How to Store the Golden Record in Master Data Management

In times of conflict, golden data acts as a "single source of truth" for an entity.

A Golden Record is a single well-defined variety of data entities in any organizational data ecosystem. Organizations maintain golden records as their master data management practices to get the correct version of a piece of information.

It's the responsibility of every organization to maintain golden records in master data management with due measures.

Let's explore everything about Golden Records, their importance, and the ways to manage them in the master database in detail.

The Golden Record provides the "best view" of an entity in your master data management (MDM) system.  

In the heart of the master database, golden records reside. During a conflict on which datasets to trust, organizations rely on golden records. Based on these records, organizations set data procedures and rules. Not all records are golden records; they come with distinctive features, such as 

• You can find all the golden records in a single and consistent format
• Golden records allow prioritization of records. 
• They come in a neat and simple concept 

The master database is the location where golden data is stored, and it's available for the organization in a 60-degree view. The reason why the master database is chosen for storing golden records is that it interconnects multiple areas of the data system. Businesses can understand customers better when they maintain the golden records. It helps them take responsive actions and generate success overall.    

Customers' information, like their emails, phone numbers, and address details etc. They are considered golden records. 

Before explaining to you the importance of the golden record, look at the following table.

It's a short database that consists of two records only. Observe carefully each of the records.

Well, the only difference here is the last name. The first one is Flax, and the last one is Scott. That's the difference. But in the master database, the first dataset is recorded, and it is interlinked with the other databases. The first dataset is presented there as a golden record. Hence, at the time when two records appear side-by-side, the first one (golden record) will be given priority.

Got it?

At the time of conflict between two or more records, the golden record is given an advantage. It's quite natural for your sales and marketing team to pull wrong data from various sources. Hence, having golden data stored in the database provides an edge over other types of data.

Ensure that the data you entered in the golden record is accurate and has the best quality.

Adopting a comprehensive approach is essential for managing golden records into the master database. You must consider collecting, sorting, cleansing, verifying, and taking other measures to adapt to the best data measures. Let's have a look at how you can prepare the master database and store your golden records.

Matching the database with quality data insights is extremely important. Having duplicate records in the master database can put all your efforts in danger. Golden records are a single source of truth, so they cannot appear multiple times in the master database. Using the latest data matching technique is important here to eliminate duplicate records from the system.

Consider the previous example, when the same type of datasets appear twice. Except for the last name, every other field is are same. Using the data matching capacity, you need to eliminate one of the datasets to make it a single source. In this situation, you need to prioritize which field is the most reliable among the others. Here, the older one will be given a priority in order to deduplicate the database.

Why let duplicate data happen when you can efficiently prevent it?

To prevent duplicate data from happening, you need to develop and follow through with a robust data management strategy.

Duplication isn't enough sometimes for recording golden data. You need to validate, cleanse, and enrich the database to improve the quality of the golden records. Just think forward to achieve the best standards of data quality for preparing your master database. Having a robust data management strategy is the best way to get everything aligned. Most of the organizations prefer it in that way.

Here is a set of questions that you need to find answers to develop a perfect data management strategy

• How many sources did you pick up for data entry?
• What kind of information do you need to consider for creating golden records?
• What's the review procedure you have taken to ensure accuracy of the data merges?
• What type of tools do you use for maintaining the records?
• Who is responsible for inventing the system manually whenever necessary?

Once you define all these questions, you'll get a decent strategy to collect, sort, and review your golden records before putting them into the master database. Also, you need to figure out when and how your data will going to be verified for quality and accuracy checks.

Handling customer credit information demands adequate management of oversight, and reporting. During the course of furnishing data, you can interact with rejection, complaints, and imbalances with key performance indicators. But to effectively control the quality, you need to stay focused on reporting management. Controlling the quality is the prime element in this process. Thus, you need to focus primarily on the quality control aspect rather than any other matters.

One of the best ways to supplement your data management strategies is to use advanced tools. Advanced data management tools plus manual insights will ensure the accuracy level of your golden records is intact. Many variations of applications are now available in the market that perform data management very well with all the functions. You can also rely on them if you're looking for a ready-made solution. However, if you add manual insights into the process, then the chances of errors will be minimized.

Record golden records in master data management with the right kind of data insights. Let data quality and management experts help you do so. Following the experts' advice always guides you in preventing errant information from entering your database and reducing the chance of duplicate entries.