Internal Client Requirements Remain Top Driver of EDM Programs, Say Speakers

The main drivers for enterprise data management (EDM) programs continue to be meeting business requirements despite the increased pressure from regulators to improve transparency and mitigate risk, according to a panel of speakers at the Headstrong and EDM Council event in London yesterday.

Consultancy firm Headstrong and industry association EDM Council have completed a data management industry benchmarking survey, and the results, presented at the event, showed that the three top drivers for EDM activities are risk management and compliance, responding to client requirements and operational efficiency.

Regulatory requirements were the fourth biggest driver, and it was questioned whether these results would have been different had the survey been conducted later in the year. Mike Atkin, managing director, EDM Council, said regulation could be seen to reinforce the business case.

Julia Sutton, director, reference data services, RBC Capital Markets, said the data management team is now partnering more closely with other areas within the business. "We're part of these conversations with compliance and risk," she said.

Yet, although there is a growing regulatory focus on data management, panelists stressed that data management drivers go beyond meeting regulatory requirements. Rohit Mathur, head, enterprise data services, Headstrong, suggested  it seems as though the importance of internal clients will not change.

Regulation might strengthen the business case, but it is not necessarily the primary driver. Peter Serenita, global head of data management, COBAM, HSBC, said there are still drivers other than regulation, and the internal drivers for data management programs are so strong. "I really believe the best data management programs are the ones that are internally driven," he said.

In fact, meeting regulatory requirements can be done as part of other programs. Nick Skinner, head of strategy, global data management, Northern Trust, said: "If we have the right program in place today, we can accommodate these [regulatory] changes fairly easily."

Lorraine Waters, global head of reference data, RBS Global Banking and Markets, said the Headstrong and EDM Council report could be viewed as a competitor analysis survey. "Part of the reason I participated was to understand where my firm was [compared to other organizations]," she said.

The main goal continues to be optimizing data management processes whether it is to facilitate regulatory or internal requirements. Tom Dalglish, chief information architect, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said: "We've spent a lot of time selling the idea. Now we have to make it happen."