Analyst field reports on top 10 RDM solutions - Aaron Zornes (NYC 2021)

Field Reports
for the ‘Top 10’ RDM Solutions
16th Annual MDM & Data Governance Summit
2021 date t.b.d.  NYC
Aaron Zornes
Chief Research Officer
The MDM Institute
aaron.zornes@the-MDM-Institute.com
www.linkedin.com/in/aaronzornes
@azornes
+1 650.743.2278

MDM Working Definitions
© 2021 The MDM Institute www.the-MDM-Institute.com
Master Data Management (MDM)
Authoritative, reliable foundation for data used across many
applications & constituencies with goal to provide single view of truth
no matter where it lies.
CDI is mandatory first step for most organizations on journey to MDM
Product Information Mgmt
(PIM)
Processes & technologies for
recognizing PRODUCT,
SUPPLIER, & PRICING master
data
Customer Data Integration
(CDI)
Processes & technologies for
recognizing a customer & its
relationships at any touch-point
while aggregating, managing &
harmonizing accurate, up-to-date
knowledge about that customer to
deliver it ‘just in time’ in an
actionable form to touch-points.

MDM Working Definitions - continued
Multi-Entity Master Data Management (MDM)
An MDM solution to concurrently manage
multiple, diverse master data domains
(customers, accounts, products) across intra-
and extra-enterprise business processes
Reference Data Management (RDM)
Non-volatile reference data shared across the
enterprise in context within applications (&
possibly within the industry via “exchanges”);
examples: units of measure; currency rates;
calendars; other look-up tables
Large enterprises assume MDM = multi-entity MDM when evaluating software;
Managing “simple” reference data will prove to be a key sales entry point for
large enterprises i.e., a "ramp up" point of entry for many organizations planning
for CUSTOMER, PRODUCT master & other domains

What is Reference Data?
Reference data =“coded, semantically stable, relatively static
data sets shared by multiple constituencies”
(people, systems, & other master data domains)
Customers
Product
Industry
Sales
Person
Geo
Cost /
Revenue
Acct
Business
Unit ID
In the logical view, private & public forms of reference data
connect domains & application; consistent values
(& semantics) required for multi-domain views & hierarchies

Why Reference Data? Why Now?
 Errors in reference data will ripple
outwards affecting quality of master data
in each domain, which in turn affects
quality in all dependent transactional
systems
 RDM needed in both operational &
analytical MDM use cases where capability
often used to provide attributes,
hierarchies
& KPIs
Central role of reference data means RDM becoming
“starting point” for many organizations planning MDM & MDG
Systemic
Failure
Inconsistent
Reporting
Transaction
Failure
Regulatory
Non-compliance

RDM Prologue
 In addition to MDM functionality, RDM systems also manage
complex mappings btw different reference data
representations & different data domains across the enterprise
 Manual or custom RDM often lack change management, audit
controls & granular security/permissions
 Because reference data is used to drive key business
processes &application logic, errors in reference data can have
a major negative & multiplicative business impact
 Mismatches in reference data impact on data quality affect the
integrity of BI reports & also are a common source of
application integration failure
Just as businesses no longer build own CRM, ERP, &MDM systems, so too are
organizations beginning to acquire commercial RDM, which can be easily
tailored or configured & have full ongoing support of major software vendor

“Analytical MDM” ala “RDM for Big Data”
 Analytical MDM” use case being reinvigorated as reference data in the
form of dimensions (enterprise finance especially) being managed
around Hadoop big data systems a.k.a. “monster marts”
 Similar to the way that early commercial RDM systems were used to
rationalize reporting data marts

Reference Data Categories
Multi-Domain
RDM Use Cases
Real-Time / Transactional
RDM Use Cases
Public
(External)
Countries & Subdivisions (FIPS10)
Currencies (ISO 4217)
Time Zones (ISO 8601)
Industry Classification (NAICS, ISIC)
Security Prices
SWIFT BIC Codes (Payments)
ICD-9/10 Codes (Healthcare)
ACORD/ISO Codes (Insurance)
Private
(Internal)
Legal Entities
Chart of Accounts
Organizations
Employees
(i.e., much of HR & Finance Data)
Reference data required for
transaction processing
Semi-
Private?
(Shared)
Customized Public Reference
Standards (e.g. customized D&B)
Shared Private Data (Finance)
RDM needs to support multiple domains (kinds) of reference data to avoid RDM silos

