Comprehensive Ventana Research Study Finds Organizations are Adopting Master Data Management to Manage Several Data Entities: Two Out of Three State a Centralized Master Data Hub is Critical to Their MDM Strategy
According to a comprehensive research study conducted by Ventana Research, the need for both timely and accurate information has driven both business and IT management to adopt master data management (MDM) solutions in order to link their information and data management efforts in support of business intelligence (BI) and performance management initiatives. The study entitled, Master Data Management: Business and Technology Trends, found that MDM is gaining momentum as nearly half (49 percent) of all respondents said they have an MDM project planned or under investigation, while more than a quarter (27 percent) have an MDM initiative already under way. Citing the need to improve the management of multiple data entities – with customer, product and financial data identified as top priorities – more than two out of three (70 percent) companies surveyed stated that a centralized hub is the most critical technical component to their over-all MDM strategy.
Surveying an audience of business and IT users, the study showed that companies are looking to use MDM to resolve both analytical and operational functions. At the analytical level, 34 percent of respondents said their top priority was to improve the accuracy and consistency of reporting followed by gaining control over the information needed to effectively market and sell products. At the operational level, the top priority for 70 percent of respondents was to create a centralized data hub that can be used to synchronize data across a multitude of application systems and data warehouses. With a focus on improving functions that involve the customer, the survey found that a top business priority is to create a golden record of customer data and to produce a correlating enterprise-wide view of the customer.
When asked to identify the functional areas that would receive the greatest benefit from an MDM solution, nearly a third of all survey participants (31 percent) cited sales and marketing as the functional areas most likely to benefit, followed by finance, customer service or call center and IT. However, the research also recognized that a solid data governance strategy is needed to ensure business success, as respondents claimed that data governance and the processes needed to govern master data was almost as important as the technology itself. Consequently, most companies have instituted a data governance board to oversee these initiatives and as a result have adopted best practices that include, according to participants, senior representation from both business and IT.
“Competitive pressures and regulatory requirements are forcing companies to focus more on their customers and to take a long hard look at the integrity of their information assets,” said Mark Smith, CEO and EVP Research at Ventana Research. “While MDM is clearly attracting the attention of corporations, the survey found that the innovative companies have calculated the lost value that data errors and data inconsistencies cost their business, have developed a solid business case to support the need for change, and have embarked on a committed MDM project– even if it involves starting small to address a specific business issue with plans to grow and support broader data governance processes and information management efforts.”
“Once thought to be a pure IT solution, the Ventana Research findings validate the enormous process improvements and strategic business drivers that can be realized by adopting an effective MDM strategy,” said Anurag Wadehra, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management, Siperian. “Siperian’s customers are using Siperian MDM Hub™ for a variety of business purposes, ranging from large-scale, enterprise-wide master data management solutions to smaller business unit-specific initiatives to address their customer and product data management needs and to support their analytical and operational business requirements.”
Siperian partnered with Ventana Research in April 2007 and surveyed more than 230 qualified professionals to identify the current and planned use of master data management and to ascertain the business and IT components that are driving the adoption of MDM. The survey has a confidence level of +/- 6.6 percent.
About Siperian, Inc.
Siperian, Inc. is an innovative provider of the most flexible master data management platform. Siperian helps companies unify their critical data about customers, products and organizations– and delivers the most reliable, complete views of this data within existing business processes. Siperian MDM Hub™ offers the next generation of architectural flexibility for managing all types of master data with an integrated, model-driven software platform that adapts to your business requirements– and delivers rapid return on investment on critical projects today while evolving to a complete enterprise master data management platform. Siperian’s approach enables rapid implementation and has earned the company its reputation for leadership and proven success by meeting the complex requirements of market-leading companies in Financial Services, Health & Life Sciences, High-Tech, Manufacturing, Communications and Media. With corporate headquarters in San Mateo, California, Siperian has offices throughout the United States and in Toronto, Canada, and an EMEA office in London. To learn more about Siperian visit www.siperian.com or call 1-866-747-3742.
