Managing the lifecycle of data is a critical aspect of master data management (MDM). Data in organizations is constantly evolving, and it is essential to have systems in place to manage data changes, ensure version control, and track data lineage. EBX5 provides a comprehensive set of tools to manage the entire data lifecycle, from creation and modification to archiving and purging.

In this post, we’ll explore EBX5’s data lifecycle management capabilities and how they help organizations maintain control over their data as it evolves.

1. Data Lifecycle Management in EBX5

Data lifecycle management refers to the processes and policies that govern how data is created, maintained, and eventually retired. EBX5 provides a flexible framework to manage the lifecycle of your master data, ensuring that data remains accurate, up-to-date, and compliant throughout its lifecycle.

Version Control and Snapshots

One of the key features of EBX5 is its ability to manage different versions of your data model and data itself. Version control allows organizations to keep track of changes over time, ensuring that previous versions of data can be retrieved when necessary.

• Data Versioning: EBX5 enables you to create snapshots of your data at any point in time. These snapshots capture the state of your data and provide a historical record that can be referenced for auditing, troubleshooting, or reporting purposes.
• Record-Level History: In addition to versioning entire datasets, EBX5 tracks changes at the record level. This means that for each individual record, you can view its history and see who made changes, when those changes occurred, and what data was modified.
• Rollback Capabilities: EBX5’s version control allows you to roll back to a previous version of your data if necessary. This is particularly useful when errors are identified after data has been modified, ensuring that you can recover from issues without losing important information.

Data Spaces for Future Changes

EBX5’s data lifecycle management capabilities include the use of data spaces, which provide a flexible way to manage changes to your data without impacting live production data.

• Sandbox Environments: Data spaces in EBX5 act as sandbox environments where users can make changes to the data model or modify data without affecting the production environment. This allows teams to test new configurations, transformations, or business rules in isolation before deploying them to the live system.
• Data Space Management: Data spaces can be managed independently, giving users the ability to create, modify, and archive data spaces as needed. This ensures that changes are properly tested and reviewed before they are pushed to production.

2. Managing Data Consolidation and Central Authoring

EBX5 supports multiple MDM patterns, including consolidation and central authoring, which are essential for managing data lifecycle processes in large organizations.

Consolidation-Style MDM

In a consolidation-style MDM implementation, data from multiple systems is aggregated and synchronized in EBX5, which acts as the central hub for the master data. This requires careful management of landing and staging areas to ensure that data is accurately integrated and cleaned before being published.

• Landing and Staging Areas: EBX5 provides landing and staging areas for data that is imported from external systems. These areas allow you to validate, cleanse, and match data before it is merged into the master data repository. This process helps ensure that only high-quality, deduplicated data is included in the master dataset.
• Batch and Real-Time Processing: EBX5 supports both batch and real-time data integration processes, allowing organizations to synchronize data on a schedule or as changes occur. This flexibility ensures that data is kept up to date without overloading the system with constant real-time updates.

Central Authoring

In a central authoring MDM model, EBX5 serves as the primary system where data is created and managed. This requires strict controls over data entry and modification to ensure that data is consistent, accurate, and adheres to governance policies.

• Data Creation Workflows: EBX5’s workflow engine helps manage the process of creating and modifying master data. Data creation workflows ensure that new data is validated and approved before it is made available for use in the organization.
• Coexistence and Synchronization: For organizations using a combination of consolidation and central authoring models, EBX5 supports coexistence patterns, allowing data to be authored centrally while being synchronized with external systems in real-time or batch processes.

3. Archiving and Purging Data

As data ages, it may become less relevant for day-to-day operations. EBX5 provides tools to manage the archiving and purging of data, ensuring that outdated information is removed in a controlled and compliant manner.

Data Archiving

EBX5 allows organizations to archive data that is no longer actively used but still needs to be retained for compliance or historical reporting purposes.

• Archiving Policies: Organizations can define archiving policies that determine when data should be archived based on specific criteria, such as the age of the data or its relevance to current business operations.
• Access to Archived Data: While archived data is not part of the active dataset, EBX5 ensures that it remains accessible for reporting and auditing purposes. This ensures that historical data can be retrieved if needed, without cluttering the active dataset.

Data Purging

When data is no longer required, EBX5 provides controlled processes for purging it from the system.

• Purging Policies: Purging policies allow organizations to define when data should be permanently deleted from the system. These policies can be configured based on legal requirements, retention periods, or other business rules.
• Audit and Compliance: Even when data is purged, EBX5 maintains an audit trail that shows when data was deleted and by whom. This ensures compliance with regulatory requirements that may require proof of data deletion, such as GDPR’s “right to be forgotten.”

4. Managing Process Evolution and Data Model Changes

Over time, the processes that govern your data may need to evolve as your business changes. EBX5 provides tools to manage the evolution of both data models and business processes, ensuring that your system remains flexible and adaptable to future needs.

Data Model Evolution

EBX5 allows you to manage changes to your data model without disrupting ongoing operations.

• Version Control for Data Models: Just as EBX5 provides version control for data, it also supports versioning of data models. This ensures that changes to the data model are tracked and can be rolled back if necessary.
• Testing and Validation: Changes to the data model can be tested in sandbox environments before they are applied to the production system. This ensures that new fields, tables, or relationships are thoroughly vetted before they impact live data.

Process Evolution Management

In addition to managing changes to the data model, EBX5 helps organizations manage the evolution of their business processes.

• Workflow Updates: As business processes evolve, workflows may need to be updated to reflect new approval processes, data validation rules, or governance policies. EBX5’s workflow engine makes it easy to update workflows without disrupting ongoing operations.
• Continuous Improvement: EBX5 supports continuous improvement by allowing organizations to iterate on their processes and data models. This ensures that the system remains aligned with changing business needs and regulatory requirements.

Conclusion

EBX5’s data lifecycle management capabilities provide organizations with the tools they need to manage the evolution of their data over time. From version control and data spaces to archiving and process evolution, EBX5 ensures that your master data remains accurate, compliant, and relevant throughout its lifecycle.

In the next blog post, we will wrap up the series by discussing EBX5 Best Practices for Master Data Management, sharing key strategies to ensure a successful MDM implementation.