Acxiom Data Network--SM-- Recognized As Leading Edge Data Provider by International Data Corporation.

CONWAY, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 1999--

Acxiom(R) Corporation's New Web Delivery, AcxiKey(SM) Technology

and Software Developer's Kit Establishes Leadership Position

in the Smart Content Arena

Acxiom(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) announced today that the International Data Corporation (IDC) has recognized Acxiom Corporation as an example of "smart content" leadership. In the IDC White Paper "Content's Role in the Software Millennium," IDC Analyst Anthony C. Picardi writes, "Smart content will play a pivotal role in the next software millennium. IDC expects the impact of smart content to be analogous to the impact of the electric motor to manufacturing processes in the early twentieth century. Acxiom's Data Network(SM) (ADN) is an example of smart content leadership - the result of analytic operations on information and the business processes that implement it."

Headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, IDC is an international market research and consulting firm that supports the strategic planning needs of all segments of the high-tech industry. IDC has a global network of 375 analysts in more than 40 countries, providing local research capabilities in all major international markets. Using consistent methodologies and definitions, IDC analysts are continually quoted as a source of information and perspective by the press. Anthony C. Picardi, Group Vice President of IDC's Worldwide Software Research program and author of this report, leads the development of worldwide software products and oversees the quality and consistency of all IDC software programs.

"ADN's AcxiKey(SM) access of Acxiom's InfoBase(TM) has solved the data merge problem by using data triangulation and business rules operating on more than 15 major sources of consumer information," added Dr. Picardi. "ADN's AcxiKey, patent pending, allows Acxiom to compare the enterprise customers with its InfoBase consumer data files of more than 176 million individuals and 96 million households."

Dr. Picardi's White Paper was based on smart content and its role for content providers in the next millennium. He writes, "The vendor that defines the specification upon which external content is integrated with customer information, as well as with enterprise applications, has a lock-in advantage over the commodity content providers and consolidators. IDC believes the automated decision process is a harbinger of the next-millennium software industry. The business case for smart content is so compelling, however, that IDC is beginning to see markets developing for software products that offer predictive models for various consumer product and service industries, with the result packaged as an enterprise application. Leaders in the next-millennium software industry will derive their market power by controlling the meta data keys to the necessary information. Acxiom's Data Network is an example of such smart content leadership."

According to Duncan McClain, Acxiom's Data Products Division Marketing Leader, "We are pleased to have been featured as demonstrating leadership in the area of `smart content' by Dr. Picardi. Acxiom Corporation is positioning itself to be a leading edge data provider in the new millennium. This IDC report is convincing proof that Acxiom is accomplishing this mission."

About International Data Corporation

Founded in 1964, IDC gives a broad range of market data and strategic guidance to the information technology industry. IDC assists IT professionals in developing strategic plans, measuring market opportunity, anticipating technology, monitoring competition, selecting distribution channels, evaluating the impact of industry events, and navigating through all phases of the product/service market life cycle.

IDC's parent company, International Data Group (IDG), is a privately held organization and the parent of IDC Government, World Expo Corporation, and IDG Communications which produces more than 194 newspapers and magazines, including Computerworld, Network World, Infoworld, and CIO. For more information about IDC, contact their Corporate Headquarters at 5 Speen Street, Framingham, MA 01701. The complete report is available by calling 508/872-8200, or by e-mail at http://www.idc.com.

About Acxiom Corporation

Acxiom provides a wide spectrum of data products, data integration services, mailing list services, modeling & analysis, and information technology outsourcing services, as well as data warehousing and decision support services to major U.S. and international firms. Acxiom is a member of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), Internet Alliance (formerly the Interactive Services Association-ISA), the Individual Reference Services Group (IRSG), and the Online Privacy Alliance (OPA). Acxiom supports the Fair Information Practices standards of these organizations. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is headquartered in Conway, Arkansas, with operations throughout the United States and in the United Kingdom, France and Spain.

Acxiom's World Wide Web address is (URL) http://www.acxiom.com or e-mail at [e-mail]. Acxiom's toll-free number is 800/646-8495.

Acxiom is a registered trademark of Acxiom RTC, Inc. Acxiom Data Network and AcxiKey are service marks and InfoBase is a trademark of Acxiom Corporation.