Get This Party Started

It is time to celebrate, and not only because Inside Reference Data is five this month-we are just about to prove why the reference data market can rid itself of the ‘slow-moving' stamp.
This issue marks the start of the Inside Reference Data birthday bash, and we've included a report on what has happened in the industry since the publication was launched in 2006 (see feature). When going through back issues, it soon became clear that it was impossible to cover everything we would have wanted to fit in without turning the article into a book manuscript.
Still, I think the exercise showed that the reference data market is, in fact, fast-paced and in tune with what is happening elsewhere. Five years ago it was all about selling the concept, convincing senior management that it was a good idea to invest in data management. Now, we are so mature that we are talking about everything from iPhone apps to moving to utilities. Even the age-old discussions on legal entity identification and standardizing corporate actions at the source-level seem to be moving in the right direction.
To celebrate these achievements and our five years in the reference data industry, we want to prove that our community knows what it really means to make a difference. Inside Reference Data is working with the children's charity Kids Company, to raise money for children not lucky enough to have anyone who remembers their own birthdays. Kids Company reaches 14,000 children in inner-city London, where our team is based, and 84% of the underprivileged children they work with have experienced homelessness.
The reference data industry has so much to celebrate, and we want to mark the occasion by giving a bit back to those who need the attention more than we do. Please help get this party started by donating a fiver that will go towards a birthday card and present to a child, who without your help would receive nothing on their big day. We want to ensure as many of these children as possible will feel that someone remembers their birthday this year. We're not asking for much-a fiver for our five-year birthday party.
Please support Inside Reference Data's Birthday Campaign:
Go to www.justgiving.com/IRD5 to donate now. UK readers can also text KIDS IRD5 to 70700 to instantly donate £5.