The Importance of Quality Data in SAP and Key Considerations

Quality data becomes increasingly important as cross-departmental collaboration and remote work increases. Having a solution that can provide a single source of truth – and sort through data silos, multiple versions of data, and inaccuracies from manual entries and erroneous data – is a key component to achieving quality data.

Several SAP solutions support quality data for different business functions. These include SAP S/4HANA Cloud for group reporting, SAP’s strategic consolidation solution; SAP Master Data Governance, which provides data quality management capabilities; SAP Data Quality Management, which enables detection and correction of master data errors and inconsistencies; and others, including SAP HANA smart data quality, SAP Data Services, SAP Information Steward, and SAP Agile Data Preparation.

Several SAP vendors offer solutions to help SAP customers improve data quality. For example, Prospecta offers Data Intelligence Workbench to help organizations profile, analyze, govern, and monitor data assets. And Qlik provides test data management solutions that help organizations maintain quality test data.

The Importance of Quality Data in SAP and Key Considerations

Quality data becomes increasingly important as cross-departmental collaboration and remote work increases. Having a solution that can provide a single source of truth – and sort through data silos, multiple versions of data, and inaccuracies from manual entries and erroneous data – is a key component to achieving quality data.

Several SAP solutions support quality data for different business functions. These include SAP S/4HANA Cloud for group reporting, SAP’s strategic consolidation solution; SAP Master Data Governance, which provides data quality management capabilities; SAP Data Quality Management, which enables detection and correction of master data errors and inconsistencies; and others, including SAP HANA smart data quality, SAP Data Services, SAP Information Steward, and SAP Agile Data Preparation.

Several SAP vendors offer solutions to help SAP customers improve data quality. For example, Prospecta offers Data Intelligence Workbench to help organizations profile, analyze, govern, and monitor data assets. And Qlik provides test data management solutions that help organizations maintain quality test data.

Key Quality Data Considerations for SAPinsiders

Develop data-correction processes to prevent data errors. KMD, an NEC company and the largest IT firm in Denmark, was able to reduce its closing time from eight days to four days while also improving its data quality. During its implementation of SAP S/4HANA Cloud for group reporting, the team encountered a pain point around data quality from its source system. The challenge interfered with the company’s cash-flow automation. To address the challenge, KMD developed data-correction processes for local controllers that help avoid propagating data errors upstream to Group Finance. Read more about how KMD used testing and integration to confirm data quality.

Use SAP Integration Suite for enhanced data quality when connecting various ERP systems to the cloud. Lloyd’s Register is one of the world’s leading providers of professional services for engineering and technology that improves the safety and performance of critical infrastructure worldwide. It is building a software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology engine on Microsoft Azure and SAP Cloud — SAP’s portfolio of cloud solutions — to sup­port services heavily utilized by its customers. To achieve enhanced data quality and real-time information, Lloyd’s connected its cloud solution to various ERP systems using SAP Integration Suite.

Improve supply chain operations with quality data. Although quality data affects all lines of business, it is particularly impactful for the supply chain. Ranjan Bakshi, CEO of Prospecta, says that automation, collaboration, and effective communication to suppliers are important for achieving digital transformation. And all these requirements rely on quality data. “You don’t need a business case for a data quality solution. If you have billions invested in transformation and other areas, you just need quality data. It becomes a prerequisite, not a business case by itself,” Bakshi says.