MDM isn't a hub - its just simpler to implement it that way

One of the things about MDM that people often get wrong is the idea that MDM provides a central information hub around a given entity and its relationships.

It doesn't.

MDM provides 3 core facilities

1. Cross-referencing of core entities between systems
2. Standardisation around the critical "matching" attributes
3. Synchronisation of attributes modified within multiple systems

Only one of these really requires some form of centralisation, the x-ref, the rest can be handled via governance processes and integration processes without requiring a central system. You can implement match and merge within the integration layer or end application then propagate those changes along.

However in the world of Simple IT and "doing one thing well" its liable to be much more effective to have an MDM solution that manages this integration and which is designed to do that integration rather than building it all yourself.

MDM doesn't require a central solution, you'll just probably find it simpler that way

However there are good reasons

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