Abstract: A method for linking data using permanent tokens is disclosed. The tokens may be used to link data pertaining to a consumer, a business, an address, an occupancy, or a household. The tokens are created in a central repository, which maintains an identification class for each entity. The identification class contains all available information concerning the entity. The tokens may be applied to a data storage system to allow real-time construction of a total customer view. The tokens may also be used to link the data storage system to a repository, such that the total customer view contains all available information concerning the customer. The total customer view may be used to formulate a response to customer input, such as a purchase or access to an Internet web page maintained by the data owner. By matching tokens instead of names and addresses, potential ambiguities and erroneous duplicates are eliminated.

Abstract: A method and system for the creation, enhancement and update of data on a customer database using data from a central database and persistent keys that are linked to each data structure is disclosed. The persistent keys allow the matching of equivalent data structures between the remote and central databases so that enhancement data from the central database can be overlaid onto the customer database. The persistent keys also make the update of data on the customer database more efficient, since key matching allows the transfer of only the data that is needed to update the customer database. The central database may physically contain all of the enhancement data, or may use a central database manager to transparently link a group of physically remote databases using the persistent keys. Data may be transferred from the central database to the customer database either in batch mode or in a near real-time mode through a direct table join.