Master data management (MDM) is the word on the business intelligence (BI) street, but it comes with associated costs and commitments that vendors seldom punt in their marketing and advertising. * As businesses expand, data becomes increasingly difficult to manage, with duplication of information across multiple applications. MDM creates a single reference for data and information about customers and products, ensuring multiple, and often conflicting, versions are eliminated through the creation of a single view. MDM, in essence, simplifies the ongoing process of ensuring clean data and provides a single reference point. Once implemented, it eliminates the ongoing process of trying to establish which version of multiple data sites is accurate, thus lowering ongoing efforts to obtain consistent information. Rather than viewing MDM as a lifetime commitment, it reduces the commitment for businesses to perpetually monitor the data that their BI is drawing from, and delivers a consistent view of data and information. David McWilliam, managing director of Cognos South Africa.

* MDM is being hyped, so people lose sight of the end goal, often under vendor pressure more than because of actual identified need. MDM is not an end unto itself: rather, it`s a stepping  stone and a true back-office service offering. It`s there to assist in the single view of the business we all want. MDM is not just expensive to build, but very expensive to maintain. The journey should not be taken lightly; the upfront costs and energy, as well as the ongoing energy required, need to be taken into consideration. Keith Jones, managing director of Harvey Jones