TIBCO Software Inc., a provider of business integration and process management software, today released a new version of its master data management (MDM) repository to help manufacturers and other companies establish and maintain data consistency across back-end systems that increasingly need to interoperate via emerging service-oriented architectures (SOAs).
Called TIBCO Collaborative Information Manager (CIM) 6.0, the J2EE, Web-based, server-side application is said to provide a single platform for creating and managing master data consistency for everything from product and customer data definitions through supplier and reseller nomenclature. Such consistency is important for companies that run a panoply of multi-vendor operational systems -- including CRM, ERP, SCM, and PLM -- and want to revamp their business processes using an SOA to achieve operational improvements that benefit the top and bottom lines.
Inconsistent master data across a multi-vendor systems infrastructure makes it difficult, if not impossible, for IT organizations to create reusable componentized applications that run on an SOA. The reason: Master data can vary from vendor suite to suite or by deployment instance because of flawed internal procedures that permit inconsistencies to be created and maintained by different functional departments or business partners that apply different definitions to the same business objects.
But while many companies are moving to reduce the number of applications they run -- a trend aided and abetted by ongoing vendor consolidation -- that still doesn't help them achieve consistent master data since vendor-supplied and home-grown data translators used to enable interoperability among remaining applications often are incapable of handling the numerous exceptions that invariably emerge. Enter CIM 6.0, one component of TIBCO's overall middleware framework for enabling a "more predictive enterprise" by facilitating the real-time exchange of semantically accurate, run-the-business application data.
Version 6.0, the first full point release since TIBCO acquired the CIM technology one year ago, adds numerous capabilities that revolve around SOA standards compliance, governance, and support of Ajax technologies for enhanced data delivery and usability, noted Neeraj Gokhale, TIBCO's CIM general manager, in an interview.
While many companies put enterprise data into a data warehouse, where it is cleansed for analytical purposes, that doesn't solve the master data inconsistency problem, since business intelligence and operational data are kept separate, Gokhale said. "You need to solve the MDM problem by creating a process that makes sure the resulting data is accurate and stays accurate," he said. "You then need to make sure all downstream systems stay in sync."
CIM 6.0 does this by exposing master data and application functionality through a Web-services layer. Scattered master data is assembled into business services that can be used across the organization and shared with business partners. The process is managed via a business process automation engine, which assigns data ownership and management to the specific business roles/users.
Importantly, organizations can deploy CIM using LDAP (lightweight directory access protocol), a secure protocol for querying and modifying directory services running over a TCP/IP network. This enables them to track master data changes, the company said.
But technology is only part of the solution, Gokhale said. Organizations need to embrace collaborative business processes that eliminate departmental silos and business partner barriers if they want to keep MDM problems from returning, he noted.
The MDM challenge is particularly acute for larger manufacturing companies that have grown via acquisition, many of whom are using various incompatible enterprise systems. Less than 25% of manufacturing companies have a strategy to contend with master data inconsistencies, according to Bill Swanton, a vice president of AMR Research.
Without naming any specific customers, Gokhale pointed to a large pharmaceuticals company that uses CIM to initiate master data for all of its products. "It's a 48-step process through eight different departments, spanning logistics, manufacturing, ERP ..." he noted. "All [departments] contributed all long the way."
Companies with inconsistent master data need to move that data from operational systems to TIBCO's CIM in a batch process, where it is cleansed and validated for consistency, Gokhale said. It is then sent back as a new version to the operational system from whence it came, Gokhale explained.
Increasingly, companies are hiring "Big 4," or large systems integrators, to tackle MDM challenges. Their rationale: The initial exercise is focused on process design, a core competency of consultants, not most IT departments. "They bring in outsiders because the size of these implementations is large," Gokhale said. TIBCO has a number of active partnerships with third-party consultants such as Infosys and Accenture, he added.
The software is clearly not for companies on a tight budget. CIM 6.0 can range from $500,000 to $3 million for a global company with $1 billion or more in revenue, Gokhale said. The actual cost depends on the number of users and servers deployed, he added.
Currently, TIBCO runs into IBM on MDM competitive bids, as well as Oracle and SAP, though the application suite vendors tend to shy away from these types of projects since they are still consumed with building out their evolving SOAs, Gokhale said.
AMR's Swanton said CIM 6.0 extends TIBCO's middleware framework for creating SOAs. In that spirit, it is appropriate for TIBCO customers looking for an MDM solution.
Deciding between using third-party infrastructure tools and riding enterprise vendors' emerging SOAs to address MDM challenges depends on the company's information architecture goals and vision. "It's situational, based on what you have and where you're going," Swanton noted. "If you have four different ERP systems today and if you expect to have one [in the future], you need look at what that vendor is doing."