Master Data Management (MDM)
Solution Assessments

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Master Data Management (MDM) is critical to enterprise success. MDM refers to the infrastructure, tools and best practices for governance of official corporate reference data that may be scattered across diverse databases and other repositories.

MDM helps companies assure that business data has been generated, vetted, processed, protected and transmitted according to a consistent set of policies and controls.

Increasingly, enterprise IT groups are laying out MDM strategies that encompass data warehouses, data quality tools, extract transform load (ETL) and enterprise information integration (EII) middleware, business intelligence applications, and much more. Vendors are racing to reposition their data management products under the MDM umbrella.

Anatomy of a Solution Assessment

Delivered via our web-based platform, CurrentCOMPETE, Current Analysis’ MDM solution assessments track and analyze events, technologies and companies shaping the enterprise MDM market. Comprehensive coverage includes vendor Solution Assessments and analysis of competitor events in the marketplace, covering announcements of new product and strategies, as well as mergers and partnerships. MDM solutions are rated on the following selection criteria:

• Ability to manage master data as a “single version of the truth” that permeates all business transactions and feeds the corporate business intelligence (BI) environment.
• Ability to consolidate master data into data warehouses, data marts, and other hubs associated with particular critical data sets, such as customers, products, finances, and human resources.
• Ability to enforce a common set of policies across the MDM life cycle, allowing master data to be reused over and over within corporate-standard business intelligence applications.
• Ability to treat all master data and all corporate data management (DM) infrastructure services—such as data quality and warehousing-- as reusable resources that can be leveraged across service-oriented architectures (SOAs).
• Ability to manage master data in centralized or decentralized repositories, in keeping with enterprise organizational structures, data ownership practices, and governance processes.

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Market Segments Covered

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MDM Solution Advisor Reports

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Current Analysis Solution Advisor reports for individual MDM Solutions are available for purchase and download online. These reports contain the analysis of the solution's strengths and weaknesses, and the evaulation on on how well the solution meets key customer selection criteria. Click here to view available reports, and more information.

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Master Data Management Driving Industry Convergence

James Kobielus
Principal Analyst, Data Management
April 16, 2007

MDM refers to the infrastructure, tools and best practices for governance of master data sets that may be consolidated in data warehouses, or scattered across diverse databases and applications. MDM helps companies assure that business data has been generated, moved, cleansed, processed and protected according to a consistent set of policies and controls.

Traditionally, the data management (DM) industry has contributed to MDM solution fragmentation by proliferating point products that address specific requirements. However, enterprise IT groups are increasingly requiring multi-application MDM solutions that can be deployed for customer data integration (CDI), product information management (PIM), supply chain management and other critical requirements.

Recognizing this demand, vendors are introducing integrated MDM solution families that offer a full range of infrastructure, tools and functionality, and can be leveraged across a broad range of master data sets. Much of the recent DM industry consolidation is driven by the need for vendors to field ever more comprehensive MDM-enabling solution portfolios.

The MDM market is converging on a common multi-application reference architecture. Vendors are differentiating their MDM solution portfolios around a broad range of product and service offerings, and strategic technology and channel partnerships play a strong role in their MDM value proposition.

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Spreadsheet Governance Pushes MDM to the Desktop

James Kobielus
Principal Analyst, Data Management
November 1, 2006

Spreadsheets are a wild card in the master data management (MDM) equation. On the one hand, spreadsheets are one of the primary client applications for viewing and working with master reference data retrieved from corporate data warehouses (DW). On the other hand, spreadsheets make it far too easy for users to ignore or flout the MDM controls governing DW operations. Users can and often do populate Excel spreadsheets with information that is outdated, inconsistent, and full of errors, and with formulas that deviate significantly from company-approved analytical models.

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