Blog: Colin White

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MDM Survey Results

As a part of the research project Claudia Imhoff and I are doing on master data management we did a short survey on the Business Intelligence Network about MDM usage in companies. Of the 60 companies responding to the survey, 30 were planning MDM projects, 7 had implemented an MDM solution, and 23 had no MDM plans. Of the 37 companies working on MDM, 26 were focused on product data, 23 on customer data, and 9 on financial data. It was interesting to note that the focus on product master data was higher than on customer master data, which is surprising.

One key focus of the report we are working on is the difference between master data integration and master data management. Many MDM projects focus on integration, i.e., they try to solve the symptoms of master data problems, rather than attack the root cause. Management of master data on the the other hand focuses not only creating a single system of record, but also focuses on the systems of entry where master data problems are created. True enterprise MDM also handles the management of past, present and planned master data hierarchies. Such a system is extremely valuable for driving data warehouse design.

In the survey we gave two definitions for MDM. One was oriented toward master data integration and technology, whereas the other was oriented toward true enterprise MDM and MDM disciplines. 19 respondents opted for the technology definition, whereas 39 chose the enterprise MDM definition.

The MDM report and a follow on Web seminar will be available shortly.

Posted by Colin White on Friday, 21 July 2006 | Permalink