Master Data Management

A recent Information Week article told us that the amount of data stored in business now doubles every 12-18 months, and that the demand for information is increasing at such a fast pace that IT organizations are struggling to deliver timely responses to the information requests of businesses. Because of the unfortunate state of most companies' information architecture, these requests take months, not days, to satisfy. Many organizations are re-examining their existing approaches to managing data and ensuring the foundation of information management is well-managed. This book will appeal to IT architects and others, including consultants, who need to improve existing data warehouse and business intelligence initiatives, and provide a focal point for data quality--far beyond what using vendor tools alone can do.

The key to a successful MDM initiative isn't technology or methods, it's people: the stakeholders in the organization and their complex ownership of the data that the initiative will affect.

Master Data Management equips you with a deeply practical, business-focused way of thinking about MDM-an understanding that will greatly enhance your ability to communicate with stakeholders and win their support. Moreover, it will help you deserve their support: you'll master all the details involved in planning and executing an MDM project that leads to measurable improvements in business productivity and effectiveness.

* Presents a comprehensive roadmap that you can adapt to any MDM project.
* Emphasizes the critical goal of maintaining and improving data quality.
* Provides guidelines for determining which data to "master.
* Examines special issues relating to master data metadata.
* Considers a range of MDM architectural styles.
* Covers the synchronization of master data across the application infrastructure.

David Loshin is President of Knowledge Integrity, Inc., a company specializing in data management consulting. The author of numerous books on performance computing and data management, including "Master Data Management" (2008) and "Business Intelligence - The Savvy Manager's Guide" (2003), and creator of courses and tutorials on all facets of data management best practices, David is often looked to for thought leadership in the information management industry.