What Is Master Data Management (MDM)?
Master data management is an important strategy that creates a single source for access to real-time data. The University of Arizona currently uses multiple systems of record for managing constituent information including PeopleSoft, Slate, UAccess, Ticketmaster, Blackbaud, Salesforce, and more. Depending on the department you work in or the service that you provide, your constituent information is coming from different sources. As more data is plugged into different systems, the likelihood of inaccurate, duplicated, or outdated constituent information increases.
Trellis will use data from the existing systems at Arizona to create a single MDM system for constituent relationship management (CRM). The setup process includes identifying, defining, and agreeing on which data can be deemed the "best composite record" and making sure the data is accessible from within the CRM system. The project requires collaboration among data experts across the University of Arizona as well as a shared understanding about data attributes, data security, and privacy.
Benefits of MDM
MDM will help consolidate and centralize the variety of data that results from a multi-organizational institution. By tackling this work early in the program, Trellis is ensuring data quality and uniformity across the university. MDM will help make data more:
- Accurate (valid and free of errors)
- Complete (encompass all available records)
- De-duplicated (recorded once and the system is available for cross-checking)
- Standardized (recorded in the same manner across all records)
- Consistent (defined and used for the same purpose across all records)
- Timely (continually updated; stale data is removed or flagged)
While this strategy is initially being used for Trellis CRM, other Arizona departments may benefit from its organizational framework. In conjunction with other businesses and data strategies, MDM has the capacity to increase the value of Arizona's data as an asset.
Key Dates
Trellis launched the MDM project on May 8, 2019 and gathered over 35 university leaders and stakeholders to begin work. The MDM system will incorporate data from existing systems incrementally, starting with PeopleSoft, followed by instances of Slate, as well as systems used by the Arizona Athletics department. The goal is to have the majority of systems incorporated into Trellis MDM by the end of December 2019 with additional systems used by Arizona Foundation and other units to be incorporated in 2020-2021.
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