Master Data Management eats AI for breakfast, or does it?

In a widely circulated and discussed article on Forbes, Nallan Sriram, Global Technology Strategist of Unilever makes a compelling argument for the need for master data for AI initiatives in the enterprise. The article describes that master data gets siloed in operational systems like ERP with the key decision-makers realizing the need for correct master data when faced with revenue loss or increased operational expense. As master data provides context to business transactions, it is fundamental to business operations. In earlier times, we could manage master data through human intervention. But now with cloud data lakes and our aspirations to build predictive algorithms for business operations and operations, the need for clean, contextual and unified master data is all the more enhanced.