From MIKE2 Methodology
Introduction
Master data is mission-critical information that needs to be shared seamlessly across functional boundaries to allow an organization to operate efficiently and effectively. Master Data Management can be defined as the management of data related to the key business entities utilizing a various patterns, applications and technology. In information and process driven business environments, the ability to standardize core enterprise information is of strategic importance – operate and transact efficiently, single version of the truth, respond to rapid changes.
Solution Offering Purpose
The purpose of SAP’s MDM strategy is to arrive at confidence in the data. SAP MDM attempts to provide an organization with “One version of the Truth”. It tries to ascertain and improve the accuracy, integrity and completeness of data through a systematic utilization of Tools/Technology. SAP MDM enables master data on customers, partners and products to be consolidated and harmonized across the enterprise, making it available to all staff and business partners. A key component of SAP NetWeaver, SAP MDM ensures data integrity across all IT systems. The SAP NetWeaver Master Data Management (SAP NetWeaver MDM) component of SAP NetWeaver creates the preconditions for enterprise services and business process management. The functionality represents customers, products, employees, vendors, and user-defined data objects in unified form. With SAP NetWeaver MDM, customers can manage master data and supplemental content, such as texts, PDF documents, high-resolution images, or diagrams in a central business information warehouse.
Key capabilities that are unique to SAP MDM solution include:
• Efficient Integration
SAP MDM can connect to Oracle, MS SQL Server, and DB2 systems ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructure. It has the ability to distribute data internally and externally to SAP and non-SAP applications.
• One stop solution
SAP MDM provides the capability to maintain various Master Data Objects like Customer, Vendor, Employee and Material in a single instance. This alleviates the necessity to purchase specific software for each of the objects.
• SAP Platform Compatible
SAP Master Data Management (SAP MDM) is a component of SAP's NetWeaver product group and is used as a platform to consolidate, cleanse and synchronise a single version of the truth for master data within a heterogeneous application landscape.
SAP MDM is a key enabler of SAP Enterprise Service-Oriented Architecture. Standard system architecture would consist of a single central MDM server connected to client systems through SAP Exchange Infrastructure using XML documents, although connectivity without SAP XI can also be achieved.
• Supports Enterprise Solution Implementation
The three legs of the any enterprise MDM solution are People, Processes and Tools. SAP MDM provides tools for defining business rules, taxonomy and relationships, making it well suited for governance initiatives. SAP MDM 5.5 components like Import Manager, Data Manager and Syndication Manager allow validating, cleansing, mapping, moving and managing data. It also provides a workflow engine which allows customers to define industry standard and custom processes.
Solution Offering Relationship
MIKE2.0 Product Solutions
Differentiating Features
Key capabilities that are unique to SAP MDM solution include:
Inmemory Search: Rapid processing of queries against large amounts of data is enabled by SAP’s inmemory search capability.
Scalability: The various data formats supported by the SAP MDM clients allow it to be an extremely efficient and scalable solution. SAP MDM can import XML, Excel, Text etc files. It also can provide data in XML, Excel, and Text formats.
Database transparency: Supports all the major databases like Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and DB2 among others. It also can accept data from a range of legacy systems making previously isolated data available for reporting and analytics.
Affordable: The Dataupia Satori Server houses data for less than $10,000 per 1 terabyte, an exceptionally competitive value for a data warehouse appliance.
Ease of Use: All the GUI tools have a windows look and feel to them making the usability of the tool very high.
- The Console allows the maintenance of repositories. All the maintenance and administration is point and click making it very easy to use.
- The Data Manager provides an excellent interface to maintain data. The layout is very intuitive and extremely robust.
- The data is stored in the databases transparently which leads to minimal maintenance requirements.
- The Workflow engine is Microsoft Visio based and building a process is as simple as dragging and dropping the various tasks.
Key Business Problems
Over the years companies through regular operations create and maintain their master data. This is normal course of action. Also, over the years through system creations, implementations of different applications, home grown, best of breed ERP systems etc. we have our master data dispersed through out the organization.
Since organizations are not static we acquire or create additional data through acquisitions, introduction of new services or product lines which all lead to more data to handle and manage.
Throughout the lifecycle of our data, individuals and departments add their “spin” to the data in the form of attributes, descriptions etc. These are maintained in several places. “Bad” master data can be costly in our everyday transactional processing. As organization we do find work-a-rounds to allow us to conduct business, but at what cost?
These heterogeneous landscapes can increase the cost of maintaining, cleansing, reconciling and synchronizing master data. Conducting regular business transactions becomes difficult and costly.
We are also heavily impacted by bad master data in our reporting capability. We lose the ability to view our customers, vendors, materials etc. at a global level. We have inaccurate attribute information about our master data. All these can lead to inaccurate reporting. This in turn leads to:
- Missed opportunities for up-selling or cross-selling.
- Not knowing what is our total spend per vendor or product. We can’t leverage our supplier network to minimize costs.
- Inventory surpluses or shortages. We buy too much or can’t fulfill a customer order on time since we do not have the proper visibility to our inventory.