Multi-Domain MDM
Multidomain
RDM
Vendor RDM Approach Indicates
Level of Multi-Domain Ability
Two main approaches to RDM = Synchronization-driven (buy lots of ETL) vs.
Multi-domain (buy commercial RDM) … Synchronization-driven requires $$$
for data integration & lacks semantic stability/governance of hub approach
Customers
Product
RDM
RDM
Suppliers
RDM
Synchronization-Centric
Private RD
RDM
ETL/
DI
Private
Public
Customers
Product
Suppliers
RDM Hub or Multi-Domain
MDM Implementation

Why Manage Reference Data Independently?
(“Hub of hubs”? Federated vs. Centralized?)
In the logical model, reference data connects domains & applications; in
implementations local copies exist for each consumer; challenges include:
governance, synchronizing, versioning, & custom
hierarchies/internationalizations
Customers
Product
Industry
(NAICS, ISIC)
Sales
Person
Geo
(ISO3166,
FIPS)
Cost /
Revenue
Acct
Business
Unit ID
Geo
Geo
ERP
Finance HR
BI/Analytics
Geo
Geo
Geo
Geo

Critique of Current Approaches
for Multi-Domain Reference Data
RDM Solution Drawback Recommendation
Custom-built, manual
solutions
Heavy TCO burden Avoid unless reference data
demands are truly unique
Spreadsheets Difficult to govern, secure,
version, & audit; no modeling,
poor hierarchy management
Distribute data in spreadsheets;
govern data in RDM solution
Repurpose hierarchy
management solution
(MSFT MDS, ORCL DRM)
Poor cross-domain support, no
classification mapping, few
enterprise integration options
Seek out multi-domain RDM
solution with hierarchy
management
Customize existing
domain-specific MDM
(Customer or Product)
Rudimentary data modeling,
lifecycle mgmt capabilities, &
governance features (esp.
authoring & workflow)
Use multi-domain RDM solution
to maintain connections &
govern/update into CDI & PIM
via data services
ERP / Enterprise
Application
Limited governance, versioning,
distribution; also reference data
customized use in app may have
limited appeal in other systems
Master in external platform.
RDM can be used to govern
baseline set, versions and
adaptations
Real-time / industry-
specific RDM
Premium priced R/T RDM
solutions do not represent good
economic sense
Leverage R/T RDM solutions for
R/T use cases (trading, claims
processing, payments)

“Top 10” RDM Technical Evaluation Criteria
1. Administration of diverse reference data types
2. Ability to map reference data
3. Management of reference data sets
4. Architecture/performance
5. Hierarchy management over
reference data sets
6. Connectivity/integration
7. Import & export
8. Versioning support
9. Security & access control
10. E2E lifecycle management
Coming to market are RDM solutions characterized by multiple, diverse levels
of integration w/ market-dominant MDM hubs as well as repackagings of
existing mid-market MDM solutions – HOW TO EVALUATE?

“Administration of Diverse
Reference Data Types”
From R. Thompson,/Credit Suisse, “Multidomain Enterprise Reference Data,” 7th Annual MDM & Data Governance Summit New York 2013
Private Ref Data
Public Ref Data
RDM solution should support a wide mix of data structures from
name:value pairs to hierarchies (see criteria #5)
RDM Top 10
Eval Criteria #1

