Come on baby, let's do the twist....

Contrary to popular belief, the sole purpose of today's class was NOT to put Holly in compromising positions...

The discussion about a need for integrated enterprise solutions made a lot of sense. In the last decade or so, the need to integrate databases has been a big topic among performing arts organizations. Normally, a symphony (or ballet, or opera company) has one database that tracks ticket purchases (housed in the Marketing department) and another that tracks donations (in the Development department). This is a big issue when you're trying to look at the customer in a holistic way or gauge loyalty. So the Metropolitan Opera developed a software called Tessitura that integrates ticketing and donation history. What makes it even more interesting is that the Tessitura Network is actually owned and operated by the member organizations, and they meet periodically to talk about upgrades, best practices, etc. Member organizations are charged a fee based on the budget size, so Tessitura is affordable even for small theatres.

Obviously, when you're talking about a multi-national, multi-billion dollar organization, the need for integration and everyone to speak the same language becomes even more important!

The Twister game was a nice illustration of the need to be nimble. You're very funny, Doug!