What is Master Data Management?
Master data consists of facts that describe a business entity. This is particularly useful when multiple IT systems across a company identify the entity differently. Master data creates a system of record for that entity, so users have a single view that is more complete, accurate, and standardized than that of individual systems. The single view enables entity analysis, data synchronization, data quality, transactional integrity, and many other uses. Today, the business entity is usually a customer or product. The single view can be created in a physical, redundant database, typically some form of ODS or other data hub. But the trend in master data management is to use federated or virtual styles of data integration. Master data management is the practice of acquiring and integrating master data. MDM practices can be enabled by various integration and database practices, technologies, and products. These include ETL, EII, EAI, databases, homegrown operational data stores, hand coding,
For purposes of this article, we define Master Data Management (MDM) as the technology, tools, and processes required to create and maintain consistent and accurate lists of master data. There are a couple things worth noting in this definition. One is that MDM is not just a technological problem. In many cases, fundamental changes to business process will be required to maintain clean master data, and some of the most difficult MDM issues are more political than technical. The second thing to note is that MDM includes both creating and maintaining master data. Investing a lot of time, money, and effort in creating a clean, consistent set of master data is a wasted effort unless the solution includes tools and processes to keep the master data clean and consistent as it is updated and expanded. While MDM is most effective when applied to all the master data in an organization, in many cases the risk and expense of an enterprise-wide effort are difficult to justify. It may be easier to
Master data management is the ability to create a common link to all of the key data through the use of a master file. The master file, in turn, functions as a gateway to all the data as well as serving as a common point of reference in overseeing the use of the data. The use of master data management can help to simplify the process for sharing common data among several different departments or key personnel, eliminating the need for multiple copies of the same data to reside in several different locations around the network. Master data management can also come in very hand with arranging access to files in more complicated environments as well. In the event that a corporation maintains a number of offices over a large geographical area, the use of MDM can help make the retrieval of data from any of the locations quick and easy. Often, this is accomplished by using encrypted login credentials that ensure the data is only available to those who require access to the master files invol
The objective of MDM is to provide and maintain a consistent view of an organizations core business entities, which may involve data that is scattered across a range of application systems. The type of data involved in this process varies by industry and organization, but examples include customers, suppliers, products, employees and finances. Presently, many MDM applications concentrate on the handling of customer data because this aids the sales and marketing process, and can help improve sales and thus revenues. A hot new buzzword for customer MDM solutions is customer data integration, or CDI. MDM and CDI are often presented as technologies, but in reality they are business applications. The objective of both MDM and CDI is to provide a consistent view of dispersed reference data. This view is created using data integration techniques and technologies, and may be used by business transaction applications and/or analytic applications. What MDM and CDI bring to data integration are t
Master data management (MDM) is the strategies, processes, technologies and people that create and maintain a single, complete view of all your customer data. Master data management solutions are used to deliver the most complete, real-time views of people, households and organizations from data dispersed across multiple application systems and databases. Initiate Systems is the leading provider of master data management software, with more customer implementations than any other vendor. Our solutions deliver the most accurate, real-time views of data from all applications and data sources to more effectively manage, control, analyze and integrate customer, patient or constituent information and relationships while protecting data privacy. Learn more about what makes a leading master data management solution. What questions must you consider when evaluating a masterdata management (MDM) solution?