FINANCE
LOCATIONS
“Ability to Map Reference Data”
– pt. 1 (cross-domain mapping)
Issuing Country
(ISO3166)
Name ISO 4217
Code
USA US Dollar USD
CHN Yuan Renminbi CNY
JPN Japanese Yen JPY
Official
Currency
ISO3166
USD ASM
USD IOT
USD ECU
USD SLV
USD GUM
USD HTI
USD MHL
USD FSM
USD MNP
USD PLW
USD PAN
USD PRI
USD TLS
USD TCA
USD USA
USD VIR
CNY CHN
JPY JPN
ISO 3166
Code
Name
USA United States of America
CHN People’s Republic of China
JPN Japan
ASM American Samoa
IOT British India Ocean Terr.
ECU Ecuador
SLV El Salvador
GUM Guam
HTI Haiti
MHL Marshall Islands
FSM Micronesia
MNP Northern Mariana Islands
PLW Palau
PAN Panama
PRI Puerto Rico
TLS East Timor
TCA Turks and Caicos Islands
VIR Virgin Islands
RDM solutions need to preserve
values & mappings between
reference data sets – both in
domain and across domains.
RDM Top 10
Eval Criteria #2
LOCATION
&
FINANCE

2013 VERSION
2007 VERSION
“Ability to Map Reference Data”
– pt. 2 (temporal referential integrity)
2013
NAICS
Description
311224 Soybean and Other Oilseed
Processing
221114 Solar Electric Power
Generation
221115 Wind Electric Power
Generation
221116 Geothermal Electric Power
Generation
221117 Biomass Electric Power
Generation
221118 Other Electric Power
Generation
2007
NAICS
Description
311222 Soybean Processing
311223 Other Oilseed Processing
221119 Other Electric Power
Generation - solar electric
power generation
RDM solution needs to maintain links between versions, creating a
migration path between versions of reference data … “Crosswalks”
are important for understanding how something changed.
MERGE
SPLIT
RDM Top 10
Eval Criteria #2

RACI Tasks User
R
Update sales
hierarchies Rogers
R
Change industry
classifications Romanova
A
Approve hierarchies
and effective dates Stark
A
Approve industry
classifications Banner
A Approve merge into
effective dated
Fury
“Mgmt of Reference Data Sets”
(Governance workflows)
RDM Top 10
Eval Criteria #3
An RDM solution needs to support governance workflows;
includes defining: responsible & accountable parties (including systems),
permissions & area of responsibility for each party (field, instance, container level),
how parties interact/tasks & auditing/history…
Sequence of
interactions
Permissions
Responsibilities

“Hierarchy Management Over
Reference Data Sets”
RDM solution should harness relationships between reference data
sets & existing party or thing data to create hierarchies
SIC Codes
Customer & SIC Code Mapping
ICD-10 Codes
Active Ingredients & ICD-10 Mapping
Active Ingredients & Product Mapping
Viewing customers by industry classification
Viewing drugs by Active
Ingredient interactions & ICD-
10 Codes
RDM Top 10
Eval Criteria #5

EMEA OPS
DEU Cost Ctr
FRA Cost Ctr
APLA OPS
TUR Cost Ctr
JPN Cost Ctr
MEX Cost Ctr
NA OPS
CAN Cost Ctr
USA Cost Ctr
“Versioning Support”
(a.k.a. time travel)
EMEA OPS
TUR Cost Ctr
DEU Cost Ctr
FRA Cost Ctr
APLA OPS
JPN Cost Ctr
MEX Cost Ctr
NA OPS
CAN Cost Ctr
USA Cost Ctr
Cost Centers
(as-of 2013 Q2)
EMEA OPS
DEU Cost Ctr
FRA Cost Ctr
AP OPS
TUR Cost Ctr
JPN Cost Ctr
CALA OPS MEX Cost Ctr
NA OPS
CAN Cost Ctr
USA Cost Ctr
RDM solution needs versioning & “as of” / effective dating to support recall of
reference data values, relationships or hierarchies
(versioning has *major* implications for analytics/ BI!)
Cost Centers
(Current)
Cost Centers
(Effective 2013 Q1)
RDM Top 10
Eval Criteria #8

Reference Data Management
Strategic Planning Assumption
Thru 2021, reference data will continue as key entry point for enterprises & in turn
unduly influence choice of MDM for Customer, Product & other domains; large
enterprises will continue to mandate that Reference Data be part of MDM platform's
native entity types
During 2021-22, MDM vendors will begin to market RDM to apply an MDM approach
for centralized governance, stewardship & control; while many orgs will apply RDM to
manage & rationalize reporting dimensions across data marts (or monster marts via
Hadoop), increasingly the compelling use case is data standardization on way into Big
Data lakes, i.e. cleansing/taxonomizing of R/T data streams feeding Big Data Lakes
By 2022, pervasive, lower cost RDM will be commoditized via efforts of Ataccama,
Microsoft & Oracle; mega vendors will respond by providing “throttled” MDM hub with
RDM as licensed domain
Managing “simple” reference data
will remain key sales entry point for MDM vendors

