Master Data Management

Master Data Management (MDM), Customer Data Integration (CDI), and Product Information Management (PIM) combine data integration, data quality, and data stewardship frameworks with advanced tools to solve the age-old problem of different systems having different data definitions and data models. Where this matters most is in companies where there is a compelling operational reason to have a single integrated view of customer data, or product data, or financial data, or data about any entity of interest to the business. Some of the most compelling examples tend to come from the CDI world and are often used to justify MDM as well. The classic example is the bank call center representative who doesn’t know that the caller who has been charged a $25 overdraft fee has $1 million in a money market account because the bank operates separate transactional systems for checking accounts and money market accounts.

In thinking about whether MDM or CDI or PIM is right for your company, we would first call attention to the distinction between having a compelling operational reason to invest and having an analytical motivation. If your need is for better analytical applications for customer analysis or product profitability analysis, for example, your company may be better served by traditional data warehousing and business intelligence methods and tools. On the other hand, if there is a compelling operational reason for data integration, that need may or may not be met by traditional data warehousing and business intelligence methods and tools, depending on such general factors as:

• Whether the integrated data is needed in near real-time
• Whether the integrated data will be fed back into transactional systems
• Whether the integrated data will be used by an application prior to being made available to users
• Whether the integrated data is intended to augment the analytical capabilities of transactional software packages

In addition to considering the above general factors, there are also specific considerations depending on the type of data that is to be integrated. For example, what is the business value of integrated customer information for any given company in any given industry? Or, what are the costs of not having integrated product information versus the costs of developing and deploying a PIM capability?

Before embarking on an MDM, CDI, or PIM initiative, we recommend using DecisionPath’s BI Opportunity Analysis framework to build a compelling business case. If the business case is there, we also recommend using our BI Readiness Assessment to identify the key organizational factors and risks that may stand in the way of leveraging integrated data to drive profits. Given a solid foundation and compelling business case, the modern tools and methods provide solid support for delivering on the promise of MDM, CDI, or PIM.