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60 Enterprise Data Governance

Business case study
Acting in the high-tech semi-conductor domain, an
industrial firm implements new software packages for
customer management and manufacturing operations.
These software packages have their own product
configuration repositories and, without calling them into
question (impossible given that they are at the heart of
the software packages in use), an enterprise MDM
system is employed to manage the configuration of these
products autonomously, on a neutral IT platform.

This MDM system covers the full life cycle of the data of
each product, from customer specification to production
and sales by the company. Synchronization of the MDM
is therefore made with several software packages, each
responsible for a part of the life cycle (PLM, ERP, supply
chain) and a part of the products’ attributes.

These data synchronization procedures enable the MDM
updates to be replicated in the software packages.
Rather than use software package administration
screens, business users access the unified MDM
administration functions. The company reduces its
reliance on software packages as its intangible asset
based on the configuration of products is not linked to
the software packages. The asset is situated in the
enterprise MDM repository, a kind of data warehouse of
reference and master data, the life expectancy of which
is greater than that of the software packages.

When the company interacts with partners or absorbs
other firms, it shares its repository without having to
provide access to its software packages. An absorbed
firm can supply its own software packages and specific
developments with the help of the MDM system, without
being forced to move its organization into the parent
company’s software packages.