Competition for Multi-Domain RDM
 Custom-built, manual solutions
 Hierarchy management system adaptations
 Do not readily support publish-subscribe, classification mapping, etc.
 Custom MDM domain type
 Lack of data modeling flexibility, rudimentary lifecycle management
capabilities & limited data governance features, esp. authoring & workflow
 Multi-domain RDM
 RDBMS vs. semantic/OODBMS
 Purpose-built or industry-specific RDM
 Premium priced real-time RDM solutions do not represent good economic
sense
Seek out multi-domain RDM solution providers that understand &
have experience addressing complexity of reference data

Reference Data Management Case Study:
Mega Financial Svcs Provider - DnB NOR ASA
 Need to manage reference data
provided by external standard bodies
 Reference data changes managed
manually
 No clear ownership of reference data
across the business
 Reference data must be entered,
updated & managed in multiple
places, yielding duplication &
introducing errors
 Manage & consolidate Reference Data
for data warehouse load
 Manage MDM code tables & map
MDM codes to legacy systems codes
 Publish reference data (changes) to
consuming systems
 Provide governance, process,
security, audit control around
reference data mastering
 Apply commercial software (IBM RDM
Hub Asset) rather than build
RDM is major step in longer term transformation of the bank to move
from silo-driven business & IT culture to become “ONE – Group”
Business Issues Solution

Reference Data Management Case Study:
Mega Financial Svcs Provider – BNP Paribas
 Need to integrate reference data into
the bank's service-oriented
architecture (SOA) infrastructure
 Lack of harmonization & propagation
of reference data across the bank's
groups (lines of businesses)
 Need to streamline the Data
Governance process via a cross-
business governance (group-level)
 Evolve MDM capabilities
 "Think big but start small" orientation
 Provide a controlled perimeter for master data &
processes
 Centralize the data governance function
 Create value at the MDM level (point of truth =
point of creation)
 Manage scope
 Identify what’s in MDM and what’s not & what is
RDM
 Manage master data & processes independently
without requiring strong coupling with the business
 Keep unstructured or transactional data out of MDM
scope
 Apply commercial software (Orchestra
Networks EBX) rather than build
RDM is a key enabler of its MDM Shared Services Center COE
whose charter is to provide shared enterprise data services
Business Issues Solution

MDM Institute Field Reports – RDM
 ASG metaRDM
 Ataccama RDM
 Civica (formerly Visionware)
 Collibra RDM
 Health Language RDM
 IBM RDM Hub
 iGate Patni RDM
 Informatica RDM 360
 Information Builders Omni
CodeSet (now TIBCO as of Jan 2021)
 Magnitude MDM (Kalido)
 Microsoft MDS
 Oracle Site Hub, DRM
 Profisee LightSwitch for RDM
 Reltio Reference 360 (RDM portal)
 SAP MDG - ITEGO RDM (partner)
 Semarchy Agile RDM
 Software AG OneData
 Teradata LRDM
 TIBCO/Orchestra EBX
 TopQuadrant TopBraid RDM
** General-purpose or multi-domain RDM, not industry-specific solutions such as
capital markets, pharma, e.g., AIM, Asset Control, Eagle, Golden Source , Kingland
Systems 360 Data & RSD

RDM “Top 10” Technical Evaluation Criteria
1. Ability to map reference data
2. Administration of reference
data types
3. Management of reference
data sets
4. Architecture
5. Hierarchy management over
sets of reference data
6. Connectivity
7. Import and export
8. Versioning support
9. Security & access control
10. E2E lifecycle management
Understanding scope, diversity & limitations of nascent RDM offerings is challenging

