Learning about the Master Index Runtime Environment

In today’s business environment, important information about certain business objects in your organization might exist in many disparate information systems. It is vital that this information flow seamlessly and rapidly between departments and systems throughout the entire business network. As organizations grow, merge, and form affiliations, sharing data between different information systems becomes a complicated task. The master index applications you create from Sun Master Index can help you manage this data and ensure that the data you have is the most current and accurate information available.

Regardless of how you define the structure of the business object and configure the runtime environment for the master index application, the final product will include much of the same functions and features. The master index application provides a cross-reference of centralized information that is kept current by the logic you define for unique identification, matching, and update transactions.

Functions of the Runtime Environment

In the runtime environment, the master index application provides the following functions to help you monitor and maintain the data shared throughout the index system.

• Transaction History - The system provides a complete history of each object by recording all changes to each object’s data. This history is maintained for both the local system records and the SBR.

• Data Maintenance - The web-based user interface supports all the necessary features for maintaining data records. It allows you to add new records; view, update, deactivate, or reactivate existing records; and compare records for similarities and differences. You can perform these functions against each local system record or SBR associated with an enterprise object.

• Search - The information contained in each SBR or system record can be obtained from the database using a variety of search criteria. You can perform searches against the database for a specific object or a set of objects. For certain searches, the results are assigned a matching weight that indicates the probability of a match.

• Potential Duplicate Detection and Handling - One of the most important features of the master index application is its ability to match records and identify possible duplicates. Using matching algorithm logic, the index identifies potential duplicate records and provides the functionality to correct the duplication. Potential duplicate records are easily corrected by either merging the records in question or marking the records as “resolved”.

• Merge and Unmerge - You can compare potential duplicate records and then merge the records if you find them to be actual duplicates of one another. You can merge records at either the EUID or system record level. You can determine which record to retain as the active record and what information from each record to preserve in the resulting record.

• Reports - You can generate reports that provide information about the current state of the data in the master index application, helping you monitor stored data and determine how that data needs to be updated. Report information also helps verify that the matching logic and weight thresholds are defined correctly.

Features of the Runtime Environment

The runtime components of the master index application are designed to uniquely identify, match, and maintain information throughout a business enterprise. These components are highly configurable, allowing you to create a custom master index application suited to your specific data processing needs.

Primary features of the master index application include the following:

• Centralized Information - The master index application maintains a centralized database, enabling the integration of data records throughout the enterprise while allowing local systems to continue operating independently. The index stores copies of local system records and of SBRs, which represent the most accurate and complete data for each object. This database is the central location of information and identifiers, and is accessible throughout the enterprise.

• Configurability - Before deploying the master index application, you define the components and processing capabilities of the system to suit your organization’s processing requirements. You can configure the object structure, matching and standardization rules, survivorship rules, queries, EDM appearance, and field validation rules.

• Cross-referencing - The master index application is a global cross-referencing application that automates record matching across disparate source systems, simplifying the process of sharing data between systems. The master index application uses the local identifiers assigned by your existing systems as a reference, allowing you to maintain your current systems and practices while maintaining the most current and accurate information.

• Data Cleansing - The master index application uses configurable matching algorithm logic to uniquely identify object records and to identify duplicate and potential duplicate records. The index provides the functionality to easily merge or resolve duplicates and can be configured to automatically match records that are found to be duplicates of one another.

• Data Updates - The master index application provides the ability to add, update, deactivate, and delete data in the database tables through messages received from external systems. Records received from external systems are checked for potential duplicates during processing. Merges can also be performed through external system messages. Data updates from external systems can occur in real time or as batch processes.

• Identification - The master index application employs configurable probabilistic matching technology, which uses a matching algorithm to formulate an effective statistical measure of how closely records match. Using a state-of-the-art algorithm in real-time mode and establishing a common method of locating records, the index consistently and precisely identifies objects within an enterprise.

• Integration - Relying on the application server, the master index application provides the power and flexibility to identify, route, and transform data to and from any system or application throughout your business enterprise. It can accept incoming transactions and distribute updates to external systems, providing seamless integration with the systems in your enterprise.

• Matching Algorithm - The master index application is designed to use the Sun Match Engine or a custom matching algorithm to provide a matching probability weight between records. Sun Master Index provides the flexibility to create user-defined matching thresholds, which control how potential duplicates and automatic matches are determined.

• Shared Information - Each time a record is updated, added, merged, or unmerged from the EDM, the master index application generates a message that can be transmitted to external systems. It also receives, processes, and broadcasts messages containing information about the objects in your index.

• Unique Identifier - Records from various systems are cross-referenced using an enterprise-wide unique identifier, known as an EUID, that the index assigns to each object record. The index uses the EUID to cross-reference the local IDs assigned to each object by the various computer systems throughout the enterprise.