IBM’s solution for master data management is a multiform approach which is intended to target what they consider the root cause of master data complexity – how the data is created, analyzed, managed and accessed. Their Multiform MDM aims to centralize all these processes, identifying commonalities and using them to streamline operations. At the same time, the Multiform MDM allows for a number of domains and styles of data management, allowing for the centralization of not only the data itself, but the processes that manage it. By homogenizing the applications that control data, consistency is maintained throughout the enterprise, and data can quickly and effectively be utilized. IBM offers different master data management servers to accomplish this task, for things such as product information as well as a central master data server.

Oracle has a number of MDM applications that work together to provide a complete solution. Oracle aims to consolidate accurate master data, maintain this data and distribute it to different applications using a shared service. As such, Oracle offers a MDM suite which includes their Oracle Customer Hub, Product Hub, and Site Hub as well as their Hyperion Data Relationship management application. Hyperion provides a solution for financial and analytical master data management, allowing for the creation of cross-functional perspectives of data while retaining the ability to create separate departmental views of the data to provide for consistent access to requisite data among different entities. The Oracle MDM Suite uses integrated applications to consolidate, rationalize cleanse, govern, and share master data throughout an enterprise.

With its acquisition of Stratature, Microsoft has moved into data management solutions. Microsoft offers the SharePoint server to integrate with their pre-existing Office suite, with the aim to provide a data management solution that also allows for other vital corporate functions to be performed from a single, centralized location. SharePoint provides features such as:

Social computing and collaboration – These allow for teams and employees to work together and share information, streamlining data creation and storage as well as minimizing data mismatch.

Enterprise Content Management – Proper content management allows for the storage and management of corporate records, documents and Web data. In addition, ECM allows for the streamlining of content-driven business applications as well as the protection of important data.

Business Process and Form Management – Standardized business forms can be created and managed, as well as integrated with a database to streamline the accurate creation and collection of important data.

Business Intelligence and Enterprise Search – Allow critical information to be located and quickly accessed, data to be analyzed and viewed, and reports to be generated to expedite the implementation and usage of data. Enterprise search also integrates with every facet of the SharePoint server and Office suite to allow information to be easily located, utilized and shared to increase corporate productivity.