Field Report: ASG metaRDM
Strengths
 Business user friendly solution,
integrated/common UI across metaRDM,
business glossary & Rochade metadata
repository apps
 Foundational compliance support via
integrated data lineage & impact analysis
capabilities, centralized
governance/mgmt/stewardship &
distribution
 Strong taxonomy & hierarchical
management of ref data via extensible
Metamodel
 Flagging & automated scanning of ref
data within operational DBs
Caveats
 Under invested in
marketing
 ASG metaRDM solution is
relatively new to market
 Lacks Cloud architecture &
SaaS offering

Field Report: Collibra Reference Data Accelerator
Strengths
 Centralized governance, mgmt,
stewardship & distribution1
 Business user friendly solution (similar to
SFDC as portal for glossaries)
 Strong taxonomy support & mappings
 Model-driven ease of deployment,
implementation & use (built-in process flows
+ semantic layer on RDBMS)
 OOTB integration w/MDM (IBM, INFA),
Data Glossary (ASG Rochade,
IBM Business Glossary) & DQ (IBM Info Analyzer,
Informatica IDQ, Trillium)
 Cloud-based, SaaS option
Caveats
 Nascent North American
market presence 2
 Relative shortage of Collibra-
knowledgeable consultancies
 Vulnerability in rapidly evolving
market crowded with mega
vendors & other nouveau MDM
vendors
 Under invested in mktg
1 - Large multi-national insurer, Independence Blue Cross,
COLT, ING Bank (group finance level), Kyivstar, NCR, …
2 - Major North American operations only began 2H2013

Field Report: IBM Reference Data Mgmt Hub
Strengths
 Purpose-built,
commercially proven RDM
 Utilizes IBM MDM foundation
 Full function with strong taxonomy
support & mappings
 Ease of deployment,
implementation, & use
 Simplified install-based licensing to
predict usage & cost
 Market momentum1
Caveats
 Lack of BPM integration & workflow
(needs configurable workflow)
 Lacks Cloud architecture & SaaS
offering
 Perception of excessive software
stack foundation
 Missing adapters for other IBM
software (Discovery, etc.) & other
major apps such as Oracle & SAP
1 – Achmea, ANZ Bank, Astellas Pharma, Bank of Montreal, DnB NOR
ASA, Emblem Health, HSBC, IBM Office of the CIO, ICBC, MGM
Grand, NY Life, OP-Pohjola, RBS Citizens, Royal Mail (UK),
Schweizer Bundesbahnen, Standard Bank of South Africa and The
CIT Group

Field Report: Informatica Cloud – MDM Reference 360
Strengths
 Purpose-built,
commercially proven RDM
 Utilizes INFA Cloud MDM
foundation
 Full function with strong taxonomy
support & mappings
implementation & use
 Simplified install-based licensing to
predict usage & cost1
 Integration w/ Axon (2H2017)
Caveats
 Released 2017 = lack of references
still for cloud but numerous customer
are live & referenceable for RDM
Accelerator
 Integration w/ Axon, Enterprise
Information Catalog (EIC) 2H2017 or
later
 Lack of INFA BPM integration &
workflow
 Missing adapters/connectors for
other INFA s/w (EDG, IEC) & but
Informatica Cloud Services (Cloud DI)
provides adapters for all major apps
1 -- RDM Accelerator customers get free upgrade

Field Report: Kalido MDM by Magnitude for RDM
Strengths
 Rich visual modeling
 Embedded workflow engine for
stewardship & governance
 Embedded domain-agnostic matching
engine
 Sophisticated time variance
 Enterprise-scalable architecture
 Data & workflow level security
 Customizable user interfaces for
business self-service (searching, authoring,
etc.)
 Significant consultancy support for
Kalido RDM
Caveats
 Lack of BPM integration
 Lacks Cloud architecture &
SaaS offering
 Just beginning to explicitly
market RDM capabilities
1 -- BP, Comcast, ERICO, GAFRI, GAIC, JNJ, N.F. Smith & Associates, Unilever, etc.

