<s>
SAP	B-Application
NetWeaver	I-Application
Master	I-Application
Data	I-Application
Management	I-Application
(	O
SAP	B-Application
NW	O
MDM	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
component	O
of	O
SAP	B-Application
's	O
NetWeaver	B-Application
product	O
group	O
and	O
is	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
platform	O
to	O
consolidate	O
,	O
cleanse	O
and	O
synchronise	O
a	O
single	B-Application
version	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
truth	I-Application
for	O
master	O
data	O
within	O
a	O
heterogeneous	O
application	O
landscape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
distribute	O
internally	O
and	O
externally	O
to	O
SAP	B-Application
and	O
non-SAP	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAP	B-Application
MDM	O
is	O
a	O
key	O
enabler	O
of	O
SAP	B-Application
Service-Oriented	O
Architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standard	O
system	O
architecture	O
would	O
consist	O
of	O
a	O
single	O
central	O
MDM	O
server	O
connected	O
to	O
client	O
systems	O
through	O
SAP	B-Application
Exchange	I-Application
Infrastructure	I-Application
using	O
XML	B-Protocol
documents	I-Protocol
,	O
although	O
connectivity	O
without	O
SAP	B-Application
XI	I-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
achieved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Content	O
Consolidation	O
-	O
centralised	O
cleansing	O
,	O
de-duplication	O
and	O
consolidation	O
,	O
enabling	O
key	O
mapping	O
and	O
consolidated	O
group	O
reporting	O
in	O
SAP	B-Application
BI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Central	O
Master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
-	O
as	O
for	O
Master	O
Data	O
Harmonisation	O
,	O
but	O
all	O
master	O
data	O
is	O
maintained	O
in	O
the	O
central	O
MDM	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAP	B-Application
is	O
currently	O
on	O
its	O
second	O
iteration	O
of	O
MDM	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Facing	O
limited	O
adoption	O
of	O
its	O
initial	O
release	O
,	O
SAP	B-Application
changed	O
direction	O
and	O
in	O
2004	O
purchased	O
a	O
small	O
vendor	O
in	O
the	O
PIM	O
space	O
called	O
A2i	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
code	O
has	O
become	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
the	O
currently	O
shipping	O
SAP	B-Application
MDM	O
5.5	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
such	O
,	O
most	O
analysts	O
consider	O
SAP	B-Application
MDM	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
of	O
a	O
PIM	O
than	O
a	O
general	O
MDM	O
product	O
at	O
this	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAP	B-Application
NetWeaver	I-Application
MDM	O
7.1	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
ramp-up	O
shipment	O
in	O
November	O
2008	O
and	O
unrestricted	O
shipment	O
in	O
May	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
of	O
the	O
top	O
three	O
finalists	O
of	O
the	O
were	O
SAP	B-Application
NetWeaver	I-Application
MDM	O
customers	O
:	O
Kraft	O
Foods	O
and	O
BP	O
ranked	O
1st	O
and	O
2nd	O
by	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
Gartner	O
analysts	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
their	O
successful	O
implementations	O
of	O
very	O
complex	O
MDM	O
projects	O
.	O
</s>
