Tag Archives: Information management
New Aberdeen Survey Confirms MDM’s Value For Customer Centricity
Some companies are achieving high customer satisfaction, increasing sales revenue, and reducing business and IT costs related to customer data. They’re improving internal productivity for sales, marketing and customer service while minimizing customer churn.
But other companies are not. They suffer high customer churn, poor productivity, and sluggish sales. When it comes to customer centricity, what differentiates best-in-class performers from the laggards? (more…)
On Beer, Data And Getting Lean
A few months ago at the Gartner MDM Summit, I met the head of information management at MillerCoors. He recalled the challenges he faced in explaining to executives of America’s second-largest beer company why it needed master data management.
He came up with a pitch-perfect analogy.
“We make two things—beer and data,” he told executives. “We need to manage our product supply chain and our information supply chain equally efficiently.”
I love that quote because it underscores a truth in all industries—every business is an information business. Whether you make beer or diapers, automobiles or annuities, seamless integration of all information flowing through a company is key to meeting customer needs and gaining competitive advantage. (more…)
Data Integration’s Role in Combinatorial Innovation
About a year ago, I wrote a whitepaper entitled CIO’s Guide to Achieving Information Management Excellence. Back then, the US economy was somewhat shaky but we had no clue as to the impending major shift about to face the global economy. Fast-forward to 2009. According to the March International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast, global activity is expected to decline by around ½ to 1 percent in 2009. Gartner and IDC also revised their IT spending forecast down to reflect the changes from last year.
So I asked myself, “Do I also need to revisit the paper from the information management perspective?” I sought the counsel of our clients and partners. The answer was, no. The proven practices and methods are still valid, and even more crucial for organizations leading the next chapter of innovation.
There is a greater force at play in IT distinct from the financial restructuring currently taking place. It is the technological maturation making innovation possible for the masses, not just for the elite few. Google’s Chief Economist Hal Varian put it this way: (more…)