Imagine trying to empty the ocean with a bucket. That’s the Sisyphean task businesses face when they attempt to govern, consolidate, measure, and optimize all their enterprise data. It’s overwhelming and ultimately ineffective.

1. Focus on Processes, Not Domains
2. The Power of Process-Oriented MDM
3. Focus on the Flow, Not the Bucket

The domain-oriented approach – focusing on specific areas like customer, product, or supplier data – was an initial attempt to bring focus to MDM. While it provided some structure, it suffers from two critical flaws:

• Sheer Volume: Even a single domain like customer data can have hundreds of attributes. Sorting through such a massive amount of information is inefficient, and most of it likely isn’t even critical for your needs.
• Silo Mentality: Domain-oriented MDM can inadvertently create new data silos within the business. Each domain becomes an island, making it difficult to answer cross-functional questions. Imagine the frustration of not being able to answer seemingly simple inquiries like:
  • “How many suppliers do we have for this product?”
  • “Are any of my suppliers also employees?”
  • “How much commission do I owe my sales team based on their performance by territory, product, or account?”

These questions require data from multiple domains, and siloed systems simply can’t handle them. Domain-oriented solutions become self-limiting and hinder your ability to gain valuable insights.

These limitations render single-domain solutions inherently restrictive. They simply can’t answer the kind of questions that drive real business decisions.

Focus on Processes, Not Domains

So, how do we break free from this data bucket brigade mentality? The answer lies in a process-oriented, multidomain approach to MDM.

Here’s the key:

• Business Processes Drive Data Needs: Instead of focusing on data domains, prioritize the key business processes that support your primary business goals. What are the critical steps involved in your marketing campaigns, sales cycles, or product development?
• Identify Data for Each Process: By understanding the processes, you can identify the specific data elements crucial for each step. This creates a targeted approach, ensuring you focus on the data that truly matters.
• Break Down Data Silos: By aligning data needs with processes, you naturally break down existing silos. Data becomes integrated and readily available to answer cross-functional questions.

The Power of Process-Oriented MDM

Think about it this way: Process and data are inextricably linked.

• Process gives data context and relevance. Data that does not support a business process does not support the business. Data that does not support the business does not need to be governed.
• Data gives process substance. Without quality data, business processes fail.

Focus on the Flow, Not the Bucket

Instead of getting lost in a sea of domains, let’s shift our focus to the currents that drive our business – the key processes that support our goals. There’s an undeniable link between business processes and the data they generate.

• Marketing Automation: Streamline customer acquisition by ensuring marketing data flows seamlessly through campaign management and lead nurturing processes.
• Order Fulfillment: Eliminate errors and delays by connecting product data with inventory and shipping systems for a smooth order fulfillment experience.
• Sales Performance Management: Track sales team performance by territory, product, or account with a unified view of customer and sales data.

By focusing on the data that flows through these critical processes, we can break down departmental silos and unlock the true power of our data. This process-centric approach allows us to answer those essential cross-functional questions with ease.

So, ditch the data bucket and embrace a process-oriented approach to multidomain MDM. It’s the key to unlocking the true power of your enterprise data.