Zurich Insurance has recently been fined £2.3m by the Financial Service Authority (FSA) for losing personal details of 46,000 customers.

According to the BBC report, the information went missing during a routine data backup to their data centre, and the company was ‘oblivious’ to the loss until a year later.

The FSA stated that Zurich UK had failed to oversee the outsourcing arrangement effectively and did not have full control over the data being processed by their data centre.

Your data is one of your most valuable assets. Having it fall into the wrong hands could have devastating consequences, particularly if it contains confidential customer information.

Many companies now use some form of web-based CRM system to manage prospect and customer information. But who else can access this information, or what happens if the provider goes out of business?

As more prospect data suppliers move to online systems, some of them are putting their customers at serious risk by having their prospect software written and managed by third party companies, who can easily access confidential client data. What’s more, what happens if either the data provider or the third party software company goes out of business, or the two companies have a trading disagreement? Suddenly your business could be left “high and dry”.

Customers who subscribe to the Insight database access data via Salestracker, Insight’s own web-based CRM software. The software is written and managed by Insight’s in-house software team under strict security guidelines, and customer data is stored separately within a high-security data centre in London, with a mirrored back-up system for disaster recovery purposes. The database is protected by a host of security and firewall systems.

Protecting your data is a serious matter. You don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands, and you don’t want to be left exposed if your data supplier or their software provider have a disagreement or cease trading.

Choosing a financial strong and stable company such as Insight Data, who have developed their own software in-house and who take your data security very seriously, will ensure your data is both secure and accessible at all times. Other data providers may provide a cheap solution, but is it worth the risk?

For more information on Insight Data visit www.insightdata.co.uk, call us on 01934 808293 or follow us on www.twitter.com/insightdata

Increased volatility in the window and conservatory market in the last year has led to a surge in the number of companies changing their details, swapping suppliers and changing staff.

“Last month alone 1,090 companies changed some element of their business and the rate of change is accelerating. Keeping your finger on the pulse in this fast-moving market is essential.” explains Insight’s Data Analyst David Lewis

To cope with this increase, Insight has now expanded its research team to eight staff, all of which have intensive telemarketing and product training. “It is no longer possible to maintain the level of detail and accuracy of the window industry database with just a few researchers, and by expanding our team we continue to research and update our database more frequently that other data providers, ensuring our clients have the very latest market intelligence.”

Clients access details of 14,000 fabricators and installers online in real-time using Salestracker, Insight’s web-based CRM system. As a researcher updates or adds new records clients can act on this information instantly. The research team uses a sophisticated Voice over IP (VoIP) phone system linked directly to Salestracker with capacity for some 500,000 calls per annum, while a system to monitor data accuracy ensures records are updated correctly.

“With so many window companies changing their details every month, it was essential we invested in the latest technology as well as new staff. We now have 20 people at Insight Data engaged in helping our customers find and win new customers, and this number is expanding as we launch new databases for the building industry” concludes David.

For more information contact Insight Data on 01934 808293, visit http://www.insightdata.co.uk or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/insightdata

Specialist prospect data supplier, Insight Data, has turned its attention to the Irish market with the launch of a new Republic of Ireland window and conservatory prospect database.

Helen Costeloe-Hughes, commercial director at Insight Data, explains why the company has developed the new database; “The Irish market is seeing a resurgence of interest amongst suppliers. Forward thinking companies such as Edgetech are active in Ireland as demonstrated recently by their Journey to C seminars, while events such as the G10 Regional Exhibition in Belfast attracted significant interest from suppliers. One of the barriers to trading successfully in Ireland has been a quality, reliable prospect database, which is why Insight has now addressed this problem.”

The Republic of Ireland database consists of 814 fabricators and installers updated live in real-time. Client’s access data via Salestracker, the world’s first online prospect database developed for the window industry. Users simply log-on, create a target list by county, product, or size, and instantly create a mailing or telesales list. Salestracker also incorporates a CRM system so that users can track leads, manage prospects and drive sales activity.

Helen continues; “Composite windows and coloured frames are particularly popular in Ireland, and the adoption of the Building Energy Ratings (BER) scheme – similar to the UK’s Window Energy Ratings – means energy efficiency is also a hot topic. Our new database allows clients to market energy efficient products to Irish fabricators and installers and turn them into new customers.”

Insight Data has continued to expand its range of databases and now employs 20 staff across research, software and marketing services divisions. “We have invested over £150,000 to develop Salestracker and have over 250 users subscribed to the system. The Irish database is the latest in a range of new databases for the window industry designed to help clients find and win new customers” added Helen.

For more information contact Insight Data on 01934 808293, visit www.insightdata.co.uk or follow us on www.twitter.com/insightdata