Master Data Management with Dynamics AX and MDS (Future)

Recently I interviewed Mike Ehrenberg, Microsoft Dynamics Distinguished Engineer. That interview can be found at the following post.: Interview with Microsoft Distinguished Engineer - Mike Ehrenberg

As promised, I am taking different aspects of that interview and diving into the different topics that were talked about. In one section of the interview, Mike talks about.:

"[T]he ability to drive our innovation in this area together with innovation across Microsoft in areas like Master Data Management enables to drive great solutions through Microsoft Dynamics."

So the 'this' part, that Mike is talking about was from a question I asked around SOA, AIF, and the Vision laid out by Lachlan Cash, in an interview I did last year. (Microsoft's strategy and vision for Dynamics AX and SOA)

This is the only section, during that interview, in which Master Data Services is mentioned. However, this I believe is going to be a big item, that more and more companies, of varing sizes, will focus on.

So we can rewind a little bit, and look at a post I did, nearly a year ago, talking about SQL Server Master Data Services, which was project 'BullDog' for Microsoft, that is the enabling technology that Microsoft will soon be releasing to manufacturing as part of SQL Server 2008 R2. That post can be found here.:
SQL Server 2008 R2 Master Data Services - Aka: Microsoft MDM, Project BullDog

In that post, I go into the need and why for MDM, and what SQL Server MDS will bring to the table. I actually referenced a good bit of information from different Microsoft sources, that hopefully helps bring to light what could be possible with MDS and why.



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So now, here we are, a few days from Convergence 2010 in Atlanta, and mid-summer set for SQL Server 2008 R2 release, that will include SQL Server MDS. What does this means for Dynamics AX?

In the simplest terms MDM is meant to enable "One source of the truth." Now lets think about the role that Dynamics AX plays in a customers overall enterprise solution.

Some customers, Dynamics AX is the end all, be all business package. Older systems are migrated away from, and placed those processes and data inside Dynamics AX. When this is the case, there are still some need for MDM, and so MDS will have relevance. And how is that? Well if that given client has one or more websites / portals? What about CRM? What about a small cloud application?

In this Dynamics AX is the hub, and these other applications are the spokes systems. Now could be that an arguement could be made that CRM is the hub for certain information right?

And that is true, so depending on the data need, and where the true hub, or owenership of data should really live, will depend on how your data mapping of hub and spoke will exists.

Lets also add another possibility, what about the recent Marketing that Microsoft is doing, where Dynamics ERP can be used in a two tier level? Where Dynamics AX is positioned to be the spoke for Divisons of large corp? Also what about Dynamics AX instance that span the world? If for example there is a Dynamics AX production system in China, one in Latin America and then one in the U.S.?

In the past, for enabling integration, a lot of this was code driven. You could / can use BizTalk, along with AIF, X++, .Net, MSMQ, and any number of paths to help manage, not just the transactional data, in which these are designed to enable, but the Master data. There was not a seperation of these two, and is not, in regard to how they flow from one system to the next.

The vision, as I am seeing it, for MDS is enabling the seperation of how the Master data, true Master data elements, flow through a companies enterprise. This includes on-premise and cloud based.

So the transactional integration, now is different than the Master Data flow through a given company.

With MDS, a whole new world will open up for Master Data Management. I mean, look at the list of possibility, with versioning, workflows, business rules, role based access and listed control. Such things, in the past, where developed and not configured.

And this is the overall big move we are seeing, look back at a recent post I did, SQL Server Modeling - Coming to a Dynamics AX near you! , in that we see that SQL Server Modeling is coming to Dynamics AX, and the goal is to reduce the need for custom code, enable model driven application development, and allow for Domain Specific Languages to address problem domains for business.

Similar, we are seeing with the MDS offering, that Dynamics AX will be a point in which MDS can connect to and allow proper flow of Master data elements in and out of Dynamics AX. Some where Dynamics AX is the Hub, and some where Dynamics AX is the spoke.

A lot is coming to Dynamics AX, and very soon. Master Data Management, through SQL Server Master Data Services is one of them. For this reason, I did create a new LinkedIn group.:


LinkedIn group: SQL Server Master Data Services Group

Feel free to join if you like, and help foster the growth and knowledge of SQL Server Master Data Services. This group is not limited to Dynamics AX focus, but is meant to focus on all aspects of SQL Server MDS. However I am sure plenty will revolve around Dynamics AX, CRM, the Cloud, and beyond!

I expect that people will be talking about MDM, and you will hear about some of this at Convergence. After SQL Server 2008 R2 is released this summer, and we get closer to Dynamics AX 6, we will start to see some offical information from Microsoft, getting into more details on exactly how MDS and also SQL Server Modeling will be used with Dynamics AX.

That's all for now, but I invite you to leave comments, send me an email, and of course join the LinkedIn group and start good discussions, news, etc. See you next time!



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SQL Server 2008 R2 Master Data Services - Aka: Microsoft MDM, Project BullDog

Recently, Jeff O. over that MSDynamicsWorld started the conversation about MDM vs. IDM. I covered this on the following blog entry:
MSDW: MDM vs. IDM

In that I went deeper into the need for understanding the technology behind MDM, and what will make up MDM in order for a company to create policies and procedures for managing their 'Master Data'.

Well Microsoft last week, at TechEd, took the covers off of Project "BullDog" and we now have 'Master Data Services'. This will be a part of SQL Server 2008 R2, and be managed, ran and used from SQL Server point of view.



