Master data management is an ever-changing industry. Every year brings new challenges and the necessary skills of a professional in this industry shifts.
But understanding the upcoming trends for 2019 is not only important for people within the industry, according to consultant Sam Ovens. Business owners, too, should know about how data management is changing, since they are the ultimate end users.
Let’s take a look at the main master data management trends for 2019.
Data Quality Tools in the MDM Environment
It’s common for data quality tools in the master data management environment to have an automatic cleaning feature. These tools tend to identify, match, and store data without cleansing. However, this is not ideal for clients who already have cleansing solutions established within their company.
It can make the job much harder, and it takes away from these automatic tools.
Now brand new data quality tools in the master data management hub are allowing their users to use existing cleansing solutions within these programs.
Now companies can take full advantage of their investments.
Using Common Platforms for Multiple Data Subject Areas
Despite how complicated this sounds, Sam says it’s as simple as what many other digital areas have already done. Within the master data management industry, common, central platforms are becoming commonplace, and are expected to do so to an even greater extent in 2019.
In other words, rather than a business taking multiple servers and integrating them into a single platform, master data management reduces the number of physical platforms.
Naturally, this is more efficient. But its true value is in data security by harboring all data under one safe hub.
Recognizing Relationships through MDM
Businesses are starting to pivot toward relationships between entities. Rather than just using master data management to create and manage relationships between different departments, companies are pinpointing relationships that go beyond an institution.
For example, in the case of a bank master data management can be used to look at the principals who hold the assets of the business, along with their family members and partners.
All of this can be used to better understand the people involved in a business. Vendors in the master data management industry are increasingly going to be using advanced algorithms to easily pinpoint these relationships.
The concept of doing this is nothing new, but it used to take a long time because it had to be done manually.
Changing How Data Stewardship Solutions Work
The issue most companies have is data stewardship is rarely a formal process and the de facto people who take responsibility for these issues are operating in a reactive way.
In other words, when there’s a problem they’ll do something about it.
Formal strategies for data stewardship, with employees who are dedicated to this, are the exception, not the rule. That’s why master data management solutions are becoming able to proactively find and solve data issues, even if a human review is needed.
Proactive data stewardship will prevent a lot of problems within businesses later.
Integrating MDM Within Workflows and Processes
If we look at master data management best practices we’ll see that there’s currently little provision for integrating this field to the day-to-day workflows and processes experienced by organizations.
2019 is going to be the year when industries begin to better integrate master data management into their workflows.
For example, there are a lot of industries that have extremely complex supply chains. This requires master data to be updated and synchronized in real-time. With so many systems in operation at once, new software will need to be able to integrate in a real-time fashion.
Failing this, data redundancy, incorrect data, and lost data are three highly possible outcomes.
The upcoming year will be the year where we move away from seeing master data management as something independent from a company’s daily operations.
Removing Inoperability During Installation
For many small businesses, they see the introduction of master data management as something that’s too difficult. Corporations spend millions of dollars on integrating a new master data management system into their organizations.
Why is this the case?
A solid master data management system uses a range of different technologies and tools. The problem is the metadata for each of these tools is usually different and comes with different standards. As you can imagine, this can lead to inoperability and incompatibility across different systems.
The unification of metadata is something that’s been on the horizon for a long time, and 2019 could be the year when it happens.
The impact of this on the amount of use of master data management technologies will be astronomical. For the first time, businesses will be able to seamlessly integrate this technology into their business.
For corporations with huge budgets, it arguably cuts the competitive edge they’ve held for the last few years.
The Value of Master Data Management is Increasing
All these trends come together to ultimately increase and enhance the value of master data management to all businesses.
The biggest gainers in 2019 will be small businesses. Previously, they may have considered this technology to be out of reach or not relevant enough for them to invest in it.
But 2019 will see many of the most popular vendors improving their offerings and making it more accessible to all businesses.
We have always recommended that organizations pay attention to master data management. Yet with these changes it’s not just a recommendation it should be considered essential.
Last Word – What to Watch for in Master Data Management in 2019
Overall, the theme of master data management in 2019 can be boiled down to improved accessibility and improved usability.
The common misconception about master data management is that it’s not relevant to the majority of businesses, especially small businesses. Yet its evolution and the way it has disrupted the overall data management industry should alter that misconception.
It’s now a ‘must have’ for any business that cares about the way it uses and manages its data.
Hire a master data management consultant today and begin integrating this technology into your business!
About the author
Douglas Pitassi is a freelance writer and small business blogger.
