MDM: Challenges and realities

Master data management (MDM) is typically thought to be a task for the IT department, but in reality it should be the responsibility of the business.

Ryan Jamieson, director at Microsoft Gold certified partner, IS Partners, says MDM defines how the business wants to see and enrich its information and, as such, needs to control how this data is presented.

“Traditionally, the management of an organisation's master data fell to the IT department. But the mindset that this is still IT's problem needs to change,” he says.

This view has, however, led to some common MDM misconceptions. Jamieson says this includes the notion that MDM is solely for maintaining data consistency across business transaction systems. “MDM is about how the business wants to see its information, whether in transactional or reporting systems.

“MDM is also not simply another data integration, or data quality project. While it can assist in improving data quality, it's about how to represent information according to users' immediate and changing needs,” Jamieson adds.

In a retail environment, for example, product groupings, such as by size and colour, are not always held within the ERP or product management system, but can enrich the business's view of its information. This means that relevant groupings are better determined by the people actually working with those products. “MDM comes into play here, placing relevant information into a central repository that is designed to grow and change as the business's view of its master data changes.”

Similarly, a key application of MDM is in the management of a company's GL account structure. Enrichments can be made to the accounts data by setting up new information hierarchies or groups that are not physically held in the base system.

“It is not up to the BI system to maintain the new structure, or enable the financial manager to report according to this structure. MDM will enable this capability, operating between the transactional system and the data warehouse,” he adds.

“As you are dealing with the entire organisation's master data, however, policies need to be put in place to determine how your data is managed in terms of how and when changes are made and who can make those changes, for example. Tracking the impact of these changes is also significant to avoid misrepresenting information in a way that makes it look better than it is.”

While the management of master data is a straightforward process, the integration of that data back into operational systems needs to be given serious consideration, according to Jamieson. “Where your existing BI, CRM and ERP applications are referring to the MDM system, information has to be accurate and available, and the frequency of updates effectively planned for during the implementation stage. In this way, MDM will ensure a single, truthful version of your master data, while giving users ownership of their business information,” he concludes.