Enterprise wide reporting can be inconsistent and inaccurate. The cornerstone of good reporting is clean, accurate master data. SAP MDM is a data management systems that allows persistent, available, accessible, consistent and auditable data.
SAP MDM Scenarios
Master-Data Consolidation
- Cleansing and de-duplication
- Data normalization including categorization and taxonomy management
- Interactive consolidation capabilities
Master-Data Harmonization
- Automated synchronization of master data information that is globally relevant
- Interactive and automated distribution capabilities
Central Master-Data Management
Rich Product-Content Management
- Powerful capabilities to load, aggregate, and search on parametric product data
- Intelligent image management and Web/print publishing
Global Data Synchronization (GDS)
- Consistent trade item data exchange with retailers via data hubs (e.g. UCCnet or Transora)
Customer Data Integration (CDI)
- Consolidating and managing customer data from all available sources
Customer data management capabilities such as matching, standardization, and survivorship
SAP MDM Methodology
SAP MDM Building Blocks
The SAP MDM solution offers “user-centric data access” capabilities to facilitate the building of an enterprise wide Master Data Management System. The data and repository management capabilities provided are intuitive and scalable. SAP MDM provides pre-packaged content called iViews for the integration of SAP MDM with SAP NetWeaver Portal. These generic iViews are highly customizable. These iViews also provide integration to the Universal Worklist (UWL).
Apart from this, the integration capabilities of SAP MDM are enhanced by the inclusion of:
- API’s for custom development of data manipulation activities(JAVA, COM and ABAP)
- Webservices to support SOA architecture
- MDM Import Server and MDM Syndication Server work in close cooperation with Netweaver Process integration
- Native connectivity to BI for improved efficiency
- Enterprise Search connectivity
SAP MDM GUI Clients
to be developed
SAP MDM Console
The Console allows you to administer and monitor the MDM Server. It also allows you to create and maintain the structure of MDM repositories as well as to control access to them. Administrative tasks such as Role Definition, User Definitions, Access Control etc are maintained here.
SAP MDM Data Manager
The Data Manager the primary client of the MDM Server. It allows users to store, manage and update master data consisting of text, images, and other rich content, and to create
taxonomies, families, and relationships.
SAP MDM Import Manager
The Import Manager allows you to import master data from most types of flat or relational electronic source files (e.g. Excel, delimited text, SQL, XML, and any ODBC-compliant source), and to restructure, cleanse, and normalize master data as part of the import process.
SAP MDM Syndicator
The Syndicator allows you to map and export master data to various remote systems (such as ERP master data clients, Web catalogs) and files with flat or relational formats.
SAP MDM Image Manager
With the Image Manager you to create image variants for different publication channels and connect them to master data objects or object families.
SAP MDM Import and Syndication Server
The Import Server allows you to import data automatically in conjunction with predefined inbound ports and import maps.
The Syndication Server allows you to export data automatically in conjunction with predefined outbound ports and syndicator maps.
SAP MDM CLIX
CLIX is a command line interface which is used to manage the MDM software and MDM repositories.
Operating System and Database compatibility for SAP MDM (Source: SAP)
Stage 1: Improved Core Scenario Improvements and Supportability
- Delivered in 2007 based on SAP NetWeaver MDM 5.5 SP5 (available) and SP6 (planned for Q4/07)
- Whereas SP5 delivered enhancements on all aspects listed above, SP6 will focus on performance, quality and supportability to ensure a successful mass adoption of MDM moving forward. Improved support will be provided by enhanced protocol and database tracing. In addition the transport management will be extended to support the transport of validations/assignments and port definitions across systems.
Stage 2: Additional Scenario Support and Integration
- The next major release will be SAP NetWeaver MDM 7.1 scheduled for Q3 2008 (ramp-up)
- A significant extension of the MDM data modeling capabilities will be accomplished through introducing the concept of multiple main tables per repository. This will allow different master data objects such as vendor and material residing in the same repository. In addition, this will also provide mechanisms to relate records of different main tables. For example, vendors could be linked to the particular materials they supply. What is more, these meta-model extensions will provide an additional modeling alternative for complex structures which today are handled via qualified look-up tables.
- Further core enhancements will include performance and scalability improvements.
- To ease the transport of MDM repository schemas and contained instruments like workflows and validations across development, QA and production systems, the change and transport management will be improved and integrated to the SAP transport mechanisms for non-ABAP environments.
- A deeper integration to infrastructure components of SAP is targeted. An example is the native adapter for SAP NetWeaver PI which will ensure reliable message transport and monitoring.
- Upcoming enhancement packages of the SAP Business Suite will utilize MDM capabilities to support various new or enhanced business scenarios. Further details will be announced separately.
Stage 3: Process-centric Application Enablement
This stage is characterized by tightly integrating…
- MDM services with enterprise SOA (ESR connectivity)
- MDM operations with SAP NetWeaver administration and lifecycle management standards
- MDM scenarios with the SAP application infrastructure
References
1. Article titled “SAP Netweaver MDM Roadmap” by Christian Behre, Markus Ganser, Sunil Gupta, and Aaron Mahimainathan
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