Recently at the MDM Summitin Toronto, one speaker used the term “enterprise master datamanagement” as opposed to just “master data management.” (MDM is theidea that data should exist within a business as a single version ofthe truth). The speaker said the term “enterprise MDM” is meant toemphasize that MDM is not just a department-level initiative, but onefor the enterprise as a whole where data reliability and availability,among others, are key pillars.
But I wondered if using the word “enterprise” isn’t somewhatredundant given that MDM is meant to make organizations take a holisticview of their data by ridding of the scattered silos of data that oftenpersist. The speaker also said that when seeking out an MDM vendor,organizations should use the term “enterprise MDM” presumably to getacross the expectations of the software or consulting they intend tobuy.
A survey by the MDM Institute found that the economic downturn hasled to 25 per cent of MDM initiatives undergoing review and re-scoping.So, perhaps the redundancy in the term is useful not just fornegotiating expectations with the vendor, but for selling the value ofan MDM initiative to leadership. What matter is a little redundancy ifit means saving an MDM vision from the chopping block?
