Companies now realize that ongoing competitiveness depends on the ability to free critical business processes from the confines of individual applications and execute them smoothly and consistently across system boundaries. Master Data Management (MDM) helps companies achieve this challenging goal in a way that leverages the existing system environment and maximizes overall IT investment. Now there is a way to eliminate the data redundancies and inconsistencies that diminish business performance, while truly unifying the extended enterprise at the critical level of business processes. Master Data Management supports an incremental approach to a cohesive master data management in a distributed and heterogeneous environment. You may like to read: Enterprise Grade Master Data Management Strategy What are the Best Practices in Master Data Management? The Best Practices in Master Data Management are in three process namely, Content Consolidation, Master Data Harmonization and Central Master Data Management. Any master data management solution requires the consolidation of master data objects from different systems. In addition to the Content Consolidation scenario, Master Data Harmonization enables consistent maintenance and distribution of master data records – focusing on global attributes. Maintaining a subset of master data attributes is sometimes insufficient. Therefore MDM also supports the central maintenance of a complete object definition, including dependencies to other objects, on the master data server. Use Content Consolidation to search for master data objects across linked systems Use Content Consolidation to identify identical or similar objects Use Content Consolidation to cleanse objects as needed Use Business context grouping to determine which data objects belong together in a business sense. Use Client-specific data control to control data at the local level so that individual systems can receive only the data they need, only at the time they need it. Use capabilities to synchronously check for the existence of duplicates during master data maintenance in a way that safeguards data quality without interrupting time critical work. Use workflows to check master data for accuracy and redundancy, enrich objects according to individual requirements, and release them for distribution. To improve efficiency, automate distribution. This involves the use of event triggers, with target systems being determined according to the business context of the event. Use the maintenance of a complete object definition including object dependencies in a centralized server for master data. You may like to read: Biggest Problems in Master Data Management Master Data Management Process What are the Best Practices in Content Consolidation Process? In consolidating master data objects from different systems, identical or similar objects need to be identified, possibly cleansed, and existing duplicates (that is, redundant master data records within one client system) can be determined. This entails capabilities to: Search for master data objects across linked systems Identify identical or similar objects Cleanse objects as needed After consolidation, information from different systems should be transferred to a business information warehouse where it can be accessed for unified, company wide analytics and reporting. To minimize disruptions, an MDM solution should enable the consolidation of master data without adjusting originating systems This kind of flexible, non-intrusive approach to master data consolidation lays [...]