BOI FreeDa bridges the gap between central MDM systems and application-level MDM solutions
Master data — along with reference, parameter, and control data — forms the foundation for all business processes. Its topicality, consistency, and accuracy are therefore of great importance. It should be managed centrally, maintained in an audit-proof manner, and be used without errors in all business processes.
Centralized MDM systems (sometimes called MDM platforms) meet these requirements but have drawbacks for use within a company, such as high licensing and implementation costs, as well as the need to comply with restrictive rules across all areas. MDM solutions at application level may result in the desired data consistency being ensured only within the leading application or for selected use cases.
Secure maintenance of master data in relational databases
What is master data?
- Master data is the essential foundational information of a company that is required in all business processes. Master data rarely changes and is therefore updated only infrequently. Examples of master data include information about customers or suppliers, as well as data regarding the company’s own employees or the company itself.
What is master data management?
- Master Data Management (MDM) refers to the methods, processes, and technologies used to centrally manage master data — that is the fundamental information used throughout the organization, such as customer, product, supplier, or financial data.
Why is a central MDM system needed?
- The goal of MDM is to create a unified, consistent, and trustworthy data foundation (“single source of truth”) within the organization that is available across all systems and processes. This helps to prevent duplicates, inconsistencies, and errors, streamlines business processes, and enables reliable analytics and compliance.
What are application-level MDM solutions?
- Application-level MDM means that a single business application — such as a CRM system for customer data or an ERP system for product data — serves as the primary source (“master”) for specific master data.
What does BOI FreeDa offer for secure master data maintenance?
- BOI FreeDa enables audit-compliant maintenance and management of master data from relational databases for every user; no database knowledge is required. BOI FreeDa is therefore an essential component for a company-wide single source of truth for manual and automated master data editing in relational databases. BOI FreeDa decouples data access from data maintenance and enables centralized and audit-proof master data maintenance processes even in heterogeneous IT landscapes across multiple, even different types of relational databases running on different operating systems. Access by applications within the company remains unchanged upon implementation of BOI FreeDa.
The comparison in detail
BOI FreeDa vs. Master Data Management solutions
BOI FreeDa
A single management interface for all systems supporting multiple, even heterogeneous, central databases accessed by applications
Central MDM system
Standalone MDM platform as a central data source. Synchronisation of all appliations
Application-level MDM solutions
A specialized application (e.g. CRM or ERP) defines the master data
BOI FreeDa
Quick to implement, moderate licensing and implementation costs, modular and scalable; can be integrated into existing systems; cost-effective through phased expansion (Strichpunkt)
Central MDM system
High licensing and implementation costs, often with a lengthy project rollout
Application-level MDM solutions
Low to moderate barrier to entry, depending on the product
BOI FreeDa
High scalability: The table set engine and workflow mechanisms enable flexible adaptation to increasing data volumes and processes
Central MDM system
High scalability in big companies
Application-level MDM solutions
Well-suited for smaller IT environments, but quickly reach their limits as complexity increases
BOI FreeDa
Fully customizable and technical manageable – data models and workflows can be adapted without programming
Central MDM system
Standardized, with a focus on data harmonization and synchronisation
Application-level MDM solutions
Limited functionality, dependent on application logic and the maintenance interface
BOI FreeDa
Built-in audit trails, version control, and technical validation ensure that governance and compliance are transparent and audit-proof
Central MDM system
Governance mechanisms are available, but are often complex to use
Application-level MDM solutions
Limited support; operating departments are responsible for their own management
BOI FreeDa
Native support for heterogeneous database systems and system environments, including legacy data storage systems
Central MDM system
Standard-Connectoren, Middleware, APIs
Application-level MDM solutions
Dependent on the interface, often customized
BOI FreeDa
Companies with a wide range of applications that require a centralized, technical configurable source of truth — such as banks, industrial firms, and insurance companies
Central MDM system
Larger companies with clear governance structures.
Application-level MDM solutions
Small organizations or isolated use cases
FAQ: Practical perspective
Which system is best in practice?
When is it (not) advisable to use centralized MDM systems?
- Benefits: Consistent master data (e.g., customer, product, supplier) across all systems. Improves data quality, reduces errors in processes, and enhances reporting. Particularly important in industries with strict compliance requirements (e.g., banking, manufacturing, energy).
- Challenges: Very high implementation and ongoing costs. Implementation requires change management, role models, and technical integration. For example, data harmonization — such as cleaning up duplicates or migrating from old systems — is highly complex. In practice, many projects fail due to complexity or a lack of acceptance from operating departments. In addition, MDM projects present organizational challenges, as responsibilities must be redefined and change processes in the operating departments must be supported. Even after implementation, MDM systems require ongoing maintenance and governance efforts to ensure data quality in the long term.
- Conclusion: Powerful, but expensive and complex to implement.
When is it (not) advisable to use MDM at the application level?
- Benefits: Quick and easy to implement. Master data is maintained in its “natural environment”—for example, customer data in the CRM and product master data in the ERP. This is often sufficient for small businesses. The advantage lies in the quick and cost-effective implementation, as existing systems can be used and responsibilities are clearly defined.
- Challenges: As soon as multiple systems manage master data, discrepancies arise. For example: The CRM system recognizes a customer, but the ERP system does not. Synchronization becomes complex and error-prone. It is a pragmatic but difficult-to-scale approach. Data consistency remains limited to this application, which leads to silos, time-consuming synchronization, and limited scalability when multiple systems are involved. For individual business applications, the MDM lacks a data maintenance interface at the application level, making expensive customization necessary.
- Conclusion: Pragmatic, but quickly reaches its limits.
When is it (not) advisable to use BOI FreeDa?
- Benefits: Master data stored in central relational databases — so that all applications can access it — is maintained in an audit-proof manner using BOI FreeDa by operating departments without the need for database knowledge, including validation mechanisms, versioning, and governance. Processes become more efficient, and data quality improves measurably. Data changes for all tables are made via the BOI FreeDa web interface, regardless of the business logic of the programs.
- Challenges: Integrating the existing application landscape requires initial effort and clear governance rules. Once implemented, BOI FreeDa provides a stable and future-proof foundation for both business and technical data consistency.
- Conclusion: Combines the advantages of both worlds — high consistency, business controllability, scalability, and cost-efficiency. This achieves a company-wide single source of truth that reliably supports both operational processes and management decisions.