Field Report: Oracle Data Relationship Mgmt (DRM)
Strengths
 Compatibility with Oracle EPM
 Corallary DRG workflow engine for
stewardship & governance
 Sophisticated hierarchy
management
 Enterprise-scalable architecture
 Data & workflow level security
 Customizable user interfaces for
business self-service (searching,
authoring, etc.)
 Considerable 3rd party consultancy
support
Caveats
 Lack of matching engine
integration (Oracle RDQ
or other 3rd party)
 Lack of Oracle EPM
integration
 Lacks Cloud architecture
& SaaS offering
 Just beginning to
explicitly market RDM
capabilities

Field Report: Profisee LightSwitch for RDM
Strengths
 Bundled as part of MDM product suite
 Physical & logical industry models via
ERwin & XML specification
 Banking, insurance (ACORD), retail
(ARTS), healthcare, gaming & hospitality
 Strong support for selective merging of
metadata from physical MDM reference
metadata, logical models in ERwin &
external data
 Versioning (via Microsoft MDS)
 Modeling & cross-walk of both reference
& master data into collated models
Caveats
marketing
 Limited inventory of OOTB
data service connectors
 Nascent Cloud
architecture & SaaS
offering (Azure CY2017)

Field Report: Reltio Reference 360 (Data Steward Portal)
Strengths
 Offered standalone as Enterprise-wide
RDM Hub
 For MDM customers, RDM is included
offering in product suite
 Standard RDM functionality *plus* graph
capabilities1
 Very modern intuitive interface for
managing & remediating reference data
Caveats
 Cloud only
 Modest # of references
1 – Benefits of Graph in RDM use case
 Establish relations across people, products & places =
interesting capabilities result when combined with
reference data
 With a graph, reference data = pivoting attributes
 Example = physician’s specialty is reference data, as it
needs to map to multiple systems and different physicians
... With a graph, specialty code can be pivoting attribute,
which enables you to drill into a specialty to see
physicians across org, & other info relevant to specialty
 Graph makes relationship mgmt simple & powerful
2 – All Reltio MDM customers use RDM & many such as Loreal &
Petco use it as an enterprise RDM Hub

Field Report: SAP MDG add-on ITEGO MDG RDM (Jun 2020)
Strengths
 SAP-certified add-on for SAP MDG leverages
core SAP capabilities
 Custom SAP data objects for *both*
reference & metadata – along with pre-
configured roles & workflows
 Data model
 Rule-based workflows for data governance
 Adjustable UIs (Web Dynpro)
 Data transfer for Initial Load
 Data replication & local staging area
 “Classical” SAP MDG reference data “out of
the box” – MDG-C, MDG-F, MDG-M & MDM-S
 Country Code, Material Group, Payment Terms,
Product Hierarch, Plant ...
Caveats
 Targeted at SAP MDG
sites only
 Founded 2015 with
primarily EU customers
 Modest # of references

Field Report: Semarchy xDM v5 (March 2019)
Strengths
 Iterative, agile methodology
 Flexible architecture, single platform
for MDM & RDM
 Semantic model, rather than pre-
built model, enables flexibility to
manage simple-to-complex
reference data
 Workbench simplifies physical MDM
& allows focus on logical model
 Cloud availability – #1 on AMZN
AWS marketplace
 Scalable pricing
 RDM credentials1
Caveats
 Nascent plans to support
syndicated public &
private reference data
sets (NAICS, SIC, ICD-9/10, LEI,
UDI)
 Nascent Cloud story
 Underinvested in
marketing
1 – Billabong, Chipotle, Merck/MSD, MundiPharma, Oakley, PIMCO,
Rolex, Timac Agro, Volkswagen

Field Report: Software AG webMethods OneData 9.9
Strengths
 Robust solution for centralized DG,
mgmt, stewardship & distribution
 Proven multi-domain RDM1
 Deep cross-referencing/hierarchy
capabilities w/ impact analysis
 Strong taxonomy support/mappings
for public & private reference data
 Can ingest customer metadata models
& UI wraps around model
implementation, & use (integration w/ BPM
for SOA & MDM deployment)
 New UI/search capabilities enhance
SME user experience/productivity
Caveats
 Nascent market presence
due to BPM-centric MDM
 Shortage of
knowledgeable
consultancies
 SaaS capabilities not
marketed
marketing
1 – Allianz, Chevron, Chubb Insurance, DHL, Givaudan,
Nokia, Parexel, Pepsico, SwissGrid, US Office of
Personnel Management, Wellpoint, …
2 – Stable, deep pockets vendor … 2015 est. revenue
$1.2B, 5K employees, 70 countries

