Courtesy of Experian QAS
Data is something that companies have always had, yet it is
also poised to dominate the enterprise conversation in ways it
never has before. The explosion of both types and amount of data
that companies can store and use has sent IT departments in search
of effective data management and warehousing programs. According to
TechTarget, however, these programs sometimes avoid the opportunity
to launch with strong governance and
data quality oversight. Going ahead without such
features, according to the source, is a mistake.
Governance from the start
According to TechTarget, companies are launching master data
management (MDM) programs to bring their multiple data systems
together and move forward with unified and easy-to-use systems.
Unfortunately, these projects sometimes neglect to set requirements
for data quality. The founder of the MDM Institute, Aaron Zornes,
told the source that companies should look after the quality of the
information from the launch of a management program.
"Go governance, go early," he told TechTarget. "You've got
to do governance; otherwise, it's not sustainable, and you're not
going to get the real [return on investment]. Without governance,
MDM is just data integration."
Zornes told the source he believes that the time for data
management to become mainstream has come, with the systems no
longer simply a rising area for early adopters. He described MDM as
a "mature" area with the ability to impact performance and generate
ROI for firms immediately. He predicted, however, that governance
plans would not get their due in 2012 and have to wait until 2014
or 2015 before the majority of companies turn their eyes from data
integration to data quality.
Growth factor
Managing data and enforcing governance protocols have become
critical sources of action on the data integration software market,
implying that efforts to keep information well-managed are on the
minds of CIOs. The recent TechNavio analysis of the data
integration software market between 2011 and 2015 predicted the
market will rise 11 percent each year. While the research predicted
that companies might balk at the cost of integrating their data,
the growth in revenue was attributed to an eagerness for governance
tools.
Data is everywhere in the enterprise, meaning the need to
keep information clear and usable has spread as well. On any
continent and in any industrial vertical, CIOs will soon need data
quality tools and the plans to enforce their use, if that time has
not already come.