Collaborative Consulting

Master Data Management: Creating an Enabling Platform for Business Integration

By Matthew Beyer and John Williams

Master Data Management is a relatively new name for an issue that has plagued corporations for years: delivering consistent data throughout the enterprise, and beyond. The more functions and divisions a company has, the less likely it is to be able to establish a standardized, common understanding of its widely used reference data. Although it is not a new problem, MDM is fast becoming a strategic focus for organizations all over the world, as evidenced by an ever-growing number of industry publications, standards organizations, specific products and analyst coverage.

When data standardization is achieved—when an entire enterprise recognizes the same information to mean the same thing—organizations are able to realize significant benefits to the business, in both cost savings and revenue-generating areas. This is not because MDM creates business improvements by itself. Instead, it is a critical enabler; it allows companies to achieve business improvements. MDM provides corporations with better access to, and consistency of key information, delivering a foundational element for better decision making and process execution. Efficiency and profitability are the ultimate goals of MDM, not data standardization.

In today’s marketplace, where all possible advantages over competitors must be pressed aggressively, it is no surprise that more and more companies pursue MDM as a way to improve data quality and consistency, develop more effective applications, and eliminate the mistakes and inefficiency borne of poorly managed data.

In this white paper, authors John Williams, the vice president of technology at Collaborative Consulting and the leader of the organization’s Data Services Practice, and Matthew Beyer, a senior architect in the Practice, spell out approaches companies can employ to define and recognize master data, a sometimes difficult but critical step in its optimization. They also detail the broad-ranging business value an MDM initiative can provide for an organization.

Additionally, they caution against the “irrational exuberance” that can accompany trends such as MDM. In truth, while the results of a well-planned and well-executed MDM initiative can be exceptional, they often require considerable groundwork, oversight and diligence. For example, a sober, dispassionate assessment may show that a new MDM tool may not perform any better than the software an organization already has, especially if the in-house application can be extended.

The paper also outlines other challenges organizations must overcome to implement a successful MDM program, such as technology barriers, organizational and process issues, lasting governance, and funding. Moreover, it explains how organizations can overcome political issues that often arise as MDM programs get under way, and continue down their directed path.