Field Report: Teradata LRDM
Strengths
 Teradata MDM always focused
on reference data for EDW
 Includes hierarchy
management, workflow &
versioning
 Strong Excel integration
implementation & use
 Market momentum1
within
Teradata base
Caveats
 Requires Teradata platform
1 – Intel, Lloyds TSB, Meredith, PepsiCo, Standard Chartered Bank,
Swisscom, Target, Telstra, Vodafone Australia, Vodafone Netherlands
…

Field Report: TIBCO EBX (formerly Orchestra Networks)
Strengths
● Smooth M&A ORCH = newest TIBCO SBU ... 100% staff
retention ... new data-focused “pillar” has EBX at center ...
existing ORCH & TIBCO customers benefit from new
resources & synergies
● Integrated MDM/DG/RDM Same software for all
three use cases
● Standalone RDM or integrated w/ MDM & DG
● Enterprise-scalable MDM1 w/ RDM built-in
OTTB visualization (all hierarchy types, graphs), DG,
authoring/stewardship/distribution of ref data
● Best in class hierarchy management—complete
support for all alternate hierarchies, visualizations, graphs,
etc.
● OOTB solution for Finance– displacing Oracle
DRM/DRG, SAP MDG-F, etc.
Caveats
● Growing pains/integration -
From small org to big org with more
sales, marketing, prof. services, biz
dev, and support teams; WW
presence
● Culture change? SBU keeps
team focused on MDM, RDM & DG but
org has capabilities in analytics,
integration, big data; does this
change/defocus team?
1 – MOMENTUM = Aramark; AXA; Bank of New
York Mellon; BNP Paribas; Burger King; Carlyle
Group; Citi; Credit Suisse; Credit Agricole;
Doctors Without Borders; Dunkin Brands;
Essilor; IQVIA; JP Morgan Chase; Michelin;
National Bank of Canada; NFCU; Novartis;
Panera Bread; Paramount; Sabre; Swiss Re;
Technip; UbiSoft; United Technologies Corp;
Viacom;…

Field Report: TopQuadrant’s TopBraid RDM
Strengths
 Robust web-based self-service
solution w/focus on integration w/
other tools to provide ‘full
spectrum’ reference data
use & extension
 Supports comprehensive “metadata
about reference data” + strong taxonomy
& mappings/crosswalks
 Business model & semantic querying
features based on open standards1
 RACI-based governance & security w/
configurable, fine-grained notifications
 On-premise & Cloud-enabled2
Caveats
 Curated datasets not
currently supplied
(planned release, YE2015)
 Just beginning to
explicitly market
RDM capabilities3
 Underinvested in
marketing
1 – Widely-used, W3C (RDF, SPARQL) semantic-standards
based platform
2 – Apache Docker = AMZN AWS, Azure, et al; SaaS available
through Amazon Marketplace
3 – Non-RDM customers using TopBraid for business glossaries
& other aspects of metadata management include: Bank of
America, J&J, JP Morgan Chase, Mayo Clinic, NASA, OECC, OTPP, Lilly,
ServiceNow, Syngenta, Thomson Reuters, USAF and other Fortune 1000
companies across different industries including life sciences, financial
services, oil/gas, digital media, manufacturing & energy industries

BOTTOM LINE
 Impact of poor or non-existent RDM is profound
 RDM is vital for analytical, transactional & operational systems—
reflected in investment levels within the organization
 Initial RDM investments are manageable— getting started won’t kill
your budget like CRM, ERP, CDI or PIM
 50% of successful MDM implementations happen on non-mega
vendor solutions … RDM is tracking to the same market dynamics
 RDM is independent from traditional MDM (CDI, PIM)— forward
looking MDM providers have a distinct RDM strategy
 e.g., IBM, Oracle, Orchestra Networks
BUY DON’T BUILD RDM …
Seek out multi-domain MDM providers with an RDM solution

