by Angela Guess
Jake Freivald recently wrote in IT Pro Portal, “Data-savvy businesses often worry about two things. First, they worry about data quality. With data so integral to so many parts of the business, a lack of quality control can have massive financial consequences. Second, they worry about where the data is. Their data may be perfectly correct, but different in different places – and nowadays, there is so much information across so many systems that it becomes hard to bring it all together meaningfully… This is why businesses depend on a ‘master record’ of what the system knows, populated with all this information, and governed by data stewards. In the e-commerce, omni-channel era, this kind of attention to detail – master data management, or MDM – is essential for guaranteeing a seamless consumer experience, free of irritating snags in the customer journey.”
Freivald goes on, “Here are a few top tips to ensure that your efforts to install MDM aren’t wasted: (1) Find a business champion. It can sometimes be difficult to get the support you need for an MDM project, especially when budgets are tight. It is therefore important to make sure that you have someone to turn to on the executive team who actually cares about the data and values seeing it used effectively. This ‘business champion’ is essential for ensuring that your project is carried through to the end, because they will back you up at a high level and ensure you get the support you need. You need someone to be singing MDM’s praises in the boardroom.”
photo credit: Flickr/ kevin dooley