Master Data Management can be a fairly loosely-used term, but essentially, it’s the strategy, structure, and practice of managing all data across an organization. 

In many cases, a company might have data in different forms, in different systems, for different purposes, all for one customer. This data represents the details and history of the customer relationship, the details of the products the customer has purchased, the details of all billing and invoices for the customer, and to add a little complexity, the details of vendors used to service a customer, or customers whom are subsidiaries of a main customer. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, your enterprise might have several different business units with different product lines, each with their own departments and each with their own relationships to the same Customers. Confused and/or Sleeping yet? 

So, if we have all the data we need for our customers, why do we need Master Data Management? In today’s complex business environment, it’s increasingly common for organizations to have data inconsistencies across their multiple departments and systems. For instance:

1. There may be one system the Marketing department uses, which generates new customers
2. At which point, the Sales department picks it up into their CRM
3. If everything goes as planned they will make the sale, so now the Billing, Accounting, and Customer Service departments come in, each with their own systems

Depending how an organization’s internal technologies are constructed—often these systems were deployed in different stages by different teams—the ‘chain of custody’ of this data may have a few missing links. In this, inconsistencies can happen, as well as redundancies along the way, like re-keying or replicating data. These numerous links in the chain pose a risk for errors, omissions, or loss.

All of this can lead to bad decisions and misinformed strategies, leading to poor customer experience, and eventually—lost revenue. So what’s the point in spending all this money in all these different powerful systems if they’re not helping you retain your customer base generate more profit!? If your systems can’t communicate and work in harmony to deliver excellent customer service and increase revenue, you might as well revert to tickler cards and spreadsheets. 

In today’s fast-paced environment your customers demand more than just great products; they want a great experience and personal engagement. They’re not just looking for companies to do business with, or products to buy; they’re looking for long-term partners and deeply personal experiences.

A strong Master Data Management strategy can be the foundation that fuels your organization’s ability to develop deep and profound relationships with your customers. As an organization, you want to ensure that with any member of your team, they’re left with the feeling they’re in good hands and they become obsessed with your brand. You can create an army of brand evangelists, all singing your song, buzzing your buzzwords; driving new customers to your doors all because you did not let them down and you exceeded their expectations. Sounds great, right? While it may be difficult to obtain a viral ‘Fortune-500 utopia,’ organizations can at least start laying the bricks to build a customer-obsessed foundation with error-free data management.

Stay tuned for my next blog post, where I will dive deeper into the benefits of MDM in your organization, and a few options to consider in your MDM search. 

See how data management fits into your overall cloud governance strategy in our live webcast: Enterprise Cloud Governance, 10/22.

Questions about MDM? Leave a comment below or reach out to me on Twitter at @JonTresko.