BOTTOM LINE
 RDM is major IT initiative being undertaken by large # of
market-leading global 5000 enterprises
 Both as IT discipline & COTS software solution, RDM solutions
are being brought to market at an increasing pace
 Mega vendor MDM hubs (IBM, INFA, ORCL, SAP)
 Repackagings of existing mid-market MDM capabilities (MSFT RDM product
for MSFT MDS, ORCL DRM, etc.)
 Best of breed multi-domain RDM (Ataccama, Orchestra Networks,
Profisee, Semarchy, Software AG, …) & pure-play (Collibra, TopQuadrant)
 Expect to pay between $250K- $1M for commercial solution
 RDM is good entry-level project to show success for initial MDM
investment which can be built on as DG model
Seek out multi-domain RDM solution providers that understand &
have experience addressing complexity of reference data

Next Steps
 Web research, blogs, investigate social media SIGs, RDM field reports on
slide share & MDM Institute website
 Read market studies, analyst reports, investigate academic resources,
e.g., DAMA-DMBOK
 Attend industry conferences & network with veteran RDM practitioners
Contact vendors & explore their solution …
Unlike CDI & PIM, RDM can be tested
with real business data & users with very little setup

About the MDM Institute
 Founded in 2004 to focus on MDM
business drivers & technology challenges
 MDM Advisory Council™ of 150 Global
5000 IT organizations with unlimited advice to key
individuals, e.g. CTOs, CIOs, data architects
 MDM Business Council™ website access
& email support to 35,000+ members
 MDM Road Map & Milestones™ annual
strategic planning assumptions
 MDM Alert™ newsletter
 MDM Market Pulse™ monthly surveys
 MDM Fast Track™ one-day public & onsite
workshop rotating quarterly through major North
American, European, & Asia-Pacific metro areas
 MDM & DATA GOVERNANCE SUMMIT™
annual conferences in London, Madrid, NYC, San
Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo & Toronto
“Independent, Authoritative, & Relevant”
About Aaron Zornes
 Most quoted industry analyst authority on topics of MDM, RDM & Data Governance
 Founder & Chief Research Officer of the MDM Institute
 Conference chair for Information Mgmt’s MDM & Data Governance Summit conferences
 Founded & ran META Group’s largest research practice for 14 years
 M.S. in Management Information Systems from University of Arizona
© 2021 The MDM Institute www.The-MDM-Institute.com

MDM Institute Advisory Council
 Advisor agrees to provide Institute’s consultants
with advice & insight regarding the use of MDM
software & related business processes at Advisor’s
convenience
 Advisor agrees to participate in at least one fifteen
(15) minute survey teleconference call every sixty
(60) days
 Optionally, Advisor may respond to the bi-monthly
survey request via email or Internet-based survey
fulfillment
 Results of such MDM market research surveys shall
be aggregated by the Institute & made available to
all Advisory Council members
 In no case, shall any Advisor-specific survey
information be made available to other parties
unless Advisor has specifically agreed to the release
of such information in writing
150 organizations who receive unlimited MDM advice to key
individuals, e.g. CTOs, CIOs, & MDM project leads
Representative Members
• 3M
• Bell Canada
• Caterpillar
• Cisco Systems
• Citizens Communications
• Doctors Without Borders
• Educational Testing Services
• GE Healthcare
• Honeywell
• Information Handling Services
• Intuit
• JC Penney
• McKesson
• Medtronic
• Microsoft
• Motorola
• National Australia Bank
• Nationwide Insurance
• Norwegian Cruise Lines
• Novartis
• Polycom
• Roche Labs
• Rogers Communications
• Scholastic
• SunTrust
• Sutter Health
• Visa
• Westpac
• Weyerhaeuser

Authoritative
Relevant
Independent
Aaron Zornes
Founder & Chief Research Officer
www.the-MDM-Institute.com
aaron.zornes@the-MDM-Institute.com
www.linkedin.com/in/aaronzornes
+1 650.743.2278 @azornes

Analyst field reports on top 10 RDM solutions - Aaron Zornes (NYC 2021)

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