You’d think master data management would be an easy sell in a world where everyone wants an accurate “360-degree” view of the customer. And certainly, that’s a leading driver of adoption.
Yet it’s not always enough to make a winning business case, according to a recent Computing survey of IT decision makers.
The UK tech site interviewed 150 IT decision makers about MDM. The survey found that 38 percent were either currently scoping a project or implementing a project, while another 29 percent had already implemented MDM successfully.
The most-cited factors driving MDM were improving customer experience (60 percent) and improving the quality of strategic decision making. Despite these key business drivers for MDM, IT leaders still struggled to make the MDM business case. When asked about the primary challenges in obtaining funding for customer data management projects, the respondents said:
- A lack of tangible evidence about cost savings (43 percent)
- Prioritizing other data domains (42 percent)
- Securing approval from multiple line of business stakeholders (41 percent)
- Insufficient budget (35 percent)
- General business apathy (33 percent)
- No executive support (20 percent)
- Previous failed project (16 percent – and it’s worth noting that only 5 percent said they had not successfully implemented MDM in the first place)
However, IT leaders can shift that equation, according to a Computing whitepaper based on the survey:
“Start by interviewing business users to get a better understanding of both the time to execute processes and the cost of failure. Focus in on specific use cases that will drive the most tangible return and create momentum for your project. Start small and work with vendors to build a proof of concept that demonstrates quantifiable value so that you can proceed with confidence and create some targeted outcomes.”
I can’t imagine this is a new problem for MDM, but perhaps it’s just now getting attention. It’s probably not a coincidence that Talend, an open source MDM vendor, recently launched a new option to address this very pain point. Passport for Master Data Management Success is a consulting service package that gives companies a four to six week engagement with one of Talend’s partners. During that time, the consultant will help you:
- Assess your organization’s MDM maturity and a plan to meet MDM prereqs.
- Define or fine-tune an MDM business case and prepare IT for promoting it to the LOBs.
- Develop a project roadmap and prep IT for success.
The partner list includes some big names, such as Bearing Point, Capgemini, CGI, CSC, IPL, McKnight Consulting Group, Micropole, Sopra Steria and Virtusa.
Loraine Lawson is a veteran technology reporter and blogger. She currently writes the Integration blog for IT Business Edge, which covers all aspects of integration technology, including data governance and best practices. She has also covered IT/Business Alignment and IT Security for IT Business Edge. Before becoming a freelance writer, Lawson worked at TechRepublic as a site editor and writer, covering mobile, IT management, IT security and other technology trends. Previously, she was a webmaster at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and a newspaper journalist. Follow Lawson at Google+ and on Twitter.