Master Data Management
Enhancing master data management with data-as-as-service
What is data-as-a-service?
As you upgrade and digitise your organisation and its processes to keep abreast of the competition, you would probably be well aware of the value that up-to-date and accurate master data holds. While extracting, sorting, organising, and centralising all your business-critical data to a single repository is extremely critical, it is only the first step. Providing real-time access to the latest versions of this data for use in critical business operations across various locations and devices is the next hurdle. This is where data-as-a-service (DaaS) gains significance.
DaaS is a data processing and management strategy that relies on existing cloud infrastructure to govern, maintain, and deliver data. More and more organisations are incorporating DaaS approaches to handle master data management (MDM) as they realise data to be an extremely valuable asset one can leverage towards business growth and agility.*
The benefits of adopting data-as-a-service for MDM
On-demand access to accurate information translates to time and money saved. These range from critical business analytics for decision makers and product data for customers to process data for employees. The advantages of incorporating DaaS cover several aspects and processes of an organisation. It includes:
Enhanced agility:
Simplifying the way data is accessed saves time and allows for prompt decision-making. An effective DaaS service combines data streams from various sources, including partner organisations and customers, for an in-depth view of the business in real time. With updated information easily available, users can act on it immediately rather than spending valuable time figuring out where the relevant data is stored or understanding complex data indexing methods.
- Elimination of on-premise infrastructure: With all the data of a company stored in and delivered through the cloud, there’s no requirement to upgrade and maintain on-premise servers and the associated hardware, leading to reduction in capital expenses and maintenance costs. You can redirect these resources to higher-value business activities that focus on business growth and market reach.
- Ease of collaboration: It becomes possible for employees, teams, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to collaborate efficiently when everyone related to the organisation is on the same page and has instant access to relevant data. This helps in timely decision-making across the board, significantly improving operational efficiency.
- Flexibility and scalability: Having a centralised cloud-based master data service in place contributes towards future-proofing an organisation. Expanding operations or a growing customer base may mean substantially more data to handle, but you won’t need to worry about upgrading in-house infrastructure to handle the additional load. Your DaaS provider will effortlessly manage the additional data and ensure that your system stays updated and synchronised at all times, leaving your employees to focus on high-value tasks.
- Elimination of guesswork from key business decisions: Businesses based on guesswork don’t last; bad or lousy business decisions and ones based on intuition rather than fact have run several once-successful organisations into the ground. Without the right information at a decision-maker’s fingertips, one can only guess the correct way forward. Incorporating DaaS maintains data quality by eliminating duplicate, conflicting, or incomplete data, enabling you to make the right calls at the right time to stay competitive and profitable.
While adopting DaaS strategies to manage your master data has several advantages, several issues may crop up. One such roadblock for larger organisations is the complexity of large quantities of unstructured datasets. Attempting to apply DaaS in such a case without a proper plan and a road map in place can spell disaster in terms of unexpected costs and delays in deploying the system. Make sure to use a vendor who accurately understands the scale of the operation and is up to the task.
Another concern when applying DaaS methods when handling sensitive information is security. Your data and associated applications might be susceptible to an outside attack if your service provider isn’t vigilant and doesn’t incorporate adequate security measures. It is prudent to entrust your data to a reputable DaaS provider with advanced encryption and other current security measures.
Today’s data-driven business culture demands that organisations look for more efficient ways to handle immense amounts of data being amassed daily. DaaS eliminates the need to upgrade and maintain multiple API services that are inefficient, slow, and hamper scalability.
How can Infosys BPM help?
Infosys BPM offers a suite of cloud-based master data management solutions, covering advisory services, data quality management, and operational support that can systematically organise all company data using modern methods and processes. We customise MDM services to fit our clients’ business needs, delivering clean and unified data for enterprises, as well as helping them achieve effective data governance with continuous data quality improvements.
*For organisations on the digital transformation journey, agility is key in responding to a rapidly changing technology and business landscape. Now more than ever, it is crucial to deliver and exceed on organisational expectations with a robust digital mindset backed by innovation. Enabling businesses to sense, learn, respond, and evolve like a living organism, will be imperative for business excellence going forward. A comprehensive, yet modular suite of services is doing exactly that. Equipping organisations with intuitive decision-making automatically at scale, actionable insights based on real-time solutions, anytime/anywhere experience, and in-depth data visibility across functions leading to hyper-productivity, Live Enterprise is building connected organisations that are innovating collaboratively for the future.
