Master data management is the business process, applications and technical integration architecture used to create and maintain accurate and consistent views of core business entities across disparate applications in the enterprise. That`s a mouthful but so are the problems associated with successfully implementing it.
The challenges are technical and linked to cultural and social differences in SA from the world.
The technical process that must be followed is integrating systems, integrating data, understanding the data, standardising the data between information repositories, and finally passing out the information as a golden copy.
That is straightforward enough and with the requisite technical expertise, can be handled with varying degrees of success, depending on the complexity of systems in any given company.
But even at this stage the project can begin to fall apart because the complexities of real world environments is far greater than commonly admitted and greater than software vendors would like to believe.
For example, a survey by Tower Group shows that companies routinely maintain master data separately in 11 or more source systems. One CIO of a US-based multinational admitted to having 650 different installed business systems. That may be abnormal for local conditions but testament to the complexities of business operations.
The lesson is simple: the more business systems an organisation employs, the more complex its master data management programme will be.
The lesson is simple: the more business systems an organisation employs, the more complex its master data management programme will be.
Julian Field, MD, Centerfield Software
But why would companies want to implement a master data management programme? Banks, for one, can perform risk analysis far faster and reliably. That`s money in the bank. Manufacturing businesses want to consolidate supplier acquisitions, product codes and identifiers to improve logistics and operational efficiencies, for another. It`s about business analysis, responding to market dynamics, competition and enhancing efficiency - everything that affects the bottom line.
Where these programmes have fallen faster than a lead balloon in the past is that one company tried to complete the entire project itself. But combining the disciplines and technical expertise in one organisation is nigh impossible. It would have to have and maintain address lists and dictionaries, business system and data integration skills, product knowledge, and offer a scalable solution for large and small businesses alike.
The address lists and dictionaries are critical in SA with its cultural and social diversity. For example, sifting through multiple data repositories, a company would find that it has multiple instances of a person`s name. You may have Michael Hutton, M Hutton, Mr M Hutton, MJ Hutton, Michael James Hutton; depending on the division you`re dealing with. CRM operations must get this right. Mrs Hutton may not be partial to being called Mr Hutton when you`re trying to sell her a family development policy or offer her cheaper car insurance because as we all know, women drivers represent a lower risk to the insurance business.
Dictionaries allow businesses to determine gender based on name. Many South African names are unique. Importing a dictionary from the US or Europe to run the data through will probably not be a great idea for the CRM department. The billing department doesn`t much mind, as long as it has your address and account number.
The good news is that consortiums are integrating their resources to offer customers the best solutions. Companies are pitting their expertise into a consortium pool, giving the customer the best dictionaries, integration skills, product knowledge and scalability options available.
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