MDM as a service

Due to the lagging embrace of cloud-based master data management technologies ( with the possible exception of Snowflake due to its architecture ),  Riversand continues to enjoy widespread popularity in an on-premise solution.

Riversand offers data modeling, data synchronization, data standardization, and flexible workflows within the tool. It offers scalability, performance, and availability based on its comprehensive Product Information Management (PIM) web services. Functionality is provided in layers of information management starting with print/translation workflows at the bottom layer, followed by workflow or security for access to the assets, their editing, insertions, and bulk insertions, followed by integrations or portals followed by flexible integration capabilities, full/data exports, multiple exports, followed by integration portals for integration with imports/exports, data pools and platforms, followed by digital asset management layer for asset onboarding and delivery to channels, and lastly, data management for searches, saved searches, channel-based content, or localized content and the ability to author variants, categories, attributes and relationships to stored assets. The top players in MDM other than Riversand, include companies such as Informatica, IBM Infosphere, Microsoft, and SAP Master. Informatica offers an end-to-end MDM solution with an ecosystem of applications.  It does not require the catalog to be in a single domain. Infosphere has been a long-player and its product is considered mature with more power for collaborative and operational capabilities. It plays well with other IBM solutions and their ecosystem. SAP consolidates governance over the master data with emphasis on data quality and consistency. It supports workflows that are collaborative and is noted for supplier side features such as supplier onboarding. Microsoft Data services that include the SQL Server make it easy to create master lists of data with the benefit that the data is made reliable and centralized so that it can participate in the intelligent analysis. Most products require changes to existing workflows to some degree to enable customers to make the transition.

MDM in the form of software-as-a-service in a multi-tenant private cloud requires large investments in datacenters and a significant number of customers. Instead, the option to create elastic virtual data warehouses in the cloud with some home-grown web services seems far cheaper for those companies. If the costs could be articulated and comparable, then businesses will not hesitate to make a decision. The on-premise solution has a significant TCO to contend with.