Complications in any business environment, like demanding customers, financial challenges, or government regulations, amplify the need for an organization to implement a strong Master Data Management (MDM) system. Because of its ability to solve problems and save organizations money, MDM has been deemed “recession-proof” by most analysts. A well-maintained master data management system can significantly contribute to the tactical priorities of any business.
Taking advantage of the strengths of MDM has become increasingly important in these uncertain economic times. In order to keep your MDM effective, you must understand the underlying trends in overall business as well as in technology. MDM is rapidly evolving, both as a function of IT and as an integrated set of technology solutions.
1. The Future of the MDM Market
The MDM market is expected to broaden as suppliers repackage better-priced solutions. The goal of these suppliers will be to keep their new introductions priced below one-million dollars. Suppliers that already offer MDM to the mid-market range are expected to repackage their product for small businesses, priced under 100-thousand dollars.
2. Master Data Quality
Organizations are expected to accelerate the shift from downstream data quality to a more persuasive upstream data quality by using master data management. Suppliers are expected to offer better-integrated data quality through data sourcing partnerships. Their emphasis will be on quality within consumer, owner, member, vendor, subscriber, contact, and establishment.
A year from now, quality metrics will start to be defined specifically for the purpose of a business function (marketing, product development, order administration, sales, service, analytics, compliance, etc.). The quality metrics are expected to be driven by data governance initiatives that span the entire organization. The availability of such information in one place will make the business impact of MDM so much more apparent.
In the coming years, the majority of organizations in the world will have deployed some sort of data integration architecture, which will only increase the usage of master data.
3. Master Data Governance
In the coming year, most organizations will face some roadblocks with their governance of master data while they attempt to mature to the levels of monarchy and federalism.
Beyond that, systems integrators are expected to focus on simplifying the data governance framework, while master data management software providers face challenges with linking governance processes to MDM hubs. It is at this time that users can start to expect changes in data governance. The data governance solutions are expected to begin a transformation from being project oriented to being asset-lifecycle oriented.
If you are thinking about implementing a master data management solution, or if you already manage one for your organization, it is important to stay abreast of the changes that are underway as well as the trends that are projected for the industry overall. It is a good idea to subscribe to any and all trade publications related to master data management in order to stay up on the latest news. As the technology changes, you’ll want to make sure your organization is taking full advantage of new solutions that might be offered.