Recent years have seen the arrival of new players such as social networks and mobile devices, as well as the strong trend towards Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) or Software as a Service (SaaS). This diversification of sources and applications makes it more difficult for companies to obtain reports and comply with current legislation. This is where MDM comes into its own.

What exactly is MDM, why is it important for your company to implement it and what are its advantages? In this article we will answer all your questions about this concept.

What is MDM?

Let’s start by defining what MDM actually is. Behind this acronym stands the expression Master Data Management. In short, it is a set of methods, utilities and patterns that allow companies to unite all their critical data in one place: the master file.

MDM ensures that the various lists of master data are in complete harmony. In other words, MDM techniques manage to eliminate any inconsistencies between the different types of critical data.

Master Data Management practices are fundamental to ensure data consistency. MDM methods ensure that information is kept standardised, clean and correctly integrated. The use of master data makes things easier when using multiple applications and platforms.

What types of data are there in master data management or MDM?

In the following sections, we explain what types of data are commonly handled by companies. When initiatives such as MDM are implemented, this data will be integrated into it. Of course, not all companies will need the same information. However, no matter what industry they are in, most companies store the following types of data.

Unstructured data

This is information that comes from sources such as emails, digital documents, the company intranet or other marketing data.

Transactional data

In this case we refer to data that is related to company transactions. This is usually information that comes from sales, deliveries or monetary transactions. It also includes data from invoices, deliveries or complaints, among others.

Metadata

Metadata refers to information about other data. It can be located in a formal repository or in XML files. Metadata are also descriptions of fields within a database or activity log files, also known as logs. In short, metadata is data related to other data.

Hierarchical data

Hierarchical data is of great importance within MDM. It stores the relationships between other data. It is possible to define the hierarchy between the different elements of a database.

Master data

Master data is the critical data of a company and is usually related to four main concepts: people, things, places and concepts. Within each of these it is possible to find other subject areas or entity types. To understand this better, let’s take an example. A customer can be placed within the field “people”. However, it is also possible to do the same for an employee. And this segmentation can be even deeper if the company has, for example, preferred customers and minor customers.

MDM, why it is so important

Master Data Management is a really important technique. Implementing MDM in your company has clear benefits that increase the importance of these methodologies. In some circumstances, moreover, we can say that MDM is not only important, but mandatory.

Master file, its correct management avoids errors

We have already explained that MDM techniques achieve consistency between the different master data of a company. As this information is used within a company by various applications and departments, a data failure can bring down the whole system and cause a widespread error.

Customer-facing errors have fatal consequences. MDM is very important because it prevents discrepancies in information and, as a result, the actions taken by different departments are successful. Without the correct management of critical data, it is easier to make mistakes and, as a consequence, lose customers.

The role of MDM when merging companies

Another area where it is useful to apply master data management methodologies is in the merger of two companies. This is a common occurrence, especially when both companies are looking to grow. Of course, it is a real challenge to ensure that the information stored matches and is fully consistent after a merger.

Data duplication

MDM also prevents duplication of information. It is possible that information about the same customer is stored in different databases. If the customer service department uses software as a service, it will have to retrieve the data for each customer when needed. What criteria should the programme follow to obtain the requested data? Which database should be chosen? MDM is crucial to avoid such situations.

The MDM and the road to master data consistency

After this analysis, all the questions we raised at the beginning have been solved. We now know what MDM is, what types of data companies handle and what the benefits of Master Data Management are. It has even become clear that a company’s critical data must be managed in such a way that it is consistent. Applying the MDM suite of methodologies in companies is becoming increasingly necessary. Proper data management is vital to avoid customer errors or to eliminate any trace of duplication. For this reason, when it comes to facilitating mergers between companies, MDM is essential.

More about DEYDE

DEYDE was founded in 2001 in Spain, along with its core service. They offer name normalisation, postal address standardisation and coding, duplicate identification and geo-enrichment of postal addresses. Ten years later, they developed MyDataQ Global Service and offer Data Quality services worldwide. Fifteen years after its foundation, they were already present in Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Colombia and Chile (www.deyde.com).

One of the main premises of any company is to acquire new customers, but what about the customers who already trust your company’s services and/or products? This is where customer loyalty comes into play, a task that is just as important as generating new customers. And we cannot talk about customer loyalty without talking about the data itself. Do you want to know how to build customer loyalty?

How to build customer loyalty with your databases?

The first thing to bear in mind is that, if you have reached this point, it is because you have already generated a lead previously or because you have a database. Therefore, you are already starting from a previous contact and customer interest. However, as it is about generating value, it is good that you know how to improve the quality of your database.

