Functional Reference Architecture for Corporate Master Data Management

Master Data Management (MDM) brings about two major challenges for companies: 1) Companies need to cope with the complexity of the subject, and 2) companies see themselves confronted with a wide range of IT products and solutions for MDM. Presenting a Functional Reference Architecture for Corporate Master Data Management, the present paper identifies and describes from a business perspective functional requirements MDM software should meet. The Functional Reference Architecture provides a basic terminology, a check list, and an assessment scheme for various application scenarios, like product evaluation, roadmap planning or exchange of information and experiences. Furthermore, MDM solutions of four software providers are examined with regard to their capability to meet the functions specified in the Functional Reference Architecture.