Master Data Management or MDM is a strategic scheme to formally organize the data for an organization (company, non-profit, government) in a predictable, transparent and uniform manner, so that there is a single, common point of reference for that organization’s data. Using some sort of master data plan allows easy collection and curation of mere data into information easily, and organizes information into knowledge. Thus we get two promotions in the hierarchy of know-how, provided the system is designed correctly in the first place.
Everyone knows the basic organization of a typical western kitchen; refrigerator and freezer, stove, oven, sink, counter-tops, drawers, cabinets. Even if you are searching for a glass in someone else’s kitchen, you won’t have to search for long. Thus, kitchens (usually) follow a fairly common master design, with predictable storage of typical items.
MDM schemes do the same for an organization’s data. There is a box, closet, cubbyhole, bottle, etc. for all the data in a predictable and fairly obvious place, so that workers developing and maintaining the information system know where to find what they need fast, and can create applications to share this data with the non-technical people in the organization. Everyone sees the same data, stored in a manner that makes sense technically, but presented to each user in a manner that best suits them.
MDM can help with such things as stopping an automated e-mail fundraising system from sending solicitations to donors who have already contributed. In a sense, MDM allow the organization to “know what it already knows”.
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