Organisations have come to realise that they need to achieve the right view of the master data on which their business decisions are based.

Abstract: The only constant in business data is constant change. On average, 14 percent of the nation's population changes addresses each year, rendering customer information in countless databases obsolete. And that's just for starters. These same customers change jobs, swap credit cards, open new bank accounts, get divorced, make new purchases, change phone numbers, make payments and get married. This constant change holds true as well for patients in healthcare, citisens in government and prospects tracked by the salesforce.

If changes such as these are not accurately reflected in an organisation's data records—and pushed out to all the systems and processes that depend on those data records--the organisation can pay a high price.

Incorrect or duplicated customer information costs corporations more than US$600 billion annually.2 For example, in 2007 alone, poor quality data will cost the insurance industry US$14 billion and the banking industry US$27 billion in operating costs.

There is, however, a significant flaw in the "single" view approach to managing master data. Given the organic way in which most organisations' information systems and IT infrastructure have grown to meet changing business needs—-not to mention the reality of information silos, legacy systems and multiple information architectures—-a literal single view of master data has proven virtually impossible to achieve. As organisations reorganise, merge, acquire new business units and grapple with new security and compliance regulations, master data management problems are only becoming more pressing.