“Why?” a chief technology officer (CTO) may ask when the subject of automated Data Management tools arises. After all, their organization has probably already been storing, archiving, and backing up enterprise data day after day with success. For example, setting up a Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) from a reputable cloud computing provider, with appropriate access to data, […]
Master Data vs. Reference Data
The terms “master data” and “reference data” can be confused fairly easily. Both provide data that changes only occasionally over time and provide data that is designed to be accurate and up to date. Master data provides the accurate information needed for business transactions that are critical to the running of a business – the […]
Master Data Management 101
The management of master data can be described as managing the data that is critical to your business’s operations. Master data management (MDM) deals with managing data that is relatively stable and critical to the business’s operations. The concept of master…
Building a Successful Data Quality Program
Creating a successful Data Quality program is essential for any organization seeking to use their data for improving efficiency and better decision-making. Data of poor quality can result in decisions that damage the business. Building a successful Data Quality program helps to ensure the data is of the highest quality, making it both useful and […]
The Cool Kids Corner: Master Data Management (MDM) in the Spotlight
Hello! I’m Mark Horseman and welcome to The Cool Kids Corner. This is my monthly check-in to share with you the people and ideas I encounter as a data evangelist with DATAVERSITY. (Read last month’s column here.) This month we’re talking about the current demand for master data management (MDM). What is MDM? Why is it needed now […]
What Is Master Data Management and Why Is It Important?
Master Data Management (MDM) is an important method for developing and maintaining the uniformity and accuracy of the organization’s shared “master data.” Master Data Management allows businesses to improve the accuracy and uniformity of their important data assets, such as customer data, product data, asset data, and location data. Master data can be described as an […]
Metadata Management vs. Master Data Management
Businesses rely on knowing their data to survive and grow. Metadata management and master data management (MDM) provide essential processes for organizations to gain this knowledge and succeed. As a result, both need to be managed well. However, the differences and intersections between metadata management vs. master data management are often complicated to disentangle for […]
Data Lineage Demystified
Trusting big data requires understanding its data lineage. Without data lineage, big data becomes synonymous with the last phrase in a game of telephone. The original data from the first person (e.g., “a guppy swims in a shark tank”) changes to something completely different when it ends with the last person (e.g., “The puppy that […]
How to Build a Data Governance Program in 90 Days
For many people in business, the mention of a Data Governance program evokes excessive red tape, bureaucratic drag, and, most of all, outsiders meddling in daily operations. “What is the preconceived notion about Data Governance? We are the police, we tell you no, we tell you to stop, we slow you down,” said Sherry Hidalgo, senior enterprise […]
Data Quality, Data Stewardship, Data Governance: Three Keys
Typically, Data Governance programs start with Data Quality, because that is where end users or stakeholders begin to interact with data, especially from the reporting and analytics perspective. “They get a report that doesn’t match another report and they can’t marry it to other data,” said Mary Anne Hopper, Data Management Consultant at SAS Institute. […]