Master data management (MDM) is the practice of creating a single and accurate view of your business’s key entities across every system that uses them. This data includes the core details about your customers, products, suppliers, and even employees.
Essentially, an MDM framework establishes that “golden record” so everyone in your company, and all your systems, are working from the same accurate page.
A great example is customer master data management. Imagine your sales, marketing, and service teams all having the same, up-to-date info for every customer. No more sending offers to old addresses or missing key interaction details.
The same goes for product data; consistent specs, pricing, and inventory across your website, internal systems, and marketing efforts. This consistency is key for sharp reports, smooth operations, and smart decisions. So, the focus is beyond software. It’s about processes, governance, and the right tools working together.
Why Master Data Management Important?
The importance of master data management comes down to this: better data, better decisions. Inconsistent data leads to duplicated efforts, missed opportunities, and costly errors. A robust MDM framework prevents these issues by cleaning, aligning, and centralising your core business data.
But it doesn’t stop at efficiency.
The strategic value of MDM is just as big. Our clients with mature MDM systems have reported revenue gains of around 17% and IT cost reductions of up to 30%.
In regulated industries, master data management also plays a crucial role in compliance. MDM helps organisations track data lineage, maintain audit logs, and demonstrate accuracy under frameworks like GDPR and CCPA.
At Nexalab, we often say MDM is the hidden engine behind data-driven growth. Whether you’re implementing your first system or improving an existing one, it pays to take your approach seriously. You can explore how MDM ties into a broader enterprise strategy in our session on enterprise data management.
4 Types of MDM
Master data management comes in four distinct styles, each suited to different business needs. Choosing the right one depends on your systems, workflows, and data goals. Typically, our clients fall into one of four common implementation styles below.
Registry Style
This is the least invasive style. It indexes data across multiple systems without storing the data itself. It’s ideal when you need visibility without heavy integration.
- Best for: Initial data discovery and identifying inconsistencies without changing source systems.
- Pros: Low complexity, minimal disruption.
- Cons: No direct control over data updates.
Consolidation Style
With this approach, data from different sources is pulled into a central MDM hub. This creates that “golden record” in one place, mainly used for reporting and analytics. The source systems aren’t updated back, but the consolidated version becomes your reference point.
- Best for: Centralised reporting and BI use cases.
- Pros: Unified analytical view.
- Cons: One-way flow; source systems don’t update from the hub.
Coexistence Style
This type also creates a golden record in the MDM hub. But the master data can be updated in both the hub and the original systems. Changes in either place are reflected across systems.
- Best for: Gradual migration or hybrid environments.
- Pros: Flexible, keeps legacy systems functional.
- Cons: Higher complexity due to synchronisation needs.
Transaction/Centralised Style
This is the most controlled and advanced data approach. The MDM hub becomes the authoritative place for creating and updating all master data. Strong governance is key here.
- Best for: Full governance control and strict compliance needs.
- Pros: Highest level of consistency and governance.
- Cons: Most complex and disruptive to implement.
Kindly check our review about data management at a small business for your reference when choosing these types of MDM.
Top Master Data Management Tools
The market of master data management software has some powerful options, each with its own strengths. Once again, choosing the right master data management software depends on your business size, tech stack, and goals. Here are five standout options we think need to consider in 2025.
Oracle EDM
Oracle offers strong Enterprise Data Management (EDM) solutions, often woven into its broader cloud application suite. These tools help manage master data, smooth out differences across apps, and speed up cloud adoption. You get better connections between your various enterprise applications and solid data governance.
Pricing isn’t laid out clearly for MDM alone. Because it’s typically bundled into Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and billed based on compute/storage usage. But, Estimated monthly cost A$55, 80. And the costs can spike quickly, especially if Exadata hardware is in the mix. Also, upgrades tend to be resource-heavy. And small teams might find the platform more complex than needed.
- Use Case: Fast cloud migrations, application rationalisation
- Key Benefit: Reduced maintenance effort, stronger governance.
Informatica
Informatica MDM is a big name for a reason. This tool is enterprise-grade, flexible, and supports multi-domain MDM. Informatica is known for creating that single, trusted view of your critical data, whether it’s customer, product, or supplier information.
The Informatica MDM pricing is typically based on volume and processing units. And please note, the implementation may require strong internal or external expertise. The SaaS version continues to grow, but a few legacy features from the on-premise setup haven’t quite caught up yet. Still, for large-scale multi-domain needs, it’s a serious contender.
- Use Case: Customer 360 initiatives, regulatory compliance
- Key Benefit: High data accuracy, scalable for large enterprises.
SAP Master Data Governance (MDG)
Especially if you’re in the SAP world, SAP MDG is designed for central control over creating and sharing master data. With collaborative workflows and mass data processing, it ensures consistency and compliance. It’s a go-to for SAP users seeking lower data ownership costs.
The pricing of SAP MDG in the cloud is AUD 1,608/year for every 5,000 master data objects. And usually sold with 3–36 month contracts. From several website previews, some users often mention UI friction, slow performance at scale, and the need for skilled configuration, especially when tailoring rules and workflows.
- Use Case: Internal governance and compliance
- Key Benefit: Strong data consistency, audit-ready records.
Profisee
Profisee offers a modern, cloud-native platform often deployed on Microsoft Azure. It provides strong multi-domain capabilities for managing various master data types within a unified environment. It’s known for intuitive data stewardship tools and low total cost of ownership (TCO).
The Profisee is a volume-based and record-driven pricing with options for SaaS or PaaS deployment. Enterprise and application editions were available. But it may not offer all the bells and whistles larger enterprises expect. Some users cite limitations with UI customisation and workflow tweaks.
- Use Case: Cloud-native MDM, rapid ROI
- Key Benefit: Quick implementation, native Azure integration.
Semarchy xDM
Semarchy xDM takes an agile and intelligent approach to helping businesses quickly build trusted master data assets. If you’re starting fresh or rethinking your current system, these tools are a solid launchpad for your master data management strategy.
Semarchy custom quotes vary by record volume and deployment. Some developers find the UI a bit dated, and users have asked for more refined matching logic.
- Use Case: Rapid deployment of trusted data assets
- Key Benefit: Fast ROI, user-friendly interface.
For additional references, you can explore our review on data-driven marketing to help you get an idea of how those MDM tools fuel smarter campaigns.
Streamline Your MDM with Smarter ETL Workflows
Now, even the best master data management system relies heavily on something called ETL (Extract, Transform, Load). It’s how raw data from CRMs, spreadsheets, APIs, and databases gets turned into clean, standardised records. This is the plumbing behind your golden records. This makes everything in your MDM environment run smoother and faster.
At Nexalab, our ETL builds these intelligent pipelines, tailored for sales and marketing precision. These workflows clean, enrich, and validate your data before it even reaches your MDM system. All to ensure your master data management strategy is powered by reliable, timely data.
Your Next Step
Whether you’re navigating messy customer records, juggling disconnected systems, or trying to future-proof your data, there’s a smarter way forward. And that’s where Nexalab can help. Our team has walked this path with countless businesses.
We’re not here to pitch generic advice. We’re here to help you build something that fits, technically and commercially. That’s why we invite you for a free discussion session with our specialist. At no cost. No pushy sales. In that meeting, we can help you tailor a master data management strategy that hits your business goals. Now, it’s your time to book a free discussion session here.
