How Referential Data Helps Your Master Data Program

Master Data Management Is Easier with Referential Data

You’re on a mission — a mission to master your data. The road to master data has three main segments. First, you need to create a clear internal relationship view of your customer across all of your business processes and repositories. Second, you need to provide an external view which enables a more thorough understanding of the areas of opportunity. And finally, you need to show value for your master data program — preferably, quickly.

Like most of us on this mission, you have several source systems with varying degrees of data quality. Some are legacy, predating your time at the company, and it seems like no one who even remembers how the data structures were built is still around. Others aren’t too bad, but they’re all somewhat siloed with different data definitions. Sigh. No one ever said the road to data mastery would be easy…

Master Data Best Practices

Now imagine that one of your internal source systems within your enterprise data environment had expertly pre-mastered data right from the start. This means no duplicates, and every entity known and enriched with the information necessary to understand their value to you and your organization. The data was updated and maintained, required no stewardship, and had standard definitions and hierarchies that you could work with. You’d likely consider it your gold standard, and you’d make a practice of comparing the data from all your other data sources to it.

Most of us are not that lucky — we don’t have access to that treasure trove of information. And when you don’t have this ideal internal data source at your fingertips, you have two options.

Improve Data Quality with a Referential Database

First, try to get at least one of your systems, or a combination of a few, to morph into something close enough to that golden state; recognizing it will take time. The second and more realistic option is to find an external referential database that can provide immediate access to an optional gold standard.

There are several advantages to using a referential database. The referential database enables you to take your blinders off regarding your own company data quality. It sets a standard of quality that will show you where data is better and where it’s worse in your business.

Your referential data vendor keeps the “gold standard” up to date, de-duped, and clean. That’s a costly and time-consuming effort you don’t need to take on yourself. You need to spend your time fixing the wrongs and replicating what’s working with your data processes.

Referential Databases Boost MDM Programs

The referential database should also provide additional attributes, like hierarchies and firmographic data, that can further the insight of your internal data. It can bring the value of your data mastering initiative to a new level, enabling a quicker ROI for your overall MDM program. All your data that matches or can be related to the referential database can now have analytics run against it. You can begin to make decisions based on your data sooner, knowing they will be decisions made on good, clean, standardized data.

Your referential data should consist of a superset of the data that you are attempting to master. The data that you need to steward should be found in your referential set. This will help you clean your data faster. Referential data also provides the view to the outside world — your opportunity. You can’t see that with your internal data. Your referential data can give you access to the best prospects that you probably didn’t even know about.

Referential data should be an invaluable component to your master data program. It can help provide additional insights and visibility to opportunities. It will help you achieve faster ROI for your master data program. And most significantly, it will ease your burden of setting and maintaining the data “gold standard.” Consequently, your road to mastered data will seem smoother and more clearly marked — more like a guided tour and less like a struggle to find your way through the wilderness.