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It’s that time of year again. No, not back to school. Something worse. Annual corporate planning! For many, this is a very busy time as they continue with their day jobs while also struggling to find time for strategic thinking, analysis, and long term planning. It’s not easy to find the time. Truth be told, sometimes the analysis and planning suffer. Obvious things get into the plan. Things that are easier to justify get into the plan. But sometimes, things that would deliver obvious benefits but aren’t easy to plan for or justify get overlooked. Migrating enterprise software that is deeply connected to many applications is one of those things. And migrating Master Data Management (MDM) from on-premises to the cloud is a great example of that problem.
There are numerous benefits to migrating to cloud MDM. AI-powered identity resolution. Automated data stewardship. Instant deployments. Faster time to value. New business-oriented functionality. But there are numerous challenges too. Cloud MDM maturity. Migration tooling availability. Migration costs. Planning complexity. But all of those challenges can be overcome. In this blog series, we’ll explore that in more detail.
The first step is planning. This is where projects either succeed or fail. I can’t overstate the importance of planning enough. Just having a plan isn’t the key success factor. Success lies in the details of the plan. The right details come from expertise.
I’ve had plenty of experiences migrating MDM solutions over the last 25 years. That includes upgrading from early MDM platforms such as Customer Data Integration (CDI) or Product Information Management (PIM) to a new MDM system, migrating from one style of MDM (registry, hybrid, or transaction hub) to another, migrating from one MDM vendor to another, and migrating from on-premises MDM to cloud MDM solutions. And I can confidently say that planning is the most important, and unfortunately most neglected, aspect of an MDM migration.
Start by doing an assessment of the current on-premises environment – application dependencies, transaction volumes, data volumes, and security requirements. Understand use cases and requirements deeply to gain an understanding of how MDM delivers business value. Analyze the data within the master data system – profile it and understand its completeness and quality level. It is equally important to profile and document the business rules that govern master data, so that later you can ensure they are implemented exactly to requirements in the cloud MDM solution. Analyze the data model and map it to the cloud MDM solution’s model. Finally document the goals, benefits and costs and socialize them broadly.
I recall working with an MDM client years ago who was migrating from one vendor to another. They wanted to do it for years, but struggled to find the justification. The existing system was ingrained and its business case was assumed to have been delivered. Inertia reigned. I helped them make the case for migrating MDM by documenting the cost of staying on their current MDM solution, the percentage of the original business case that was actually delivered (it was about 40%), and the additional benefits that could be realized. We deeply analyzed their use cases to understand what functionality of the existing MDM product was really required (it was about 50%) vs. what wasn’t used at all, or used incorrectly or sparingly. The lesson? Don’t do a technical functional comparison from one product to another. Determine what functions are actually necessary first.
Master Data Management is an old market, but one that is going through a renaissance. The need for good data (accurate, complete, trusted data) has never been greater. The number of data sources with fragments of data has also never been higher. The need for master data is stronger than ever. And cloud MDM solutions have technology advancements, many powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) that make it easier than ever for master data across the enterprise. Whether you are migrating from Informatica MDM or IBM MDM to a Cloud MDM Solution, Q Spark Group can help.
My advice to you? Get started. There’s no harm in analyzing whether now is the right time for you to migrate to cloud MDM. Plan to have a plan.
Read more about Best Practices for MDM Cloud Migration
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