What Are the Activities of Master Data Management?

To manage master data, many businesses believe they need to use master data management (MDM) tools. However, the reality is that there are alternative solutions, such as product information management (PIM) tools that may be a better fit for a company (particularly when that company is small or medium sized). Additionally, some PIM software solutions double as MDM tools, which can be beneficial for companies and organizations that are hoping to manage their data in a centralized space while scaling their businesses.

What Is Master Data?

Master data is considered to be the core data that is essential for running business operations. Master data falls into one of three categories: customer data, product data, or financial data. Some master data examples could include:

• Current customer information

• Prospect information

• Supplier details

• Site information

• Hierarchies

• Charts of accounts

In most cases, master data is owned by a partnership between the business and IT to ensure accuracy, uniformity, and semantic consistency. However, it is important to note that master data is not considered to be transactional data.

What Is Master Data Management (MDM)?

A master data management (MDM) solution is a product designed to centralize all of an organization's information in one place. The MDM solution works as a single source of truth of all information across the entire business, not just product data.

The benefits of master data management (MDM) include:

• Avoiding duplication

• Guaranteeing data quality

• Reducing security risks

• Ensuring data compliance

• Minimizing delays and slowdowns

To deploy an MDM solution, companies are usually looking at an enterprise-wide deployment — an expensive and time-consuming process. As a result, many organizations are turning to PIM solutions instead. A PIM solution is much easier to install and is a more useful implementation for marketing and sales teams.

What Are the Activities of Master Data Management?

While there are numerous approaches to master data management (MDM), most companies tend to follow a MDM implementation process that looks similar to the following:

• Define master data for your business.

• Identify all sources of this master data that will be held within the master data management framework.

• Document who within your business and externally creates, updates, and uses this master data.

• Collect and analyze all existing master data to better understand current data structures and major data discrepancies.

• Appoint master data owners for key master data management roles and responsibilities.

• Create and implement a data governance program.

• Establish the master data model for the entire business.

• Evaluate and choose an MDM solution.

• Implement the new MDM solution and new MDM model.

• Continually review data governance, master data discrepancies, and opportunities for improvement.

If this looks like a lot...it is. Companies are turning to product information management (PIM) solutions instead for increased efficiency and to ensure any new implementation works with all data, not just product data.

What Is an Example of an MDM?

There are numerous Master Data Management (MDM) software solutions for companies to evaluate before choosing one for implementation (or opting for a PIM solution instead). To get a better idea of the MDM solutions available, the following is a master data management example list.

The most common master data management software solutions include:

• Stibo Systems

• Informatica

• PiLog MDRM

• TIBCO

• Profisee

Top master data management tools also include:

• SAP

• IBM

• Reltio

Two additional, and well-known master data management solutions include:

• Oracle

• Microsoft

This MDM tools list is not comprehensive. As an important note, some Product Information Management (PIM) solutions also offer MDM functionality, such as Pimcore and Syndigo, giving companies the option of getting the best of both worlds. However, not every company needs to have a master data management system. In fact, the truth is that only the largest enterprises with highly complex data needs should consider an MDM solution to manage their data.

For most companies, solutions such as product information management (PIM) tools, customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, and product lifecycle management (PLM) platforms will provide more than enough functionality to effectively manage the company’s data.

Ready to Try PIM Software?

Organizations that are interested in comparing PIM and MDM software should consider Lumavate. Lumavate allows organizations to manage their data throughout its entire lifecycle, making it easier to implement, manage, and access data across the board. To see Lumavate in action, schedule a demo with our product experts today.