must
produce a wide range of reports to meet a
variety of business needs. These needs include
staffing levels and requirements, human
resource usage, gross profit, pay rates, and
many others. Because the company works with
many organizations, it must manage diverse
payroll schemes and schedules. Aquent also

marketing professional talents that it

represents. The databases that support these
wideranging
and diverse systems are about as complicated
as a business databases can be.
To get a handle on all of its data, Aquent uses a
database management system that
collects operational data from around the world
and stores it in a central data mart managed
by the SAP Corporation. Each night, the system
refreshes the data stored in the data
mart with updates from data centers in Sydney,
London, and Boston. A backup of the data
is stored in Aquents data center in Bosto

Aquent executives, managers, and personnel

access the data through a Web-based
system provided by SAP. SAP takes
responsibility for storing and managing
Aquents
database and providing a robust database
management system (DBMS) accessed
through
a Web browser. This approach to database
management, where a company outsources
its
DBMS to a service provider, is referred to as
Database as a Service, or DaaS.

Aquent uses a business intelligence (BI)

system to create ad-hoc and annual reports.
Aquent regional managers run individual
reports for Asia Pacific, Europe, and North
America. They also run reports that cover
all regions using common criteria to
examine.
Executives can get a high-level view of
trends in corporate data and use BI tools to
drill
down into the data to discover specific
areas of the business that require attention

Aquent uses SAP data mining technology to examine

data in the data mart and discover
patterns and anomalies that cue decision makers to
examine problems and opportunities.
Predictive analysis tools help to provide managers with
insight into the future based on
an analysis of the past. Using these tools, Aquent can
determine future demand for marketing
professionals and ensure it can meet that demand. It
may also determine a future
lack of demand so that Aquent can advise some
professionals to consider jobs in other
related areas.
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Intelligence | Chapter 3 115
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Using a central data mart and joining operations

around the world, Aquent can more
easily view itself as a multinational company.
The distances among its global divisions are
greatly reduced by its ability to combine
corporate data and evaluate it both by region
and
in its totality.
As you read this chapter, consider the following:
What role do databases play in the overall
effectiveness of information systems?
What techniques do businesses use to
maximize the value of the information provided

A huge amount of data is entered into

computer systems every day. Where does
all
this data go, and how is it used? How can it
help you on the job? In this chapter, you
will learn about database systems and
business intelligence tools that can help you
make the most effective use of information.
If you become a marketing manager, you
can access a vast store of data on existing
and potential customers from surveys,
their Web habits, and their past purchases.
This information can help you sell products

and legal opinions from sophisticated legal

databases. This information can help you
win cases and protect your organization legally.
If you become a human resource
(HR) manager, you will be able to use
databases and business intelligence tools to
analyze the impact of raises, employee
insurance benefits, and retirement contributions
on long-term costs to your company. Regardless
of your field of study in school,
using database systems and business
intelligence tools will likely be a critical part of
your job. In this chapter, you will see how you
can use data mining to extract valuable
information to help you succeed. This chapter
starts by int

database management system

(DBMS)
A group of programs that
manipulate the database and
provide an interface between the
database and the user of the
database and other application
programs.
database administrator (DBA)
A skilled IS professional who directs
all activities related to an
organizations database

A database is an organized collection of data.

Like other components of an information
system, a database should help an organization
achieve its goals. A database can contribute
to organizational success by providing
managers and decision makers with timely,
accurate,
and relevant information based on data. For
example, Comic Relief, in London, England,
raises money to assist the needy by hosting
entertainment events featuring comedians. The
organization uses a database to determine
which clips in its televised fundraiser generate
the
highest emotional response from the publ