by Angela Guess
A recent article discusses how “The road to enterprise-wide master data management (MDM) is paved with small, departmental or tactical wins — but be careful — because it’s easy to lose sight of long-term MDM goals.” The article states, “Technology professionals say it’s important to get executive support and clearly define business drivers prior to implementing enterprise MDM. Then it’s time to figure out how the program will be initiated and gradually proliferated.”
Eric Adler, development manager for information delivery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was quoted as saying, “These things have to start with the business theme — otherwise, nothing is going to get funded, and there’s not the social buy-in, which is really what drives all of this work…Finding small wins in [specific] spaces is really a great way to [move forward].” The writer notes, “But be aware that at anytime problems can arise and cause the enterprise MDM program to stagnate, Adler warned. The budget could dry up for unforeseen reasons, for example, or short-term success in one tactical area could lead to complacency before enterprise-wide goals are achieved. That’s why it’s important to always be mindful of the big MDM picture.”
It goes on, “MDM is an increasingly popular methodology that combines technology with data governance policies and procedures in an effort to synchronize and improve the overall quality of business information. The phrase enterprise MDM refers to the sometimes lofty goal of mastering data across all of an organization’s business units and systems. Implemented properly, enterprise MDM promises to improve everything from the customer experience and supplier relationships to business intelligence (BI) reporting and analysis.”
