Manual MDM is problematical even in case of one or two applications. The problem is that today's organizations use often more than a hundred of different type applications which require master data. Thereupon, automated Master Data Management becomes necessary. And SAP NetWeaver MDM ensures it's provided efficiently enough.

Even though every organization aspires to general IT unification, each and every of them bases on at least a few different solutions and - then - tens of different applications. All these applications require data to work properly. The problem is that each of them requires different data, originating often from different data sources and - additionally - described with different metadata. Somewhere inside this complexity master data is hidden. And master data management is a task which SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management solution is supposed to help with.

Formerly, master data management - time- and effort-consuming - was what people have been constrained on doing manually. Nowadays, there are special solutions which automate this process. The problem, though, is insufficient efficiency of the most of them, but the fact is that every vendor expands its products, trying to make it as helpful to its end users as possible. SAP NetWeaver MDM's role - in a very few words - is ensuring that all the end users are provided with a single version of master data which they can use for their specific purposes later. What's important is the fact that all the chosen applications are provided with agreeing master data. It results in significant reduction of inaccuracy or delay risks.

SAP NetWeaver MDM features

To ensure that the product addresses users' requirements, SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management:

• not only creates the perfect version of master data objects basing on data originating from disparate systems (master data consolidation), but also cleanses, normalizes, an enriches them (thank to a seamless integration with SAP BusinessObjects Data Services product).
• allows to control what is going on with created master data easily. Besides many others, it uses the global attributes so that it could be ensured that all the involved systems across the organization are provided with consistent master data. Additionally, SAP NetWeaver MDM allows regions and divisions to impact master data through adding attributes within the target systems.
• cooperates with SAP NetWeaver Business Process Management applications to enable centralized Master Data Management. What it results in are further enhancements to data governance across the whole enterprises.
• helps in rich product content management. SAP NetWeaver MDM allows to manage the unstructured content (including PDF documents as well as diverse types images). It also supports publishing the updates to content and distribution in a few XML and delimited text formats. The content, then, may be forwarded to chosen units or partners, for instance.
• facilitates customer relations management. By building a repository devoted especially to data applying to the customers (former transactions, preferences, so on and so forth), SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management allows to enhance the fluency of diverse customer processes, regardless of the part of the organization these processes take place in.
• manages vendor data origination from SAP and/or non-SAP sources. As a result, grows the chance to eliminate errors and miscommunication consequences, shorten the chain delays, and - widely speaking - support global initiatives in Business Intelligence. Additionally, it incorporated some validation services from external sources (Dun & Bradstreet for instance).

SAP NetWeaver MDM benefits

What has to be remembered is the fact that Master Data Management - even if being the most efficient - never is a goal itself. The point is that MDM - regardless of its shape and type - is supposed to lead to determined business profits and benefits. In case of MDM solution provided by SAP as a part of its NetWeaver Business Intelligence products family, the main goal is increasing the efficiency of business process occurring within the organization. It wouldn't be possible if not the automation brought by SAP NetWeaver MDM. In the shortest, it allows people to focus on more important aspects than manual look-ups or master data deliveries to the required systems.

Besides differently gathered automation, SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management provides the basis for better decision making. The solution provides its end users with a wide set of bettered decision making factors - more detailed reports, deeper analysis, so on and so forth. As a result, the decisive ones can feel better supported from the inside of the organization.

Finally, business conditions hardly ever are constant longer than a few days. While business is evolving, there is a need for organization IT systems to evolve along with. Properly and accurately managed master data - which is a usual domain of SAP NetWeaver MDM - helps in almost immediate adapting to the new conditions. Thank to eliminating all the superfluous data elements (duplicated information, incomplete parts, outdated data, etc.), the product helps in meeting the compliance standards appropriate to the industry of the organization.

SAP NetWeaver MDM resources:

http://www.sap.com/platform/netweaver/components/mdm/index.epx - the official website of SAP doesn't pay a lot of attention to separate components of NetWeaver, nonetheless the family of products as a whole is very well described. What one could find behind the link is a short chapter devoted to SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management product. What's included are a short overview, features and functions, and - additionally - a few meaningful benefits. No details are provided, but it's enough to realize what the product actually is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAP_NetWeaver_Master_Data_Management - quite an interesting introduction to SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management product is provided in Wikipedia as well. The note refers to the product's history and recognition, but the main part of it is devoted to the explanation what NetWeaver MDM actually is and what can be used for. As in case of most articles in Wikipedia, one shouldn't expect too many details in here.

http://www.sap-press.de/download/dateien/1603/sappress_effective_master_data_management.pdf - here is a PDF document containing a part of a good and comprehensive book called "Effective Master Data Management with SAP NetWeaver MDM. It's the official publication recommended by SAP, nonetheless it's worth to try a part of it before actually purchasing the whole, which - unfortunately - isn't cheap (about $70 in the official SAP store, accessible here: http://www.sap-press.com/products/Enterprise-Data-Management-with-SAP-NetWeaver-MDM.html). There is a second chapter included in the document, devoted to determining why MDM as a whole is needed.