Stéphane Fréchette introduces Master Data Services in SQL Server 2012. MDS provides a central data hub that ensures consistency across applications by standardizing, cleansing, and enriching master data. It allows business users to directly manage underlying databases using Excel. MDS includes features for improving data quality like business rules, validation, versions, and notifications. Data can be imported, exported, and deployed between systems. The presentation demonstrates MDS and discusses how it is part of Microsoft's Enterprise Information Management stack for master data management.

1. Master Data Services in SQL Server 2012
(An Introduction)
Stéphane Fréchette
Thursday May 30, 2013

2. Who am I?
My name is Stéphane Fréchette
I’m a Database & Business Intelligence Professional and CEO | Founder of
I have a passion for architecting, designing and building solutions that matter.
Self proclaimed Open Data Hacker/Advocate I founded Gatineau Ouverte a citizen led
initiative which aims to promote open access to civic data of the city of Gatineau.
Twitter: @sfrechette
Email: stephanefrechette@ukubu.com
Blog: stephanefrechette.com

3. Session Outline
• Microsoft Business Intelligence (The Stack)
• What is Master Data?
• What is Master Data Management?
• Do you have these issues?
• SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS)
• MDS - Key Capabilities
• Data Steward
• MDS – Models, Improving Data Quality, Moving Data, Web Service
• Demo
• Summary
• Resources

4. Analysis
Services
Reporting
Services
Integration
Services
Master Data
Services
SharePoint
Collaboration
Excel
Workbooks
PowerPivot
Applications
SharePoint
Dashboards & Scorecards
Data Quality
Services
OData
Feeds
Line of Business
Applications
Hadoop Big Data
Microsoft Business Intelligence

5. What is Master Data?
“Master Data is data that is at the core of an organization and used
across multiple systems, applications, and/or processes…”
Requires;
• Centralized curated activities and maintenance
• Data Quality Management
• Easy access for business users (not only IT)
• Effective collaboration and sharing

6. What is Master Data Management?
“Are sets of processes, governance, policies, standards and tools that
defines and manage Master Data…”

7. Why is Master Data Management Important?
• Reduces, eliminate duplicate data entry and maintenance
• Improve compliance, reporting, profitability, decision making and data
quality
• Enables data stewards to manage critical business data
• Provide a single view of critical information funnels

8. Why is Master Data Management Important?

9. Do you have these issues?
• Instances or sets of invalid data impacting business processes?
• Wish your business users could manage the data themselves?
• IT resources fixing data and/or managing hierarchy definitions for users?
• Systems which could benefit from a single source view of domain data?
SQL Server Master Data Services can help you!

10. What type of Data are we taking about?
People Things Places Abstract
Customers
Vendors
Employees
Partners
Patients
Products
Business Units
Bill of Materials
Parts
Equipment
Locations
Stores
Power Lines
Geographic
Areas
Warehouses
Accounts
Warranties
Time
Metrics
Contracts

11. Domain, Entities (Data warehouse)
Here
Here

12. SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS)
SQL Server Master Data Services provides a central data hub that ensures the integrity of
information and consistency of data is constant across different applications. Enables
cleansing, matching, standardizing and enriching data.
• New in SQL Server 2012;
 Redesigned web interface to add, delete, and move members quickly.
 Excel front-end (MDS add-in) allowing business users to autonomously add and edit
data in the underlying systems on their own.
 Improved performance, security, robustness, and scalability.
 Integrated with Data Quality Services (DQS) to do data matching before loading.
 Installation part of SQL Server.

13. Master Data Services – Key Capabilities
Create Master Data By Standardizing Data Definitions For Key Business Entities
• Collect and maintain accurate and complete master data to ensure standardized data
definitions of key business entities across all of your IT assets.
 Manage data consistency across different environments.
(Oracle, Microsoft SQL Azure, HP, and IBM)
 Manage the superset of all data attributes across all systems.
 Create explicit hierarchies based on traditional parent-child relationships.
 Produce derived hierarchies from pre-existing data relationships found within master
data models.

