Making Music with Master Data Management

4 Ways MDM Accelerates Growth — And the Numbers to Prove It

If your organization’s data were an orchestra, would it sound harmonious?

A full-scale symphony orchestra consists of up to 100 musicians playing more than 20 different instruments. Strings. Woodwind. Brass. Percussion. First violins. Second violins. Double basses. Flutes. Oboes. With so many sounds coming together at once, it’s a wonder the result is anything more than a raucous noise.

But there’s a secret to this success.

The conductor is the maestro of the orchestra, directing every section in turn and bringing each instrument together whenever necessary. Likewise, your master data management (MDM) is the conductor that unites and synthesizes your data into something immediately useful — something much more than the sum of its disjointed parts.

So, what’s the payoff? Why is effective MDM the key to “getting more out of your data” and the only way to maximize your organization’s growth? I’m a senior executive at a company that is leading the charge in data management enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI), and these are the four ways I’ve learned MDM can accelerate future growth — and the numbers to prove it.

1. Optimal ERP migration

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has quickly become the gold standard for corporate-level decision making. In fact, over 70% of large businesses currently employ a digital ERP solution. That said, the long-term benefits of these solutions don’t mean the data migration that makes them possible isn’t rife with potential delays and complications. Additionally, there are never any guarantees that your data won’t need to be moved to a new provider or held in stasis for a large update sometime in the not-so-distant future.

MDM provides a single source of truth for all your critical data, meaning data migrations and data mobility are much less of an issue. Centralized data not only streamlines the ERP onboarding process, but it also proactively removes input errors and standardizes your data handling to avoid future inconsistencies. Essentially, all this means that your organization is much more capable of capitalizing on the efficiencies of ERP integration.

What do the numbers say?

• Over 50% of companies experience delays and lost revenue due to phased data migration.
• When implementing ERP, over 70% of organizations say their goal is greater efficiency.
• Still, up to 65% of businesses say accessing their ERP is difficult.

2. Preemptive AI readiness

Any industry that places a premium value on data is going to be heavily impacted by AI. Truth be told, it’s already been happening for years, evidenced by the fact that 76% of IT businesses were either using or exploring the use of AI at the start of 2024. However, if your organization is looking to test the waters of AI, or if it’s simply looking to dive a little deeper, MDM implementation is one of the best moves in that direction. Why? Because AI integration is heavily dependent on accurate and consistent data.

AI models, especially for IT companies, require very significant training. If you don’t have the right kind and the right amount of high-quality data, then you simply won’t get the results you need. MDM provides your organization with a clean and consistent source of data — a dependable training ground for all future AI models. This means you’re ready for any AI opportunities that appear on the horizon.

What do the numbers say?

• 61% of organizations are evolving their data & analytics models due to AI integration.
• AI has the potential to improve data accuracy by up to 80%.
• By 2025, it’s estimated GenAI will be a workforce partner for over 90% of companies worldwide.

3. Greater regulatory compliance

Imagine you’re in charge of building a house. There are dozens of workers and craftsmen coming and going, but you’re the one ultimately responsible for finishing the project on time, on budget, and to everyone’s satisfaction. What is your single source of truth? The blueprints. The final representation of how everything should look and function, signed and verified by the home’s future owners.

Your company’s data governance is probably pretty complex — lots of coming and going. There are likely several individuals who handle any given dataset, and it’s possible you even have to deal with the complications that come with confined data silos. Regardless, your regulatory deadlines and expectations are inflexible, and many of them come with increasingly serious consequences. That’s why MDM — your single source of truth with exhaustive reporting — is your company’s best foot forward in achieving regulatory compliance.

What do the numbers say?

• GDPR penalties can be up to 4% of the total global turnover the preceding fiscal year.
• 77% of data professionals say their data architecture is key to long-term success in their industry.

4. Targeted cost reduction

Now, imagine you’re a janitor at a high school in the 1980s. You probably spend a lot of your time sweeping, mopping, and cleaning up small messes. But what if a time traveler showed up with an autonomous vacuum from 2024? Imagine your reaction to a robot you could turn on at night when the students weren’t in the building, then show up to a much cleaner school and a much less daunting  workday. You might start celebrating on the spot.

MDM is the Roomba of your data management. MDM gets rid of all the small messes as they’re happening, resulting in fewer data quality issues overall. This means less time and less money spent on cleaning and verifying data, as well as fewer opportunities for any failures in data quality to undercut the bottom line. Beyond that, a 360-degree view of your spend data is the only way to fully optimize supply chain strategy.

What do the numbers say?

• 82% of those surveyed spent one or more days per week resolving master data quality issues.
• As early as 2017, poor data quality was already leeching $15 million per year from businesses.

Written by Dave Curtis.

Have you read?
World’s Most Innovative Countries, Best Fashion Schools. Best Universities. Best Medical Schools. Best International High Schools. Countries: Most Female Billionaires.