There are some aspects that will depend on the formal content. But there are other issues that will be more linked to your promotional techniques. In any case, take note of the following guidelines:

1. Make sure that the consent data is up to date.

The first thing to check is that the consent is up to date or appropriate to the service you intend to provide. It is relatively common to have consent data that is either out of date or not fit for purpose. If your relationship with the client is good, ask them to renew their consent online.

On the other hand, it should be noted that data obtained before 25 May 2018 has to be renewed. Although fewer and fewer cases are affected, it is essential to remember this. With the advent of the GDPR, data privacy takes on an importance for any company that deals with data.

2. Check that data is not duplicated

Few things are more damaging to a company’s image than duplicate mailings. As a general principle, you will be well advised to look for alternatives to avoid these situations. There are tools for identifying duplicates, such as those offered by DEYDE, that can help you in this matter.

Remember that, in order to build customer loyalty, the image you offer is fundamental. This is a good reason to think twice about whether your database is up to date.

3. Make segmented communications

Communications can be segmented in various ways depending on your interests. If there’s one thing potential customers can’t stand, it’s feeling like they’ve received a spam or bulk message. Therefore, having postcode or activity information will help you to send personalised communications.

Remember that, at the end of the day, a database has to serve a useful function. The more you match your potential customer’s needs, the better. Thanks to DEYDE’s solution, you will be able to carry out this segmentation in a more precise way.

4. Use the right and necessary information

The quality of a database is not measured by the quantity of information, but by the right amount of information. Therefore, remember the principle that what is good is twice as good if it is short. Ask for only as much information as you need, but also apply it to the way you use it when addressing your customers.

Remember that the idea is to attract attention, not to generate distrust in your customers. If you use too much data or if your data is cluttered, you may have the opposite effect to the one you intend.

5. Send promotional reminders

Promotional reminders are the way to remind your customer that you exist. To do this, it is necessary that you have good information correctly classified. This will allow you to quickly target those customers you think you have something interesting to offer.

Of course, reminders can be used sparingly. Too much information can also be annoying and will not be taken seriously. The aim is to create an interest that can be translated economically.

6. Benchmark effectiveness

Monitoring the progress of your marketing campaigns is essential. However, this should have a specific section dedicated to the use of databases. If you have made changes to improve quality, it would be good to see what the impact has been. After all, the changes have to be passed on to your relationship with your customers.

Remember that the aim, in the medium and long term, is to improve. Therefore, there should be no problem in checking how your work is paying off. Remember that there is always time to make changes.

Conclusion

Much has been written about the capacity of a database. While recruitment is essential, it cannot and should not be done in any old way. The difference between reaching or not reaching is often determined by these small details. This is where the concept of quality comes into play.

Data quality has become an essential aspect of customer loyalty for a number of legal and commercial reasons. DEYDE specialises in providing data normalisation services for all types of companies. Do you want to improve the quality of your database to increase customer loyalty? Here you will find the help you need thanks to the MyDataQ suite.

Since 2004, and after several changes over time, BeeDIGITAL has relied on DEYDE’s services to provide the highest quality data.

It has been more than 17 years since the leading company in digitisation technology solutions for SMEs and the self-employed in Spain, Páginas Amarillas, currently known under the name of BeeDIGITAL, relied on DEYDE Data Quality’s normalisation, enrichment and duplicate identification services.

Its name change is due to the digital evolution of the company over the years, and throughout this transformation process BeeDIGITAL has relied on DEYDE for the optimisation of its clients’ internal data.

DEYDE and BeeDIGITAL began their relationship in 2004, when the British group Yell owned Yellow Pages. At that time it was already established as the reference business search engine with its telephone directories and, after taking its first steps in the digital world, they decided to include the MyData Names, Addresses and Dedupe modules in their Batch Usage licence for large databases with massive records.

After two years of collaboration, BeeDIGITAL decided to continue to rely on DEYDE for its databases and extended the licence with the addition of a new tool, MyDataQ Geo Coordinates, essential for a business based on the search and location of SMEs by users.

The MyDataQ modules contracted by BeeDigital are fundamental, as the search engine provides information on the exact address of the businesses and how close they are to the customer’s location.

A portal such as PáginasAmarillas.es, which has more than one million entries, is very likely to find duplicate entries. Finding and eliminating them is fundamental to avoid errors, improve the company’s image and achieve a unique vision of its customers.

