There is no question regarding how important technology is to MDM. Without technology, it is simply impossible to achieve the desired levels of automation, scalability, usability, reliability, time-to-market, and so on. Furthermore, and repeated over and over throughout this book, is the fact MDM is about people, process, and technology. The proper combination of these three elements is what makes MDM successful. Complementary is the fact MDM is constantly fine-tuning these elements for maximum benefits.
Figure 3.1 represents people, process, and technology and MDM as a pair of gears. As one is adjusted, the other is impacted.
Figure 3.1 Reliance between MDM and People, Process, and Technology
As much as technology is clearly important, when companies start a Customer MDM program they are looking to solve a business need. It is a given business need that will drive what technology is required, and not the other way around. Obviously, in certain markets and industries, technology can be a strategic differentiator, and as such, it becomes a business priority in itself. In another example, a given company may become so ineffective due to an outdated technological solution that it has no option except to upgrade. But again, it is not about the technology per se. It is about solving for the inefficiencies inflicted into the business operations.
In Chapter 1, the pervasive and encompassing nature of MDM was discussed, consequently impacting many organizations within the company. Business requirements can vary widely from one company to another due to differences such as culture, organizational charts, cross-functional relationships, industry types, operational practices, and so on. With that said, and considering the statement in the last paragraph, it is easy to see how it becomes difficult to find an existing technological solution that will fulfill all business needs on a large-scale program such as MDM.
In the early days of MDM, it was common to see companies opt to build their own solutions because vendor offers couldn't quite fulfill their needs. However, the pendulum is swinging toward the buy end as MDM solutions mature with improved products and considerable market consolidation through important acquisitions by major players.
Still, in a lot of cases, it will likely be necessary to buy from multiple vendors, as it is difficult to find a single one that can cover MDM practices from soup to nuts. Besides, most vendors and solutions have their strengths and weaknesses. Often, these solutions or particular product offerings are geared more toward one type of architecture and use case assumptions. Leveraging the right products can make a huge difference in overall deployment and effectiveness.
Even though vendor products have improved, and most of them allow for some customization on their own, it is practically impossible to anticipate every specific business need. Therefore, in addition to the possibility of having to combine multiple vendor solutions, it is also likely that it will be necessary to develop in-house components to achieve maximum customization.
As much as it is the business driving the solution, it is also about making the solution viable. Therefore, it is likely existing business practices might have to change to minimize the amount of customization required by a given technical implementation. Obviously, the goal is to meet the business need, but there could be multiple ways to do that. It is essential to find out exactly what is the ultimate goal being sought by the business. Chances are it is related to attracting new customers, enhancing customer satisfaction, improving the bottom-line, increasing sales, and so on. Hence, business practices can feasibly be changed without impacting what is really important. Besides, some existing business practices could be the result of years and years of unrevised practices, and not necessarily at an optimal level. Use this opportunity to review and improve them. Before jumping into extensive customization, look for opportunities to streamline existing inefficient or cumbersome processes. Technical tools will have built-in rules and recommended workflows that can be leveraged into the reengineering process.
In summary, start with the business requirements to identify the closest Customer MDM solution available. Customize and add in-house enhancements, but not without first looking for opportunities to change existing practices and avoid unnecessary costs.
Andy Hayler, founder and CEO of The Information Difference, has developed a webinar for the eLearningCurve (www.elearningcurve.com) to help companies evaluate vendors. The webinar is entitled “MDM: Selecting a Vendor.”1
Next, we will discuss the common initial tasks when getting ready for Customer MDM. Typically, this involves the integration and synchronization of disparate data, with the need for data profiling and most likely, data migration.