Lockheed experience in processing large data bases for its commercial information retrieval service.

The last few years have seen the emergence of the information retrieval services industry. This industry consists of three tiers: data base producers, retrieval service vendors, and information centers who service the end user. The experience of Lockheed Information Systems as a retrieval service vendor is recounted as it pertains to its system and to its relationship with the data base suppliers. Government competition is seen as a potential threat to the industry.