Mention "natural disaster" to most people and they'll think of floods, earthquakes or hurricanes. Mention "human-induced disaster" to IT people and they'll have equally frightening thoughts. But whether natural or human--storm or hacker--disasters are easier to get through if you’re prepared.

That's why we developed the Teradata Disaster Recovery Solution. It delivers the functionality you need without requiring your chief technology officers to bear the expense--in time and money--of building a system on their own.

The Teradata Disaster Recovery Solution is an off-site, dedicated and secured facility. It comes with equipment, software licenses, database administrators trained in disaster recovery and much more. It's a complete package, including the cost of cooling, powering and running servers.

The first step we take with clients is a simulated failure orchestrated by our team of disaster-recovery engineers. This is always an eye-opening experience, as customers see the extent of their vulnerability and realize it's far better to discover it in a test than in the aftermath of a real event.

In other words, we like to think of disaster recovery the same way a company might think of security. Smart companies don't fix security holes after a breach. And they approach disaster recovery the same way: they don't wait till after a disaster to start taking it seriously.

And when you do consider it seriously, the next step is to consider the Teradata Disaster Recovery Solution. It's an effective shield against data-warehouse downtime and, in the unfortunate event of an unforeseen failure, it includes the industry's best tools and services to recover from those challenging times.

Have you ever faced a crisis in your data warehouse? Hacker break-in? Busted pipe? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

Daring, visionary retailers that lead the pack in customer management today focus on creating spectacular customer experiences. One of these is Cabela’s, an outdoor lover’s paradise that transforms store interiors into virtual theme parks for customers. That’s a huge differentiator – like stepping into another world.

The term “experiential marketing” was coined by Bernd Schmitt, who wrote in his book of the same name: “The degree to which a company is able to deliver a desirable customer experience – and to use information technology, brands, and integrated communications and entertainment to do so – will largely determine its success in the global marketplace of the new millennium.”

He was right, and I focus on Cabela’s because they are doing exactly this. They are getting lots of attention from retail news media because they are so successful. Well, okay I admit they fascinate me also because their managers are informed by a Teradata intelligence engine running SAS. You can and should read all about Cabela’s here.

Cabela’s is also great at personalizing customer experiences. Years ago a book called The Experience Economy contained a smart chart which I have adapted here. It shows the value of a customer experience rising in value as it becomes more personal and differentiated. The book refers to customers not as buyers of goods and services, but as “buyers of experiences.” Good point. Cabela’s has put all of this into practice.

Hey! Someone forgot to tell Cabela’s there is an economic downturn. Their customers forget it too, the minute they walk in. That’s the kind of retail experience you get when you bring together database-driven intelligence with unlimited imagination.