Enterprise software vendor SAP plans to develop a new collaborative
master data management product that will integrate data from
multiple systems, locations and vendors.
The new product will use this data to support e-business processes
in heterogeneous IT systems, the company said at its Sapphire
customer conference and trade show in Lisbon, Portugal.
Several large companies including Dow Chemicals, Motorola and Nokia
are advising SAP in the development of the product, called SAP
Collaborative Master Data Management (SAP CMDM).
As data and systems proliferate companies are looking for ways to
integrate and consolidate master data, trapped in multiple systems,
while using their existing infrastructures, SAP said. The company
claims its CMDM product is the first standardised offering that
allows companies to establish a cohesive environment, ensuring that
consistent data is used in all business processes.
Rather than just providing a pure enterprise application
integration engine, the CMDM product will offer both the ability to
integrate data and applications needed to support business
processes around collaborative master data management, SAP said.
Users will be able to easily access the unified data through the
personalized mySAP Enterprise portal.
SAP CMDM will be based on mySAP.com technology, an open standard
and Web-based system. In addition to SAP Exchange infrastructure,
the system will consist of a master data server, a content
integrator and adaptors.
The product is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2003. It
will not be restricted to companies who already use other SAP
software products.
