Master Data Management Success is Easier than You Think
Blog: The Tibco Blog
Reading Time: 2 minutes
To succeed with MDM, Get Lazy!
When asked about how he addresses difficult business challenges, Microsoft founder and noted philanthropist Bill Gates replied, “I will always choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
As a business-led program that combines people, processes, and master data management (MDM) platform technology, successful MDM implementations certainly qualify as hard jobs.
So, what is the easy way? Get lazy using these five proven paths to MDM success.
- Start with your Digital Transformation Strategy
Because MDM spans myriad data domains and lines of business, it is essential that you implement your MDM platform based on a well-considered digital transformation strategy. Is your competitive success based on customer engagement, innovation, operational excellence, or some combination? The answer to this question should inform your MDM strategy. For example, if your digital transformation strategy is to grow your cross customers cross-sell revenues, then focus your MDM efforts on your customer master as the key to your customers’ preferences, prior purchases, current activity, and anything else you need to intelligently offer them just the right cross-sell product at just the right time.
- Build your MDM program on a flexible platform
Because your MDM strategy will evolve and grow over time, you need to implement a MDM platform that will also evolve and grow as you do. If you select a multi-domain, multi-style MDM platform, such as TIBCO EBX
, you can start anywhere and evolve to wherever you choose to go.
- Establish proper MDM governance from the start
Governance is critical. Start by establishing MDM roles and responsibilities. Mandate a master data asset stewardship process that maintains master and reference data consistency using shared workflows. Implement a common change process across your enterprise and reinforce master data standards throughout your organization.
- Deliver small wins using focused teams and iterative methods
Implementing a series of small wins is a proven approach to MDM success. This lets you consistently achieve new business benefits while avoiding the extra risk inherent in large projects. Key steps in this iterative methodology include: specification, design, development, testing, and deployment. Typically your business teams perform the specification and testing steps, while your technical staff focuses on design, development, and deployment.
- Leverage third-party expertise and resources
To supplement your internal team in the early stages of your MDM implementation, take advantage of third-party resources from MDM specialist system integration (SI) firms. Not only does this provide extra resources required for success, it also lets you avoid both common pitfalls and the need to reinvent the wheel. TIBCO works with a number of MDM specialist SIs globally, including:
You need to implement a MDM platform that will also evolve and grow as you do. If you select a multi-domain, multi-style MDM platform, such as TIBCO EBX, you can start anywhere and evolve to wherever you choose to go.
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Your lazy next step
To move ahead toward MDM implementation success you can start by learning more about TIBCO EBX, TIBCO’s master and reference data management platform, and see how others have successfully implemented it.
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