On Master Data Governance and Public Cloud
I have just come back from this year’s annual DSAG conference in Bremen, and could experience that master data management continues to be a hot topic, even more so in the age of digitization. There has always been a need to get and keep master data clean as it is the driving force behind successful business processes across LoBs and reliable enterprise analytics. And when it comes to Big Data (e.g., IoT sensor data), it is indispensable that the underlying master data is of high quality.
I felt during the congress that people are really on their way to prepare their organizations and system landscapes for the digital future. There was a dedicated slot for master data management, data quality and governance which included breakout sessions from SAP and customers presenting their MDG implementation projects. One customer lecture was about an MDG implementation in the private cloud, where MDG was also used as a data bridge between a cloud application (Hybris Cloud for Customer) and on premise systems, similar to the picture below which is derived from another real-life customer example.
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This evolving use case where MDG (on premise, or in the private cloud) synchronizes master data in hybrid landscapes, or feeds cloud and on-premise applications with governed master data, turned out to be quite convincing, but also the question came up, whether a full-blown public cloud scenario for centrally governed master data would make sense for customers, too.
This question had already been raised repeatedy even before the congress, and the feedback gathered from our customers so far was that they did not see a public-cloud based (meaning highly standardized) approach that would fit their manifold needs in tackling the master data challenge for their entire enterprise system landscape.
To put it more precisely, the feedback revealed that today MDG users rather benefit from being able to customize and tailor the solution to their specific needs when it comes to central governance. This need for customization goes beyond what is (and should be) possible in a public cloud solution today. This is why at this point in time we do not see SAP MDG in the public cloud for central governance operations.
There is no doubt that specific master data management tasks make perfect sense in the public cloud today. For example, we already have specific micro services for address cleansing and geocoding in SAP Cloud Platform (see Data Quality Management, Microservices for Location Data (DQM Microservices), or re-use MDG capabilities for simplified local master data maintenance in SAP S/4HANA Cloud. In addition, we plan to enlarge the footprint in the public cloud, e.g., with master data enrichment services on SAP Cloud Platform, or simplified consolidation scenarios in SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
In a nutshell, we see MDG as a cloud-enabling solution that is open to public cloud scenarios where highly standardized operation makes sense.
What are your thoughts on master data management in the cloud?
Best,
Markus
Hi Markus,
Thanks for the blog! Need detail insight.
If we host MDG on Private cloud, how do we integrate it to legacy systems? Is HCI is an option here?
Thanks and regards
Abhimanyu Singh
Hi Abhimanyu,
You may use point-to-point connection via SOA services (details in the configuration guides for the relevant MDG master-data domain), or use HCI.
Best,
Markus
Hi Markus , I understand we have new release of MDG 9.1 available in the market for customers . Could you please confirm and sahre if you have any documentation please.Thanks
Hi Thomas,
you may check the SAP MDG on SAP S/4HANA 1709 delta presentation. (Largely corresponds to the scope of SAP MDG 9.1, except for the master data remediation scenario, which is only available on the S/4 version).
See also the standard documentation on MDG 9.1
Best,
Markus
Hi Markus,
thanks for the blog.
I have one specific question concerning custom development or enhancements in MDG in the privat cloud. If I need to add custom fields or any other enhancements in MDG in the private cloud, who can do this. Can this only be done by SAP or also by the MDG operater/owner. I just found a SAP blog that mentioned that it is possible but not exactly by whom.
Thanks in advance and best regards
Daniel
Hi Markus and Daniel,
I have exactly similar question on SAP MDG custom development on private cloud - "If I need to add custom fields or any other enhancements in MDG in the private cloud, who can do this. Can this only be done by SAP or also by the MDG operator/owner."
Also, does private cloud deployment supports exactly similar functionalities as on premise deployment?
It will be helpful if you can share the answers or solutions.
Thanks,
Nikita
Hi Markus,
Thanks for the awesome blog
I have a question here, I host my governed customer data on SAP Customer Data Cloud. Now if the existing IT Landscape has already other C/4 HANA components implemented, then what do you suggest would be the best way to sync data through all the cloud components for a 360 degree view?
Thanks in advance!
Kind Regards,
Mrityunjai
Hi Mrityunjai,
It’s been quite some time since I wrote this blog about C4C and MDG. For questions on setting up C/4 HANA components for SOAP based data replication you may check with C/4HANA experts.
Markus,
This post is now nearly 18 months old. Does your statement, still stand in the current environment?
Thanks,
Eric Brandt
Hi Eric,
I have written a blog on master data fueling the Intelligent Enterprise that provides today's perspective.
Best,
Markus
Please see also https://community.sap.com/topics/master-data-governance/cloud-deployment