media control GfK International relies on high performance database from EXASOL

Real-time data-mining optimises market research analyses

Nuremberg, 13 December 2011 – media control GfK International, a European leader in market research for the entertainment industry, relies on the EXASolution high-performance database as a basis for its data warehouse. With the help of the databank management solution from EXASOL, which enables ad hoc analyses of large volumes of data, media control GfK International can provide its evaluations even quicker, thus catering for individual customer needs in a more flexible way.

media control GfK International, based in Baden-Baden, Germany, collects sales figures for books, music, DVDs, digital entertainment products and video games. In the company's data centre, automated and encrypted data from over 50,000 dealers is consolidated on an ongoing basis. Using Web applications, media control GfK International's customers can carry out and access custom analyses on sales figures, distribution channels, price distribution and development, life cycles and seasonality. 

The old databank solution had performance and operational issues. For this reason, media control GfK International's IT department sought on a high-performance alternative which would be highly scalable and easy to integrate. The complete database should also have the potential to be converted into individual data marts for specific specialised areas. Since December media control GfK International has been using EXASolution. Based on in-memory technology, the databank is up to 200 times more powerful than the systems previously used. Because of the sharply reduced evaluation times, media control GfK International's customers can now react more quickly to customer and user behaviour, manage their revenue streams more efficiently and promptly adapt their product range.

"Thanks to the high performance and full scalability offered by EXASolution, media control GfK International can further individualise its service range while continuing to reduce the total cost of ownership and administrative expenses," says Steffen Weissbarth, CEO of EXASOL AG. "Customers from the media industry also profit. They receive real-time analysis results which are optimally tailored to their needs and can use these to gain an edge on competitors in the marketplace."

EXASOL AG, based in Nuremberg, develops and markets the high-performance database EXASolution, based on in-memory technology, which was designed especially for enterprise warehouse applications and business intelligence solutions. This allows very large volumes of data to be analysed and evaluated in the shortest space of time. Thanks to the high per-formance and low administrative costs it offers, EXASolution supports businesses not just with valuable decision-making fundamentals from their data, but also by reducing the total cost of ownership. In April of this year, EXASOL AG was named by Gartner as a “Cool Vendor” in the category of Data Management and Integration for 2011. EXASolution 4.0 was used for setting the record at the TPC benchmark test series in April 2011.

About media control GfK International

media control GfK International is the leading market research company and full-service provider for media observation, analysis and evaluation. media control compiles sales charts, and conducts market research in the music, books, film, games and DVD/video entertainment industries. 

For more information, please visit www.media-control.de.

About EXASOL AG

EXASOL AG, based in Nuremberg in Germany, develops a data management system that enables the rapid analysis and evaluation of data. By implementing the solution from EXASOL, business processes are optimised and secure foundations for decision-making are generated, which give companies a sustainable competitive edge. 

EXASolution is a relational high-performance database that was specifically developed for enterprise warehouse applications and business intelligence solutions. The database is utilised by companies of all industry sectors for time-critical analyses, comprehensive data research, planning or reporting. The integration of geodata introduces an additional analysis dimension that allows for even more efficient analyses. The database can be integrated easily into existing IT infrastructures and requires a minimal amount of administrative maintenance, while ensuring low investment and operation costs (TCO). EXASolution is available under the name EXACloud as well as data warehousing as a service. This highly efficient data management solution allows EXASOL customers to benefit from complete data access at any time and a transparent price model. Companies such as XING, Sony Music Entertainment, Olympus, IMS Health, Semikron, intelliAd, Ratepay, Webtrekk and xplosion rely on EXASOL's "made in Germany" technology. For further information, visit www.EXASOL.com, follow us on twitter or join us on facebook.