[ PREVIOUS ARTICLE | Table of Contents | NEXT ARTICLE ]

MicroStrategy and HNC Software Sign Partnership Agreement to Provide Transaction-based Data Warehouse for Managing Card Portfolios
ACTION ITEMS

The wide use of credit cards as the preferred method of payment for many consumers is putting increasing pressure on credit card issuers to better understand their cardholders' buying patterns and level of profitability. The ability to provide a joint solution to address these needs is the driving force behind the partnership between MicroStrategy, a large relational on-line analytical processing (ROLAP) vendor, and HNC Software, a leader in the development and delivery of predictive software solutions in client/server environments.

The two companies are teaming to leverage MicroStrategy's decision support technology as part of ProfitMax(r), an HNC solution that allows credit card issuers to manage the profitability of card portfolios with intelligent scoring and strategy deployment.

ProfitMax uses neural networks and HNC's cardholder behavior profiling technology to analyze each cardholder account and predict its future profit. Three neural network-based models-Credit Risk, Revenue, and Attrition Risk-are used along with historical data to give a well-rounded picture of the expected profitability of each account in an issuer's portfolio. Incorporating MicroStrategy's technology into ProfitMax will allow HNC to provide its customers with a complete data warehousing solution containing valuable transaction-level information. MicroStrategy's product suite will enable ProfitMax users to interactively analyze cardholder activity, thereby increasing card portfolio profitability.

By documenting and validating their scoring activity, card issuers can better understand their profitable customer base, design improved promotions, and identify market trends.

According to Patricia Brown, Vice President of Product Development at HNC, credit card issuers typically have warehouses of summary data, which do not include the rich, detailed information contained in the transaction data that ProfitMax automatically warehouses. "That is why we chose to team with MicroStrategy. When integrated into ProfitMax, MicroStrategy's ROLAP products give credit card issuers the flexibility to report on any aspect of their customer base, enabling card issuers to better understand the drivers of their business and the direction of the market."

"We are very excited about our partnership with HNC Software and the impact we will have on the financial industry," said Sanju K. Bansal, Chief Operating Officer at MicroStrategy. "Our product suite is uniquely suited for performing sophisticated analysis against the full depth and breadth of the data warehouse. By combining our OLAP technology with HNC's transaction-based neural network and predictive modeling capabilities, we are arming credit card issuers with information to better understand their customers' current behavior and anticipate future trends. Such knowledge is critical for companies to effectively serve their customers and remain profitable in such a competitive industry."

MicroStrategy is a leading provider of industrial-strength decision support products for developing and accessing data warehouses. As the Relational OLAP (ROLAP) industry pioneer, MicroStrategy has delivered a series of technology breakthroughs including high-performance, multidimensional OLAP analysis directly from relational databases; VLDB drivers for terabyte-range scalability; a multipass SQL generation engine; fully functional OLAP and decision support over the World Wide Web; and the first management and monitoring tool for administering VLDB and web-based DSS applications.

MicroStrategy's worldwide customer base includes hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, MCI, CVS, Glaxo Wellcome, Sprint, AT&T, American Express, USAA, Victoria's Secret, United Airlines, and Hallmark. In addition, MicroStrategy has developed strategic partnerships with value-added resellers and leading software and hardware companies. More information about MicroStrategy can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.strategy.com/

Headquartered in San Diego, California, HNC Software Inc. is a leader in the development and delivery of predictive software solutions in client/server environments. HNC provides innovative predictive software systems in the financial services, retail, insurance information, and electronic commerce markets. For more information, see http://www.hnc.com.



[ PREVIOUS ARTICLE | Table of Contents | NEXT ARTICLE ]