Analyst Insight: CRM as we know it has been turned on its head, but its importance has never been greater. In the late 1990s, CRM systems such as Onyx and Seibel were state of the art and were built to better organize and capture the plethora of data that sales teams were creating. Through the internet, the ability to share data with large and diverse teams was unprecedented. Unfortunately, digital has changed this. CRM is no longer robust enough for today's demands, but its core value has never been more important. - Guy F. Courtin, Vice President & Principal Analyst, Constellation Research

Analyst Insight: Data has become as consumable as a box of crackers. As a society, we expect information about product origins, ingredients, allergens and other information will be available at our fingertips prior to purchase. However, data inconsistencies often frustrate consumers on their quest to learn more and can stop them from completing their purchase. As a result, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are focusing on data quality to satisfy the demands of increasingly empowered consumers. - Angela Fernandez, Vice President of Retail Grocery and Foodservice, GS1 US

The rise of the social web provides an abundance of opportunities to reach and engage with potential customers, but these added touch points muddy the waters when it comes to effectively tracking and monitoring your company's interactions with individual prospects.

As Home Depot scrambles to determine the scope and scale of a potentially massive breach of its customers' data, the retailer's troubles underscore the challenges facing retailers and card issuers attempting to gird themselves against cybercriminals.