Present and future of BeeDIGITAL together with DEYDE

BeeDIGITAL currently relies on DEYDE as its reference standardiser, having renewed its Cloud licence for the unlimited processing of its database in the cloud for Spain and Andorra. It also has the MyDataQ Addresses, Geo Coordinates and Geo Inverse tools, which help to generate postal addresses from coordinates.

José Luis Torregrosa, IT Manager at BeeDIGITAL has indicated that DEYDE has been a great help. “We use the services that provide us with operations to validate, search, complete addresses and normalise them so that we can include them in our system properly”, he explained. For his part, Luis Martínez, General Manager of DEYDE, expressed his satisfaction and thanked BeeDIGITAL for once again placing its trust in DEYDE’s services to improve the quality of the information contained in its databases. DEYDE always “seeks to improve the quality of our clients’ data so that they can get the most out of it”, he said.

The future of BeeDIGIAL and DEYDE

Both companies face the future in harmony and effectiveness. Over the years, the importance of companies having a digital identity has been demonstrated. The survival of small and medium-sized companies depends on their digitalisation and localisation on the internet.

Two years ago, Yellow Pages reinvented itself again, becoming BeeDIGITAL. The company has been adapting to changing consumer habits to offer customers answers to their needs in the world of digital marketing, and proof of this are the more than 70,000 customers, the database of more than one million SMEs and more than 140,000 websites produced so far.

For its part, DEYDE Data Quality will continue to support its project thanks to the unlimited licence. After DEYDE joins Accumin, we will work on the development of new ideas to further enhance the current tools and solutions that can benefit all companies.

Database normalisation has become a vital process to survive in the age of data and data quality. But what do we need to do it? Do you know what a data manager is?

DBMS as a form of data quality assurance

A database management system (DBMS) is system software for creating and managing databases. This solution provides users and programmers with a systematic way to create, retrieve, update and manage their information. Accordingly, a data manager is the most effective way to detect duplicates and ensure data quality.

In addition, it allows end users to create, read, update and delete information in a database. It also serves as an interface between the database and end users or application programs; thus ensuring that data is organised in a consistent and easily accessible manner.

Functions of the Database Management System

The DBMS controls three vital elements: the information, the database engines that allow access, locking and modification of information, and the database schemas, which define the logical structures of the databases. In addition, these elements are essential to ensure data security and integrity, as well as uniformity in administration procedures.

Thus, typical database administration functions supported by the DBMS include change management, monitoring and recovery. Many database management systems are also responsible for mechanised restores, resets and recoveries, as well as analysis and activity monitoring.

It can therefore provide logical and physical independence of data. This means that it is able to protect users and applications from needing to know where data is stored or having to worry about changes in the physical structure of data, storage and hardware.

Popular types of DBMS

Popular database models and their management systems include:

• Relational database management system (RDBMS): fits most use cases, but can be quite expensive.
• In-memory database management system (MDBMS): provides faster response times and better performance.
• NoSQL DBMS: ideal for loosely defined data structures that may evolve over time.
• Columnar database management system (CDBMS): ideal for data warehouses that have a large number of similar data elements.
• Cloud-based data management system: the cloud service provider is responsible for providing and maintaining the DBMS.

Advantages of a DBMS

One of the main advantages of using a DBMS is that it allows end users and application developers to access and use the same data while managing data integrity.

Thus, data is better protected and maintained when it can be shared using such a solution rather than creating new iterations of the same data stored in new files for each new application. It also provides a central repository of data that can be accessed by multiple users in a controlled manner. Central storage and data management within the DBMS provides:

• Data abstraction and independence.
• Data security.
• A locking mechanism for concurrent access.
• An efficient handler to balance the needs of multiple applications using the same data.
• The ability to recover quickly from crashes and errors, including restart capability and resiliency.
• Robust data integrity capabilities.
• Activity logging and auditing.
• Simple access via a standard application programming interface (API).
• Uniform data management procedures.

Another advantage is that it can be used to impose a logical and structured organisation on data. In this sense, it offers economy of scale for processing large amounts of data because it is optimised for such operations.

Single schema views

On the other hand, it can provide many views of a single database schema. A view defines what data the user sees and how that user sees the data. Thus, the database management system provides a level of abstraction between the conceptual schema that defines the logical structure of the database and the physical schema that describes the files, indexes and other physical mechanisms used by the database.

When used, systems can be modified much more easily when business requirements change. Thus, new categories of data can be added to the database without disrupting the existing system and applications can be isolated from how data is structured and stored.

At DEYDE we work to achieve data standardisation in a fast and easy way, adapted to the needs of our customers. Do not hesitate to contact us to design an effective action plan.