The Next Step: Enhancing the Master Data Via Data Warehouse Consolidation

Apr 30, 2013 by David Loshin

Last time we looked at how the tools and methods incorporated within a master data management system can contribute to ensuring the satisfaction of the success criteria for data warehouse consolidation. MDM provides some valuable capabilities that will simplify the consolidation processes.

Leveraging Master Data Management as a Tool for DW Consolidation

Apr 23, 2013 by David Loshin

In the past few postings we looked at some of the issues that emerge as a result of uncontrolled creation of data warehouses and data marts. I suggested that the goals of a data warehouse consolidation project should not only include the creation of a new data asset that accommodates the users of the “to-be-consolidated” warehouses and marts, but that those systems should be retired and replaced by the new asset.

Use a No Brown M&M’s Clause

Apr 17, 2013 by Jim Harris

There is a popular story about David Lee Roth exemplifying the insane demands of a power-mad celebrity by insisting that Van Halen’s contracts with concert promoters contain a clause that a bowl of M&M’s has to be provided backstage with every single brown candy removed, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation to the band.

Considering Success Factors for Data Warehouse Consolidation

Apr 16, 2013 by David Loshin

The last thing you want to result from a data warehouse consolidation project is the creation of yet another siloed data asset that must be populated and managed with respect to the requirements of the downstream users.

To really benefit from a consolidation project, your newly-created consolidated warehouse should replace the data marts and warehouses that are used to populate…

Reporting and Analytics Modernization through Data Warehouse Consolidation

Apr 09, 2013 by David Loshin

At this point in time, many medium to large organizations have a history of developing systems for reporting and analysis. Simultaneously, these organizations have evolved a set of basic processes that “pump out” a series of data marts used by specific business functions for generating reports.

Virtualizing Access through the Master Data Index

Apr 02, 2013 by David Loshin

As we discussed in an earlier post in this series, one of the intents of data federation and virtualization is to layer some degree of opacity over  accessing heterogeneous data sources by using a canonical model and a semantic layer for user queries. There are two additional benefits we expect from federation and virtualization: improved performance and improved…

Using a Master Index and Shared Metadata as an Entity System of Record

Mar 26, 2013 by David Loshin

A master data repository can be created using the data combined from the variety of data sources. A unified, consolidated representative record can be created for each identified entity and presented by selecting the union of all source data attributes into a carefully-crafted master data model.

The future of MDM?

Mar 22, 2013 by Dylan Jones

I gave some thought recently about the different types of informaton that hundreds of organisations must possess about me.

Credit card bills, health records, mortgage payments, loans and savings, social media profiles, employment history – the list goes on. An entire personal data store is scattered across hundreds of organisations and websites.

Master Indexing and the Unified View

Mar 19, 2013 by David Loshin

In my last post I discussed aspects of data virtualization and at the end suggested that while the structural differences can be smoothed out via a typical federation/virtualization scheme, the mechanism can be enhanced to incorporate semantic consistency within the federation framework. A master data repository is often perceived to be a repository in which various data sources of shared master data are consolidated to provide a “golden record” or a “single source of truth.”