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Enterprisewide view of data proves value, convinces leaders

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As financial services businesses grow, often becoming global in scope, pressures from both consumers and regulators increase as well.

But, according to a report from consultant BearingPoint Inc., an enterprise approach to data management can be key to meeting increased demands from both regulators and companies' customers.

In the report, the study's author, Ari Marcus, a BearingPoint director, suggests that accurate data is necessary to manage a business effectively and that harnessing data can facilitate regulatory compliance while helping companies offer new products, increase the volume of their business and enhance customer experience.

As financial institutions have grown, whether organically or through acquisition, many have found themselves operating on multiple information technology platforms and with multiple IT processes.

But with timely access to accurate data providing a potential competitive advantage, executives increasingly are recognizing the need to gain better control over their data management infrastructures, BearingPoint suggests. Such control also can put their companies in a better position to deal with shifting regulatory requirements and consumer demands, according to the consultant.

The key to such control is an enterprisewide view of data, according to BearingPoint, and financial institutions can expect to benefit from investments in such an approach, providing those investments are aligned with overall business strategy and encompass a key set of data management infrastructure components: organization and governance; policies; and procedures, processes and technology.

The consultant stressed that enterprise data management is more than just a technology product; it is "a journey rather than a destination."

To that end, establishing a performance measurement process that can demonstrate the investment's impact can be essential in winning ongoing support and future funding for later data initiatives from the highest levels of a company's management, BearingPoint said.

BearingPoint notes that for an EDM approach to be successfully implemented, a company must have a solid governance model in place establishing the mandate from the company's leadership for the standards and controls to be enforced throughout the data life cycle.

A "C-level" executive such as a chief data officer who can make the EDM approach an essential element of the organization's overall mindset can be a significant element in achieving effective data governance, the consultant said.

BearingPoint's report, "Delivering Business Value Through Enterprise Data Management," can be found online at www.bearingpoint.com.