- A consolidated view of all information values the operation and collaboration of companies.
*By Edgar Zamudio
The problems that successful companies may face are not so obvious, but after talking to executives at several of these companies, some common bottlenecks can be identified, which are almost never the same but have many similarities. When it comes to data, there are a multitude of topics, from storage infrastructure, connectors, integration, protection, making sense to business users, presenting it, giving it consistency, combining it, monetizing it, and so on. go. And in these meetings with technology and business executives from different companies, a common theme is master data management. Most of the time, these are initiatives that come from the business areas, not necessarily from information technology (IT).
TIBCO sponsored the IDC InfoBrief on emerging data trends, titled “Intelligent use of data: unification and channeling patterns in the digital economy“, who emphasized that by 2023, more than 103 ZBs of new data would be created. Another very relevant fact is the difficulty in integrating and managing information, where 60% companies struggle with the quality and complexity of data, especially in the context of information security and governance.
Here, I would like to comment on some of these cases as they impact the potential benefits of solving them and the different data domains involved, such as customers, products, suppliers, real estate, employees, etc.
An example is a packaged food company, with factories in different cities and countries, with the same products but with different presentations due to local regulations or customs. This poses significant challenges to the organization to determine the performance of a product globally, and even in the country of origin it is complex to be able to determine stock levels, since each factory handles different data for the same product.
The solution is to have a master data for each product, like a microwaveable pizza, that has a link to all properties, such as ingredients, presentations, packaging, promotions and factories. It does not matter where the data is used, and who uses it, will always have the necessary information and will be able to identify the origin of each data. Finally, this master data, combined with transactional information, will allow you to identify sales, deliveries, billing, inventory and everything related to the performance of each product, which can mean millions in savings, whether by reducing days of inventory or by immediate billing, effective promotions and other operational benefits.
In the case of financial services institutions, we have identified more complex cases. Financial services have the strictest regulations in every country, and if we add in the diversification of the products and services they already offer, that makes them even more complicated.
The experience of going to the bank and receiving an offer of a product from the same financial institution, or one that does not fit their need, is due in part to this lack of visibility of executives to a master data of their clients. Again, each system, such as the banking center, marketing center or CRM, will have a customer record with different information for its specific purpose, even with regard to regulatory issues, but this would be important so that the executive could quickly identify the contracted products for each customer, history of events or reports, contacts (where permitted), promotions accepted and other data.
In this case, using this master data, together with historical information, applying advanced analytic models, it is possible to immediately determine the best financial product to offer you and, even more, the type of credit that can be given to you, in terms of terms , values and fees. This can result in a better customer experience, increased revenue, reduced risk and more effective marketing.
Another recurring theme in financial services and other sectors that have direct contact with consumers is the handling of personal information, which, due to different regulations and legislation in each country, requires companies to apply specific controls, including those of their own employees. In this case, it is important that a master data management solution helps us implement processes and record the use of personal data, to be able to identify and classify that it is personal data, identify the people within the company dedicated to these controls. , and beyond, as regulatory bodies. And also to help document incidents, identifying the source of data and all mitigation actions.
In some Latin American countries, they have the GDPR regulation, of European origin, but which covers the subject of personal data in a broad way. At different times in each country, violating these regulations will impose significant fines on companies. Therefore, it is important to have the necessary controls in place and well documented.
In conclusion, the reasons why a master data management (MDM) solution is needed range from analytics to improved decision making and improved marketing process; operational products, customers, suppliers, real estate, etc.; and for those at risk of violating regulations, getting a more accurate view to reduce that overall risk.
To cover these factors, it is essential that business users, not just IT, are involved in the entire master data management process, and that they have the necessary tools that add value to their operation, allowing collaboration from the most technical areas , including data analysts and business analysts, right down to decision makers.
* Edgar Zamudio is a TIBCO pre-sales consultant.
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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