Reference Data Management Glossary
A glossary of reference data management terms, from master data and reference data to MDM and RDM.
A growing glossary of terms used across reference data management, master data management, and the broader enterprise data architecture discipline. Browse the terms below, grouped by letter.
M
- Master data
- Master data is the core non-transactional data entities like customers, employees, products, suppliers, accounts etc. that participate in the activities and events of your business processes.
- Master Data Management
- Master Data Management is a discipline focused on matching records (across systems), deduplicating, and applying survivorship rules to generate a canonical "golden record" for each core Master Data record in your business.
R
- Reference data
- Reference Data is the lists of valid values behind the attributes of key business entities in Operational Systems.
- Reference Data Management
- Reference Data Management (RDM) is the practice of managing the code lists, mappings, hierarchies, and classifications that underpin virtually every reporting and analytics initiative, and every data integration and migration project.