Saturday, May 10, 2008

Master reference data - revisited

I get the feeling data master reference data is another hype in the making. In my previous post I already about two titans gearing up for the big fight in this space, but apart from that I see now also all EAI vendors and of course all consultancies coming up with a Master data story ... If it gets like this in the IT industry, then get yourself ready for a bubble (and a burst after all the promises are not met after huge investments ...).

So let's get back to the original problem. Do we want to manage master reference data? In principle I would say yes. But then the next question pops up: Do we really want to have the data managed separate from its usage? And here I start to feel doubts! I think it is good to understand what is master reference data, where it resides in the different systems and boring stuff like ownership etc. But to have it completely separate ... I don't know if this is a good idea. If we would have an Information Asset Manager in the company with a clear bottom line responsibility for the data asset's health. Then yes, I get more positive, but even then I think we could do the job with just a set of good procedures and some proper interfacing.

So consultants: let's focus on what really counts, and don't try to sell us another expensive solution!

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