Another point of discussion during the MDM Summit was how precise does the matching have to be in order to have a successful Master Data Management solution. And the answer, of course, is it depends.
First, there are some differences in the practicality in matching between consumer and business to business Master Data Management systems. With consumers, you may be able to get a higher match results if you have social security numbers. With B to B companies, in addition to not having a social security number, you are also dealing with the complex nature of corporate hierarchies, multiple locations, mergers, and other factors making the matching more complex.
Second, the purpose of the Master Data Management solution is also going to play a big factor in the level of preciseness needed. If your Master Data Management system is for something like HIPAA compliance, then you are going to need to be very precise since you are dealing with health and privacy issues. On the other hand, if your Master Data Management application is primarily used for marketing and analysis, it may be acceptable to have a somewhat lower match rate.
When we are working with B-to-B Mid-Market organizations, the primary drivers of Master Data Management solutions are developing a singe customer view for up-selling and cross-selling, a single version of the truth for marketing and other analytical purposes, and data quality. With these goals in mind, Mid-Market firms need to see value right away. Therefore, we try to match and link the separate silos of data in a relatively short-time in order to provide immediate impact. A 70-80% match result is still better than the 0% match result that existed before the Master Data Management project. Then, manual resolutions can be invoked if greater precision is needed. Further, the Master Data Management system can be used to tackle the Data Quality issues both during the MDM implementation and continuing on an on-going basis after the “go live”. However, most Mid-Market B-to-B firms looking to develop a single version of the truth for sales and marketing analysis and action do not have to wait until their data is “clean” before gaining the benefits of a Master Data Management system.
Comments