<s>
Master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
represents	O
"	O
data	O
about	O
the	O
business	O
entities	O
that	O
provide	O
context	O
for	O
business	O
transactions	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
most	O
commonly	O
found	O
categories	O
of	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
are	O
parties	O
(	O
individuals	O
and	O
organisations	O
,	O
and	O
their	O
roles	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
customers	O
,	O
suppliers	O
,	O
employees	O
)	O
,	O
products	O
,	O
financial	O
structures	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
ledgers	O
and	O
cost	O
centres	O
)	O
and	O
locational	O
concepts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
should	O
be	O
distinguished	O
from	O
reference	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
both	O
provide	O
context	O
for	O
business	O
transactions	O
,	O
reference	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
is	O
concerned	O
with	O
classification	O
and	O
categorisation	O
,	O
while	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
is	O
concerned	O
with	O
business	O
entities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
is	O
,	O
by	O
its	O
nature	O
,	O
almost	O
always	O
non-transactional	O
in	O
nature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
exist	O
edge	O
cases	O
where	O
an	O
organization	O
may	O
need	O
to	O
treat	O
certain	O
transactional	B-General_Concept
processes	O
and	O
operations	O
as	O
"	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
arises	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
where	O
information	O
about	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
entities	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
customers	O
or	O
products	O
,	O
is	O
only	O
contained	O
within	O
transactional	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
such	O
as	O
orders	O
and	O
receipts	O
and	O
is	O
not	O
housed	O
separately	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
alternative	O
definition	O
of	O
the	O
term	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
is	O
that	O
it	O
represents	O
the	O
business	O
objects	O
that	O
contain	O
the	O
most	O
valuable	O
,	O
agreed	O
upon	O
information	O
shared	O
across	O
an	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
cover	O
relatively	O
static	O
reference	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
,	O
transactional	B-General_Concept
,	O
unstructured	B-Application
,	O
analytical	O
,	O
hierarchical	B-General_Concept
and	O
metadata	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
What	O
constitutes	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
under	O
this	O
definition	O
is	O
therefore	O
not	O
about	O
an	O
essential	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
most	O
organisations	O
,	O
most	O
or	O
all	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
is	O
defined	O
and	O
managed	O
within	O
that	O
organisation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
,	O
however	O
,	O
may	O
be	O
externally	O
defined	O
and	O
managed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
example	O
of	O
market	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
is	O
the	O
Universal	O
Product	O
Code	O
(	O
UPC	O
)	O
found	O
on	O
consumer	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Curating	O
and	O
managing	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
is	O
key	O
to	O
ensuring	O
its	O
quality	O
and	O
thus	O
fitness	O
for	O
purpose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
aspects	O
of	O
an	O
organisation	O
,	O
operational	O
and	O
analytical	O
,	O
are	O
greatly	O
dependent	O
on	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
an	O
organization	O
's	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Master	B-General_Concept
Data	I-General_Concept
is	O
therefore	O
the	O
focus	O
of	O
the	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	O
)	O
discipline	O
of	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
(	O
MDM	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
