by Angela Guess
Lyndsay Wise has written a new article discussing master data management strategies at small and medium businesses. Wise writes, “Many small and medium businesses (SMBs) feel that they cannot develop robust master data management (MDM) practices due to limitations in budget and resources, or do not feel that MDM is a “nice to have” within the organization. With the importance placed on business intelligence adoption and optimization, some companies focus on the front-end applications and neglect developing a strong data infrastructure… Although master data management may not be a mainstream initiative that complements business intelligence, the reality is that both software initiatives are slowly overlapping to provide organizations with a way to manage their data entities and expand their visibility from data entry point through to strategic planning.”
She continues, “The combination of master data management and business intelligence is becoming essential for organizations aiming to increase efficiencies and interactions with customers, partners, suppliers, and the like. The concept of providing a “value add” will continue to be what separates the market leaders from the laggards. For organizations aspiring to be market leaders, developing a forward-looking approach is essential. Companies that don’t adopt this approach will not become or remain leaders in the long run. Unfortunately, not all businesses realize this and feel that insights into performance are enough. The reality is that business intelligence alone will not be enough to help drive business success. Organizations require a robust and overlapping approach to business insights and holistic data management.”
Wise goes on, “The value of master data management should be self-evident. However, not all businesses take its application seriously. Until recently, master data management was treated as a series of independent initiatives to manage company entities such as customer, product, or supplier. Now, more holistic approaches to data management are being used to provide adequate management of information across multiple business entities. By combining multiple data sources to get a broad view of information, organizations can give customers a higher level and more positive customer experience by providing better service, quicker product/service time to delivery, etc.”
photo credit: Garuna bor-bor
