Acxiom

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Acxiom Corporation
Type Public NASDAQ: ACXM
Founded Conway, Arkansas (1969)
Headquarters Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
Key people John A. Meyer, CEO and President
Industry Information Technology Services
Information Technology Outsourcing
Consulting and Analytics
Products AbiliTec
InfoBase
CII - Customer Information Infrastructure (Grid Computing)
Revenue ▲$1.38 billion USD (2006)
Employees 6,765 (2006)
Website www.acxiom.com

Acxiom is a customer and data information management company, offering a range of products and services including information technology outsourcing.

It has been described as "one of the biggest companies you've never heard of."[1] In addition to collecting detailed information about people, they also predict the futures of these people to help with marketing, according to the documentary "The Persuaders." There are 70 types of consumers according to this corporation. Acxiom is the world's largest processor of consumer data.[2]

Acxiom is an industry leader in the area of grid computing with its CII (Customer Information Infrastructure). Acxiom Corporation is a major company in the Customer relationship management market and provides IT outsourcing services for a variety of Fortune 500 companies. The corporation has been listed several times by both Computerworld[3] and Forbes[4][5][6][7][8] as one of the 100 best companies to work for in the United States. The company has also received mention as one of the best companies for working women in the US.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] History

Founded in 1969 under the name Demographics by Charles D. Ward in Conway, Arkansas and later headed by Charles D. Morgan, Acxiom is currently headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.[1]

The company has opened offices in Chicago, Illinois, Phoenix, Arizona, New York, New York, San Mateo, California and Nashville, Tennessee. There are also international offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Australia, and China.

In early 2004, Acxiom acquired Claritas, a major European data provider.[9] In early 2006, EMC Corporation acquired Acxiom’s information grid software in a $30 million deal. [10]

On May 16, 2007, Acxiom agreed to be bought by leading investment firms Silver Lake Partners and ValueAct Capital in an all cash deal valued at $3.0 billion, including the assumption of about $756 million of debt.[11] However on Oct 1, 2007 a press release announced that the takeover agreement is to be terminated and Charles Morgan is set to retire as Acxiom’s Company Leader upon the selection of a successor.

On January 17, 2008, Acxiom named John Meyer (from Alcatel-Lucent) as new CEO and President, to take over from Charles Morgan on February 4, 2008.[12]

[edit] Controversy

In 2003, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint before the Federal Trade Commission against Acxiom and JetBlue Airways alleging the companies provided consumer information to Torch Concepts, a company hired by the United States Army "to determine how information from public and private records might be analyzed to help defend military bases from attack by terrorists and other adversaries."[13] According to the complaint, Acxiom's activities constituted unfair and deceptive trade practices, as "Acxiom has publicly represented its belief that individuals should have notice about how information about them is used and have choices about that dissemination, and has stated that it does not permit clients to make non-public information available to individuals," and Acxiom proceeded to sell information to Torch Concepts without obtaining consent, an ability to opt-out, or furnishing notice to the affected consumers.

In 2005 Acxiom was a nominee for the Big Brother Awards for Worst Corporate Invader for a tradition of data brokering.[14]

[edit] Security Breaches

In 2003, over 1.6 billion customer records were stolen from Acxiom databases, including names, addresses, and e-mail addresses. Prosecutors described the 2006 case against the hacker accused of stealing the data as the "largest ever invasion and theft of personal data" ever tried. [15] The stolen data only came to light during an investigation of a separate data theft incident. [16]

[edit] References

  1. ^ FRONTLINE's The Persuaders. Corporation for Public Broadcasting (November 9, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-08-01. “But where did all this information come from? How did political parties and advocacy groups know whom to reach with what message? The answer to that question begins here. The Acxiom Corporation of Little Rock, Arkansas, is one of the biggest companies you've never heard of.”
  2. ^ Never Heard Of Acxiom? Chances Are It's Heard Of You. How a little-known Little Rock company-the world's largest processor of consumer data-found itself at the center of a very big national security debate. - February 23, 2004
  3. ^ 100 Best Places to Work in IT - Company Profile Information
  4. ^ Great Place to Work Institute
  5. ^ Great Place to Work Institute
  6. ^ Great Place to Work Institute
  7. ^ Great Place to Work Institute
  8. ^ Great Place to Work Institute
  9. ^ Acxiom Corporation (January 6, 2004). "Acxiom Completes the Acquisition of Claritas Europe". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  10. ^ Acxiom Corporation (January 5, 2006). "EMC and Acxiom Partner to Accelerate Development and Deployment of Grid-Based Information Infrastructure". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-08-07. “EMC Acquires Information Grid Software from Acxiom”
  11. ^ Acxiom Corporation (May 16, 2007). "Acxiom Agrees to Be Acquired by Silver Lake and ValueAct Capital for $3.0 Billion". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
  12. ^ Acxiom Corporation (January 17, 2008). "Acxiom Names John Meyer as New CEO and President". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  13. ^ EPIC Complaint Against JetBlue Airways and Acxiom Corp. to the Federal Trade Commission
  14. ^ PI Announces U.S. Big Brother Awards winners for 2005
  15. ^ Acxiom database hacker jailed for 8 years | The Register
  16. ^ Chats led to Acxiom hacker bust

[edit] External links