Master Data Management - Leverage and Value

The most recent TDWI Boston Chapter meeting focused on how companies should approach and implement Master Data Management (MDM). Although the meeting had a keynote presenter and panelists with strong industry expertise and experience, the key to the discussions were the questions and insights of the audience attending the meeting. The Boston chapter, with industries representing financial services, insurance, high tech, medical devices, biotech, retail, professional services and consumer products goods companies offers a diversity of perspectives about the challenges and benefits of addressing MDM. Two key insights kept being reinforced during the discussions: 1. Leverage, Leverage, Leverage Any company that will benefit from tackling MDM has most likely already been attacking the problem but not in the focused manner that MDM needs to truly be successful. But the biggest mistake that people saw with their peers and early adopters was the belief that MDM was something different than before. Too often MDM is pitched as a green field opportunity with some solution as the silver bullet to ones problems. This approach fails to leverage past efforts from a business and technical perspective, thereby creating the potential for yet another application and data silo. And, more importantly, failing to realistically assess the shortcomings and successes of existing efforts in making master data consistent is a sure fire way to plan to fail, i.e. repeating the failures of history is inevitable if you fail to learn from them. Participants suggested looking at existing data warehousing and data integration efforts to leverage data, technical and people resources. Learn from the past. Turn your joint IT and business efforts to define and manage data into a full-fledged data governance program. If you have already started that type of program, expand it and tie it into business successes (below). 2. Business Value There needs to be specific business value derived from your MDM efforts. Catch phrases like 360 degrees of the customer or single version of the truth are great marketing slogans but are esoteric and will become the brunt of jokes if they dont help you achieve real business value that can be measured. You can use these slogans to rally the troops and to get funding for the MDM efforts, but dont fall into that trap of believing your own sales pitch. Your MDM will undoubtedly provide business ROI. Participants stressed that you should seek out those business opportunities and target your MDM towards them. Focused MDM efforts are more likely to get business participation, a critical success factor, to help you be on track to building your MDM program. Trying to boil the ocean, i.e. trying to solve everyones problems all at once, generally fails to solve anyones problems. There are countless business processes or analytics that can be and are improved by implementing MDM in your company. Find them, document them and determine the business ROI that you can quantify or qualify. Get the business people involved to be your customer references to sell the MDM program. Success breeds success. ShareThis