Role of master data management in large organizations

Abstract

These days mostly all data generated is stored as digital data. Whatever action happens in the world, the outcome tends to be a digital data. From social networking sites to customer management applications and to further different business segments and operational streams of the organizations, everything formulates to be a digital data. For organizations, data is generated from different business sectors and varied operational segments. The question that is prevalent and is hard to answer is how do organizations take best holistic decisions on data sets coming from varied applications and source systems. To take effective decisions, organizations need to collate the data coming from different source systems and create a unified master data. Decisions taken on such master records are more meaningful and impactful. Master Data Management is a technology that helps organizations to collate varied data sets originating from different source systems and create a unified master data set. This master data set can be further used by the organizations for effective analytics, operational benefits, streamlined reporting and even for adhering to regulatory requirements.

Organizations can collate several different types of data entities and hence Master Data Management can be applied on different domains such as customers, suppliers, products and vendors. It depends on an organizational requirement for which domain data sets need to be collated and mastered. Thesis is divided into 3 segments. First segment describes the Master Data Management technology and gives an overview of the architecture and snapshot of industry adoption of the technology. Second chapter describes the motivational factors for organizations to use Master Data Management. Last and third chapter describes a strategic framework to implement Master Data Management in an organization. Finally I have drawn few conclusions out of my thesis, which help to understand the thesis appropriately.