'Master Data Services' is Microsoft's offering for 'Master Data Management'. Here's from the Microsoft MDM home page:
"In June 2007, Microsoft announced the acquisition of Stratature, a privately held company based in Alpharetta, Georgia, and a leading provider of master data management (MDM) software. This was the first step in Microsoft establishing a presence in the master data management space, and will accelerate Microsoft’s delivery of technology in the MDM market. The Microsoft MDM product codename is “Bulldog”. Bulldog includes Microsoft process and standards applied to the Stratature code base as well as several important new capabilities. Microsoft customers want a solution that leverages their technology investment, integrates with their software assets, is easy to install and maintain, and provides a low total cost of ownership. Bulldog will meet these requirements while building on a long‐term vision for master data management at Microsoft.

On initial scoping, it was determined that 'Bulldog' would ship as part of Microsoft Office SharePoint in the O14 wave. At TechEd 2009, we announced a change in packaging for the new MDM capabilities. Project 'Bulldog' will now ship as part of the next release of SQL Server codenamed ‘Kilimanjaro’ as 'SQL Server Master Data Services.'

This means that in addition to new capabilities such as Self Service BI and multi-server management, SQL Server ‘Kilimanjaro’ will also provide customers with a rich platform for MDM through SQL Server Master Data Services. Customers who have purchased Software Assurance (SA) should view this as net new value and innovation that they will have access to as a result of their investments in SA."

Great bit of information there, specifically about the move from office SharePoint to residing at the SQL Server level. This was the correct move. This should live at the SQL Server level.

Also note the bolded text, those customers that invested with Software Assurance will get this, as part of their next SQL Server Upgrade. Great value add there!

The link to the Microsoft MDM or Master Data Services for SQL Server 2008 R2, can be found here: www.microsoft.com/mdm

Here is a list of top features from that page:
"-Master Data Hub that provides central management of master data entities and hierarchies and provides a comprehensive role based security model that ensures fine-grained, secure access to master data.

-Flexible Data Model completely defined in a metadata driven data model. Data administrators are free to define the data model in any way that satisfies the needs of their organization. As new business entities appear or current business entities change, the master data hub data model can change to accommodate the new business requirements.

-Business Rules that ensure the quality of data entered in the master data hub. The business rules engine is efficient and flexible.

-Human workflow that notifies assigned owners of business rule violations by email. Notifications can be sent for every violation or grouped together for periodic notification.

-Versioning of all data entities and hierarchies. New versions can be created by an administrator whenever they are required.

-Hierarchy Management supports both level-based and ragged parent child hierarchies and is managed by an intuitive drag and drop interface.

-Security model is flexible and can be enforced at a very granular level. Security is integrated with Active Directory.
"

Security, Versioning, Workflow, Flexible data model, all the aspects of an MDM solution a company needs in order to have true policies, procedures and technologies to achieve Master Data Management.

Notice the tag into the self-service BI. This was a voiced concern by a lot of people, 'different versions of the truth' that people were complaining about would exists with this self-service BI. Master Data Services is the solution to that possible issue, that techology, being implemented correctly with customer specific policies and procedures for managing it.

There is a ton of things to check out on the Microsoft MDM home page, so I suggest going there, and learning as much as you can.

Also read from Kirk Haselden, Microsoft Product Manager for for Master Data Services.:
Master Data Services – What’s the big deal?

"As corporate information ecosystems become more complex, so goes the management of company lists. Master lists are used, accessed, managed, changed and unfortunately corrupted in myriad ways throughout the company in various divisions and in various locations. For example, customer data may be used in the front office for direct contact with customers or in the back office in marketing, billing and other business processes. ERP and CRM systems do a great job of providing the functionality around how you use say, the product master or customer master. That’s what they were designed to do. However, they don’t do a great job of actually managing the forces that impact the master data itself. Four of the most important of those forces are decay, conflict, corruption and inconsistency."

He goes on...
"Traditional applications manage master data and these forces insufficiently. What is needed to solve these problems is an application that focuses on managing these forces with a set of tools that is specifically designed to ensure that the master data remains authoritative, is available in a secure way across the enterprise and is integrated with the applications that use it. Often the term “One source of the truth” is used to describe what master data management applications deliver. I prefer the term “authoritative source of master data”. Having one source isn’t always desirable nor is it always realistic. Master data isn’t truth. It’s simply data that represents the world at a given time slice. The trick and it’s a difficult one, is to keep the master data authoritative. Authoritative data is reliable, represents the state of the world at the time it’s referenced and is delivered in a secure, integrated and performant way."

So your thinking this is all great, but how does this apply Brandon? Well Master Data Services will apply, as Jeff pointed out in his article, as more and more SOA or Service Based ssolutions come into play. And read back to the top, where I interviewed Lachlan Cash and talked about SOA and Dynamics AX.

That will be the Service Bus for Dynamics AX WCF Services / SOA will be. And that means, MDM offered through Master Data Service for SQL Server 2008 R2 will offer the ability to a Microsoft customer to manage their Dynamics AX instance, master data with.

This will also apply to BI, which I have been heavily writing about, and any custom SOA projects that a customer would be working on.

So as you can see, it so very important you have a Partner that can understand all of this. Someone that can take and guide you through all this technology, to do proper planning, to understand your technical needs that are demanded from your business functionality desired. Sunrise Technologies, Inc. is that kind of partner that has the Technical and Functional depth and expertise that can help you.



Check back soon, as Master Data Service will be something covered more often and sooner rather than later. I will go into the pratical, by examples of how this will be used with a Dynamics AX instance, include BI and get into even a custom SOA and how all three can come together for a customer and offer "one source of the truth."

See you soon!




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