As business process automation is only going to become more prevalent over time, it’s essential that your firm future-proofs its information and master data. In this article, we look closely at how strong standards can help ensure your data remains high-quality and fully compatible with automation alongside other ERP innovations.
The future of ERP platforms
Experts across the business and technology industries are working to determine the most likely path ahead for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Their conclusions suggest we will see a greater focus on security, privacy, and general governance – especially as regulations surrounding data continue to grow. Companies are also likely to adopt cloud-based solutions if they have yet to do so; this approach provides businesses with more scalability and flexibility. Making the most of cloud ERP (and the migration process) also requires secure, high-quality operational data.
ERP systems will also become more personalised and customisable in future – with some platforms already allowing you to put together a bespoke application. In order to ensure this system interfaces with your firm perfectly, you need error-free data stretching back years if possible. Machine learning functions also make use of an organisation’s previous information to manage current and future files. For each of these innovations to reach their full potential, you’ll need accurate master data which is able to provide valuable context for your ERP solution.
The benefits of data governance
The main benefit of rigorously maintaining your master data’s overall quality is ensuring it remains compatible with your ERP system. As these platforms develop over time, they might struggle to interpret, and reconstruct, your error-filled information. As master data contains critical business details that may significantly affect your operation, its corruption could be a serious issue. If there are problems with your information and the firm has no data management solution, manual data repairs can take a lot of time and money for companies to fix.
Data inconsistencies, such as multiple versions of the same file, might lower the firm’s efficiency – especially if a staff member has to figure out the correct information. Incorrect facts and figures which go unreported may even influence the organisation’s analytics, potentially changing your company’s direction in the process. Data governance aims to make these files easier to understand, manage, and work with. More accurate information will always be beneficial to your business, allowing you to make the right (and the most profitable) decisions.
The need for data management automation
Master data governance is still subject to the possibility of human errors; for example, the staff member might erroneously believe this information is correct. There could even be too much data for a human team to check regularly, making automation the most effective route. An automated MDG solution can intuitively spot issues in your master data and helps ensure everything is in a consistent, legible format. This improves how your firm engages with its own analytics – and allows the company to streamline its own data-driven tasks.
If your organisation makes use of or aims to implement business process automation, master data governance can help by improving its efficiency even further. By automating more time-consuming parts of your company, you can avoid bottlenecks and guarantee every process is working as quickly as possible. You can only perform business process automation if the processes themselves have adequate data to work with. By automating the firm’s information management, you can then automate more processes, and make sure these changes can all complement each other.
What to look for in a master data automation solution
There are a number of key qualities which you should prioritise when searching for a master data platform. For example, your organisation might benefit from a solution with built-in governance – one which possibly checks the data at regular intervals. Rule-based engines are especially adept at this and boast a high level of precision across each task. A system with a comprehensive paper trail can also be very helpful. Data ownership might be difficult to track company-wide, for example, and resolving this can stop data silos from developing.
Extensive configurations may seem daunting to some companies but this ultimately gives you greater flexibility and control over your data. A platform with custom support lets you create processes that fit the firm’s unique needs. Transparency should be another important consideration. This further defends against the possibility of data silos and ensures everybody understands the data and why the company automates it. Your master data can also benefit from the powerful analytics and reporting systems which these tools often include.
An MDG automation solution is critical for any business that aims to maximise its data and stay ahead of possible enterprise resource planning platform innovations. Your chosen solution should be compatible with your company and should also be able to streamline the usual data repair process.
