Friday, May 8, 2009

Master Data Management (MDM) vs. Intelligent Data Management (IDM) with Microsoft Dynamics AX (Axapta)

Increasing revenue, decreasing costs and the successful management of governance, risk and compliance is the name of the game in today's economy.

In order to make necessary business decisions, executives must base these decisions on reliable data - a single version of the truth is needed. Of course this is much easier said than done, especially when the data must seamlessly flow across organizational boundaries. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), the grouping of inoperable services around business processes, has been positioned as the enabling technology that will allow companies to meet these rapidly changing business demands and exploit new business opportunities.

According to analysts at Forrester Research, "effective management of customer and product master data are the cornerstone of any SOA". The tools and processes responsible for the synchronization, validation and distribution of reference data across multiple transactional systems are referred to as Master Data Management (MDM). Analysts at Gartner estimate MDM software represents approximately a $1.3B market opportunity, forecasted to reach $3.0B by 2012.

Behind the scenes major vendors such as SAP and Microsoft have been feverishly executing their SOA roadmap with key MDM solution acquisitions. In 2004, SAP purchased A2i, a California based provider of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions. In 2007, Microsoft acquired Georgia-based Enterprise Dimension Management (EDM) provider, Stratature. The official Microsoft MDM solution codenamed, "Bulldog", is expected to make its inaugural appearance as part of the Microsoft Business Intelligence (BI) offering. It will most likely touch larger enterprise installations of Microsoft Dynamics AX as part of Corporate Performance Management (CPM) solution Performance Point (now part of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Enterprise Edition).

The soon-to-be-released Intelligent Data Management (IDM) for Microsoft Dynamics AX should not be confused with "Bulldog". The Intelligent Data Management for Microsoft Dynamics AX works within business logic and can locate and recognize both standard and new objects and is designed to help Microsoft Dynamics AX customers optimize performance and reduces database storage requirements.

The Version 1 (V1) of Intelligent Data Management will include Data Growth Analyzer -detail analysis of tables and index storage requirements and Purge Manager. Version 2 (V2) of Intelligent Data Management is expected to roll out Archive Manager - archiving redundant and historical Microsoft Dynamics AX data. The tool is expected to be backwards compatible and work with versions 4.0 and 3.0.

Before you begin taking on your first real-world SOA project, I suggest starting at the ground level with MDM basics, such as reviewing your internal policies regarding data stewardship and governance:

•What data is maintained?
•How long is data retained?
•How are data changes authorized and audited?

About Advanced Systems Integration Inc.

Advanced Systems Integration, Inc.(ASi) is a Gold Certified Microsoft Dynamics AX and Learning Solutions partner founded in 1991. ASi delivers comprehensive enterprise class applications that improve customer relations, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across supply chains and business operations. ASi also offers industry specific extensions integrated with Microsoft Dynamics AX solution. Based in Orange County, California, ASi serves the Southern California greater area including the counties of San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino. Please visit the company’s web site at www.advancedsystemsintegration.com.
Powered By Blogger