I had bookmarked, and finally just read, an article by Loraine Lawson of IT Business Edge titled “Consultant: Master Data Management Can Pay off During M&As” which referred to this blog post from Evan Levy, “MDM and M&A“.

MDM is an interesting topic, and one that has a lot of relevance in my work environment. M&As are also interesting and can have a huge impact on a great many people. But while reading these articles, I was reminded of an important MDM axiom.

Even writes:

MDM provides a company the capability to link the data content from disparate systems within and across companies.

Remember that MDM is a capability and not a technology. You cannot buy MDM, but you can build a MDM strategy. This strategy will likely cross several technologies and platforms. It may consist of data warehousing elements, SOA, and SaaS applications. It will surely consist of certain disciplines such as data governance, data quality management, and data integration.

Vendors will continue to push their MDM solutions, but be careful not to trap yourself into thinking that the job is done once you’ve installed. Vendors can wrap most technologies necessary for MDM into a single package, but they cannot provide you with a strategy or the personnel to make it work for your organization.

MDM is a capability you create, and not a product you can buy.