Blog: Jill Dyche

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April 17, 2006

Can You Handle It?

"That's great! But can they handle the, uh…quirkiness?"

This was the cautious response I got from my partner Evan when I told him I’d be hosting a channel and writing a blog for the Business Intelligence Network on the topics of Customer Data Integration (CDI) and Customer Data Management (CDM). I’m still not sure what to make of Evan’s comment. He’s certainly aware of the power of the written word, and knows my irreverent sense of humor better than anyone, so I’m guessing he thinks that the combination of the two could be potentially incendiary.

Which is apt, because I think that CDI, CDM, master data management, and data governance are all disruptive trends that promise to light some fires. I’m actually pretty intrigued about what effect CDI will have on existing data integration technologies, about how MDM is still used more as a noun than as a verb—English majors: I know, it was just to make a point—and how so few companies have deliberate, repeatable processes for managing their customer data.

I’m also highly psyched to join fellow fire-lighters and friends Bill Inmon, Colin White, Claudia Imhoff, and David Loshin, among other esteemed voices on the Business Intelligence Network, and to be working again with media luminaries Ron Powell, Shawn Rogers, and Jean Schauer. Together, I think we can establish, confirm, or overturn some closely held doctrines, teach and learn, and compare notes about how some early adopter companies are getting it right.

Write me back, prove me wrong, send me your war stories, or hand me some ammunition to lob over the on-line fence toward the naysayers and the old-schoolers. My aim with the CDI/CDM channel is to shake things up, and to have some fun in the process.

I’ll be writing a monthly article and blogging regularly too, so come along for the ride! I know you can handle it.

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