14. Master Data Services – Key Capabilities
Create a Master Data Hub for Your Enterprise
• Implement a master data management hub to manage the master data that is stored in
the database and keep it synchronized with the transactional systems that use the master
data.
 Effectively track all known attributes across the enterprise.
 Create versions for each model at different time intervals.
 Commit versions of master data only after business rules have been met.

15. Master Data Services – Key Capabilities
Empower Business Users to Manage Data Governance
• Trust the experience of business-knowledgeable users, so organizations can improve
master data maintenance and avoid the delays and mistakes that occur when non-
business specialists manage and maintain data.
 End users can directly manage the underlying database and data warehouse
dimensions and hierarchies using Excel.
 Free IT responsibilities so they can focus on the oversight of the overall data
warehouse.

16. Data Steward
• Key role - Is usually a Business User and not from the Information Technology side
• Nutshell: Responsible for maintaining data elements in a metadata registry…
• Data Steward -> MDS Client (Web based and Excel add-in)
• Create and edit Models, Hierarchies, Business Rules…
• Run, process and validate data continually, iteratively, improving…
• Maintain high level of data quality
MDS/DQS
Data Steward
MDS/DQS
Data Steward
DQS
SSIS Developer
Matching Cleansing
Create & Edit

17. Master Data Services - Type of Users
Business users – Data
stewards - Functional
area
Administrators -
Administrative area

18. Master Data Services – Models
Models are the highest level of data organization in Master Data Services. A model defines
the structure of data in your master data management solution. A model contains the
following objects:
• Entities
• Attributes and attribute groups
• Explicit and derived hierarchies
• Collections
Accounts;
which could include entities such as balance sheet accounts, income statement
accounts, statistics, and account type.
Customer;
which could include entities such as gender, education, occupation, and marital status.
Geography;
which could include entities such as postal codes, cities, counties, states, provinces, regions,
territories, countries, and continents.

19. Master Data Services – Improving Data Quality
In order to ensure the quality and accuracy of your master data these are the following
features that are available to you:
• Business Rules
(Automatically update data, send email, start a business process or workflow)
• Validation
(Business rule – Data type content validations)
• Versions
(Audit records, prevent from making changes, lock down models)
• Notifications
(Send email when biz rule fails or model version status changes)
• Security

20. Master Data Services – Moving Data
• Importing Data
 Import data into Staging Tables and process the staged data as batch
o stg_nameLeaf
o stg_nameConsolidated
o stg_nameRelationship
• Exporting Data
 Subscribe systems can view data through subscription views
• Deploying Models
 Package, XML format which contains a deployable model structure
o Tools: MDSModelDeploy, Model Deployment wizard, Model Package Editor

21. Master Data Services – Extending with Web Services
• Master Data Manager Web Service
• WCF service that enables you to control MDS programmatically
• Custom Workflows
• A custom workflow calls code that you write, which can take whatever action you
require to process the workflow.
Developer’s Guide (Master Data Services)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh230994.aspx

22. Demo
Master Data Services

23. Enterprise Information Management (EIM)
The EIM Stack as a whole is the ‘Master Data Management’ solution from Microsoft and
consist of the following:
• SQL Server Data Quality Services (DQS) - Capture and record knowledge, rules, and actions
• SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS) - Master Data Management repository, Dimension data
• SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) – Moves data, integration
Enterprise Information Management (EMI)
‘Master Data Management’

24. Summary
Master Data Management issues are pervasive within organizations
and will always exist.
SQL Server Master Data Services is built to be deployed rapidly, the
intent is to make it accessible for all type of organizations and enable
them to create solutions for themselves. An implementation can be
successfully achieved by business users without any programming
knowledge.

25. Resources
• SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services - http://bit.ly/16ei8w0
• MSDN, Master Data Services - http://bit.ly/z8crur
• TechNet, Master Data Services - http://bit.ly/12BfwBH
• Channel 9, Master Data Services - http://bit.ly/19ab2Y4
• Master Data Services Team Blog - http://bit.ly/170Ecuc
• James Serra’s Blog - http://bit.ly/M3MYI2
• SQL Chick’s Blog - http://bit.ly/ietII4
• Amazon, Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services -
http://amzn.to/UtVHaO

26. What Questions Do You Have?

27. Thank You
For attending this session