MDM in Tough Economic Times

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It’s too early to tell exactly what effect the current economic downturn will have on the Master Data Management (MDM) space.

Software vendors are probably going to see at least a short term slowdown in orders, and consulting firms may already be feeling the effects in terms of canceled or delayed projects.

But unless you’re at one of the financial giants whose troubles are front page headlines, stay the course.

Master Data Management projects are typically so compelling that canceling them is like “burning the furniture”.

A good MDM strategy typically includes a strong business case, with “quick win” elements like increased revenue due to capturing currently missed cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, support for improved analytical marketing, and cost reductions through increased productivity and consolidation of systems and applications not needed after implementing the MDM hub. 

I came across a great quote by John Radcliffe at Gartner:

“But there are many other pieces of MDM — like compliance, risk management, cost reduction — that aren’t nice to have, but are essential even if the economic climate is poor. We should see growth in these areas of MDM. They still need to get done and they actually help people during an economic slowdown.”

Perhaps I’m whistling past the graveyard a bit here, but although I’m sure MDM will be affected by global economic conditions, I’m hoping the effects will be less severe and of a shorter duration than other, more hard hit areas of the economy.

I’m planning to attend the Gartner MDM Summit on Nov. 17-19 in Chicago, and I spoke at the SourceMedia / MDM Institute event last week. 

Those two events should give me a pretty good “pulse check” on how much impact current economic conditions are having on the MDM space.  I’ll report back to you here on what I find, and please comment here to let us know your views and opinions on this question.