Threads Enron Database Lifts the lid on Enron's Respect, Integrity - and Fraud

LONDON, May 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Businesses, ex-employees and the general public start a road of discovery on what happened when the smartest guys left the room  

A novel database has generated worldwide interest for reasons other than it was intended.

The Threads® Enron Database (TED) was launched earlier this week, to demonstrate a new team communications platform, Threads® Message Hub, by software developers JPY Ltd. But it turns out that the interest generated has spread far wider than as a simple software demonstrator.

The energy conglomerate Enron collapsed in 2001 amidst a flurry of fraud accusations, resulting in the imprisonment of top executives, the loss of thousands of jobs and retirement funds, and over $70 billion for investors.

The Enron email corpus became public and now freely accessible via TED, powered by Threads® browser-based technology. Anyone with an internet connection can, for the first time, quickly search through nearly a quarter of a million emails and phone calls.

"Threads® takes a company's emails and calls and stores them in the cloud as an easily searchable database," explains Dr John Yardley, managing director of JPY. "We developed 'TED' so that clients could see the benefits of Threads® for teamwork. However, opening up the Enron database has attracted a far wider audience."

Searches entered during TED's launch this week include NatWest (three NatWest employees were imprisoned over Enron transactions), HSBC, RBS, JP Morgan and energy companies like Centrica.  Even ex-employees of Enron have checked to see what they can uncover.

"Researchers looked for key names and fraudulent Enron entities such as 'Raptor'. It turns everyone into corporate detectives," says Dr Yardley.

Others simply typed in generic management terms. 'Exit interview' revealed an email from a former employee in HR, questioning leadership styles and asking the recipient why so many staff left the "Enron HR Community". She receives a response emphasising Enron's "core values of respect, integrity, communication and excellence." It's from the Chairman, Kenneth Lay, dated 28^th August 2001, weeks before declaring bankruptcy.

"Threads Enron Database exposes unexpected insights into corporate culture, business ethics and simply the kind of personal day-to-day office life that many of us experience." concludes Dr Yardley. "But principally, TED demonstrates how quickly and easily Threads® Message Hub can be used to search through a huge data set."