Data Quality in Master Data Management | Infosys BPM (2024)

Master Data Management

For years, data quality has been one of the highest priorities for any business intelligence (BI) system. Despite that, organisational data remains isolated due to unreliable and insecure servers. Without a well-defined access structure, data cannot be transformed into effective actions. There isn't a set structure for the best data quality, but it depends on the use case and the industry in which one is working.

Here is where a master data management (MDM) system becomes extremely useful.

What is data quality in master data management?

MDM system helps ensure data quality through its consistency, completeness, validity, and accuracy. It also delivers data on time when it is needed. One of the goals of MDM is to source data from remote applications, or data silos such as ERPs, CRMs, and e-commerce platforms, and translate it into a format that delivers value and helps you make quick business decisions.*

Let's see how data is sourced and data quality assured in an master data management (MDM) system.

Challenges in low-quality data

Data quality is a crucial aspect to decision-making and business success. However, maintaining data often gets demoted to the last on the to-do list as various other business operations take the front seat. But when neglected, low-quality data gives rise to problems, such as:

• Incorrect or insufficient data leading to misrepresentation of facts and ineffective decisions
• Excess duplication of data leading to costly and time-consuming clean-up
• Inconsistencies and low content standards due to varied data quality concepts
• Lack of trust among employees in using BI applications for quality data

How does master data management maintain the quality of data?

Data in the hands of the right people at the right time can help improve customer engagement and retention, reduce time to market, and increase sales. Here are some ways to maintain the quality of this data using an MDM system:

• Data cleansing and protecting:

Threat to data is higher when it is in silos and not in a pre-defined format. It can easily fall into the wrong hands through cyber attacks, data breaches, phishing, and more. MDM system helps synthesise data from different systems and cleanse it so that you deal with the right information and it is always in the hands of the right people. This eliminates duplications and integrity issues. For industries such as finance and healthcare, data cleansing and security is paramount.

• Maintaining business processes and workflows:

MDM’s forte is data integration. With the right MDM system in place, data can seamlessly flow between different data systems, or between cloud and on site. This could include CRM, e-commerce, and ERP systems at remote locations and help set up company-wide data management processes.

• Data accessibility:

Data security should never slow down its accessibility. Do you have to wait for approval every time you need access to specific data? With MDM's role-based security policies and custom-built data workflows, you can secure data without a lengthy waiting period. Access logs help generate an audit trail with timestamps, which help in scrutiny and easy traceability when required.

• High-quality data governance and compliance:

Organisations often have to comply with external data security–related certifications. The security parameters you set for your employees should align with the larger regulatory compliances applicable to your organisation. A sound MDM system aligns with the larger data governance practices both over the intranet and the internet. This entails a proactive approach to any possible data breaches, both internal and external.

How Infosys BPM can help ?

Infosys BPM Master Data Management (MDM) services offer end-to-end solutions covering advisory, data quality management, and digital transformation that streamlines business processes with effective governance controls, as well as improves data quality levels for an enterprise. Delivering clean and unified data for enterprises, we customise services to fit our clients’ business needs.

In addition, discover ourData Quality Diagnostic tool, a low-investment and quick turnaround diagnostic offering that focuses on understanding the current data quality levels in an enterprise’s specific master data domain.

View our range of BPM master data management services.

*For organisations on the digital transformation journey, agility is key in responding to a rapidly changing technology and business landscape. Now more than ever, it is crucial to deliver and exceed on organisational expectations with a robust digital mindset backed by innovation. Enabling businesses to sense, learn, respond, and evolve like a living organism, will be imperative for business excellence going forward. A comprehensive, yet modular suite of services is doing exactly that. Equipping organisations with intuitive decision-making automatically at scale, actionable insights based on real-time solutions, anytime/anywhere experience,and in-depth data visibility across functions leading to hyper-productivity, Live Enterprise is building connected organisations that are innovating collaboratively for the future.