Archive for March, 2010

Preview: Creating a Customer-Centric Organization with MDM

Insurance organizations handle vast – and growing – volumes of customer and prospect data that were unimaginable a mere decade ago. As a result, it’s essential for insurance companies to have a means to manage and analyze this data. Rick Clements explains how Grange Insurance and its network of independent agents, through their Ease of Doing Business initiative, helped their company achieve customer centricity.

Justifying MDM Beyond Cost Savings: Revenue Opportunities

In addition to cost savings, new revenue opportunities are required to justify an investment in MDM.
Cost savings can be achieved through a reduction of resources involved in the problem domain or process. Larry Dubov walks through justifying new revenue opportunities with MDM.

An Economic Business Case for Entity Resolution

Usually you think of lives saved and a nation protected when you think about combating terrorism. The cost-benefit seems obvious. Economists at the University of Texas at Dallas have developed a model to create an economic return on investment for counter-terrorism budgets. Jeff Huth explores the implications of this model.

Agile Data Governance – Same Results with a Different Mindset

In speaking about Agile Data Governance, many people assume it’s an entirely different beast from what we might label “traditional” data governance. The problem with the way we’ve seen DG done is that usually some very well-meaning, passionate, intelligent IT folks get in the mix and expand the scope way outside of what anyone could reasonably accomplish. Marty Moseley explains how Agile Data Governance can help.

Better Health Interview with Lorraine Fernandes at HIMSS10

At HIMSS10 in Atlanta, Initiate’s Lorraine Fernandes sat down with Better Health to discuss a wide range of issues, including EMRs, meaningful use, linking patient data and more.

A More Complex Example for MDM ROI

Larry Dubov examines how to build a business case for MDM when facing a relatively complicated scenario. How do you justify MDM for marketing applications that may, on the surface, have a relatively low ROI?

The Future of MDM: MDM-Powered Applications

The premise of MDM-powered applications is not new or controversial. The next generation of MDM will include business application front ends that provide data and information directly to the front line — business managers and decision makers — and deliver immediate value in terms of business data stewardship and real-time decision making.

Bridging the Gap between Data Governance and Technology

Most people seem to agree on the concept of data governance declarations. However, to actually implement these declarations and find value, we must determine how best to codify the declarations while also tying them to the technologies actually used in daily operations. Marty Moseley explores how to accomplish this.

Should Stockholders Demand MDM?

Bloggers often talk about the value of MDM in terms of customer data. MDM can create a single view of a customer which, in turn, provides a wealth of benefits, from decreased marketing costs to improved customer service. But how can MDM affect shareholders? Amar walks through the potential for Walgreens with their Duane Reade acquisition.

Traditional Methods for Estimating Business Benefits of MDM

Building a business case for MDM begins by defining the problem domain. Larry Dubov offers some helpful resources for doing so, and walks through an example of a traditional method for estimating the business benefits of MDM.