Sponsored Content WEBINAR: ELECTION 2008: E-mail Tips from a Political Insider   WEBINAR: Becoming the Illusionist: The Magic of Using "Brand" to Drive Response without Results Disappearing in the Process   WEBINAR: Score and Win Through Cooperation   TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Holiday's are prime-time for email marketing - maximize your ROI by getting to the inbox   ON DEMAND WEBINAR--MASTER CLASS: High Performance Online and Off-line Strategies for Large Scale Customer Acquisition   FREE WHITE PAPER - Direct Mail and the Internet Find any supplier you need - agencies, CRM, fulfillment, lists, e-commerce, paper, printers, telemarketing, and more. Featured Categories Lists and Data Telemarketing Database Marketing E-commerce Web Marketing Agency & Creative Services Print, Production & Paper Lists and Data Processing :: view all categories Get free access to more than 50,000 list data cards - one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry. >> Search Now DIRECT Buzz Blog Webinars Buyer's Guide Calculators JobZone ListFinder Promo Calendar Research Store E-Newsletters Print Magazine This Month in Direct Magazine Deal With It Direct had a full house for this year's list roundtable. Considering all the additional responsibilities on brokers' plates, that's impressive... See Full July Issue

DMers may be spending less on some things this year, but not on database systems and analytics.

A new survey from Alterian shows that 67% of the companies polled plan to add workers, money, time or research in these areas.

Who's most likely to pour money into systems? Duh, systems integrators — 80% expect to spend more.

Forty-two percent of all respondents plan to put additional resources into digital marketing, and 39% into operations.

Suppliers, take note: Thirty-five percent of all end users use outside database and analytics firms to manage data and crunch numbers.

Some 45% outsource creative design to agencies, while another 41% rely on vendors for e-mail campaign execution. And 37% retain list managers. Seventeen percent have outsourced campaign management functions.

But as companies embrace more channels, their ability to coordinate everything through a single management system has dwindled. Seventy percent use at least three marketing applications and 20% rely on seven or more.

Alterian surveyed 852 marketers this past October and November on its Web site and via in-person intercepts at trade shows.