Enterprise Data Management, 2009 Edition

This year has truly been a year of change for the data management community. Regulators and industry participants alike have been keenly focused on the importance of data with regards to compliance and risk management considerations. The UK Financial Services Authority’s fining of Barclays for transaction reporting failures as a result of inconsistent underlying reference data is a case in point. Firms are now more aware than ever before of the dangers that are posed by failing to adequately manage this data: reputational and operational risk is at stake.

Against this background of intense scrutiny, financial institutions are beginning to crack open the door again on delayed projects to centralise and harmonise their internal reference data sets. These may be largely tactical at the moment but the increased interest in enterprise-wide risk management may prove to be a catalyst for enterprise data management (EDM) projects in the near future. There is also an increased level of awareness at the senior management level about the cost saving benefits of rationalising data feeds and systems. The driving force is to do more with smaller headcounts and tighter budgets.

In reaction to this trend, vendors have been forced to go that extra mile to meet clients’ requirements. That may be around making user front ends more intuitive or improving downstream controls. What is clear is that users are asking for more than ever before and vendors must listen in order to remain relevant.