Collaborative master data management system for identifying similar objects including identical and non-identical attributes

• US 7,236,973 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2003
• Issued: 06/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Rohloff, Frank, Krabel, Markus, Kalthoff, Wolfgang
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu; Le Hien
• Application Number:
  US10/367,102
• Publication Number:
  US 20040103103A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,594 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/201, 709/223, 707/500, 707/3, 707/1, 707/203, 707/204, 707/201, 707/6, 707/200, 711/216
• US Class Current: 707/650
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/215 Improving data quality; Data cleansing, e.g. de-duplication, removing invalid entries or correcting typographical errors
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/955 Object-oriented
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for sharing data. The technique includes receiving data in a central system from one or more client systems, performing a matching process on objects of data in the central system to determine if there are similar objects in the central system, mapping object identifications of similar objects to each other if there are similar objects in the central module, and providing the object mapping information to a process.

Claims

1. A method of sharing data, comprising:

receiving data in a central system from one or more client systems;

performing a matching process on objects of data in the central system to identify similar objects in the central system, the similar objects including at least one identical attribute and at least one non-identical attribute;

mapping object identifications of the similar objects to each other; and

providing object mapping information to a process for managing the objects, the object mapping information including the object identifications of the similar objects.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing a matching process on objects of data in the central system to identify identical objects in the central system; and

mapping object identifications of the identical objects to each other.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

cleansing the data to standardize content of the data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the object mapping information to a process includes providing the object mapping information to a data warehouse for system-wide reporting.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing analysis based on the object mapping information.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining that the identical objects are duplicate objects from a same client system; and

removing duplicate objects from at least one of the central system and the one or more client systems.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein performing a matching process includes identifying attributes of the objects in the central system, and comparing the attributes of the objects to determine if the objects are similar.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing object information in the central system, the object information including global attributes of objects and object mapping information for each object, the object information being based on the received data or created in the central system; and

distributing the objects with object mapping information to the one or more client systems.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

performing the matching process on object information stored in the central system, the matching process being performed multiple times.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

updating the object information stored in the central system based on data received from the one or more client systems.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein updating the object information includes updating object mapping information for each object.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

creating objects in the central system to include global attributes for the object.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein distributing the objects includes distributing the global attributes for each object, the method further comprising:

completing object information for at least one object in one of the one or more client systems.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

mapping the data objects according to industry specific standards.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

distributing a framework to configure client system software to receive data objects from the central system.

16. A system for sharing data, comprising:

one or more client systems for storing master data for use in processes performed in the client systems; and

a central module configured to;

receive master data in a central system from the one or more client systems;

perform a matching process on objects of the master data in the central system to identify similar objects in the central system, the similar objects including at least one identical attribute and at least one non-identical attribute;

map object identifications of the similar objects to each other, the similar objects being non-identical; and

provide object mapping information to a process for managing the objects, the object mapping information including the object identifications of the similar objects.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the central module is further configured to remove duplicate objects from the one or more client systems.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the central module is further configured to provide the object mapping information to a data warehouse for use in the process.

19. The system of claim 16, further comprising a data warehouse configured to receive the object mapping information to use in the process.

20. A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer program product comprising instructions operable to cause one or more programmable processors to:

receive data in a central system from one or more client systems;

perform a matching process on objects of data in the central system to identify similar objects in the central system, the similar objects including at least one identical attribute and at least one non-identical attribute;

map object identifications of the similar objects to each other; and

providing object mapping information to a process for managing the objects, the object mapping information including the object identifications of the similar objects.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

performing a matching process on objects of data in the central system to identify identical objects in the central system; and

mapping object identifications of the identical objects to each other.

22. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

cleanse the data to standardize content of the data.

23. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the instructions operable to cause one or more programmable processors to provide the object mapping information to a process includes instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to provide the object mapping information to a data warehouse for system-wide reporting.

24. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

perform analysis based on the object mapping information.

25. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

determine that the identical objects are duplicate objects from a same client system; and

remove duplicate objects from at least one of the central system and the one or more client systems.

26. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the instructions operable to cause one or more programmable processors to perform a matching process includes instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to identify attributes of the objects in the central system and compare the attributes of the objects to determine if the objects are similar.

27. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

store object information in the central system, the object information including global attributes of objects and object mapping information for each object, the object information being based on the received data or created in the central system; and

distribute the objects with object mapping information to the one or more client systems.

28. The computer program product of claim 27, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

perform the matching process on object information stored in the central system, the matching process being performed multiple times.

29. The computer program product of claim 27, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

update the object information stored in the central system based on data received from the one or more client systems.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the instructions operable to cause one or more programmable processors to update the object information includes instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to update object mapping information for each object.

31. The computer program product of claim 27, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

create objects in the central system to include global attributes for the object.

32. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the instructions operable to cause one or more programmable processors to distribute the objects includes instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

distribute the global attributes for each object; and

complete object information for at least one object in one of the one or more client systems.

33. The computer program product of claim 27, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

map the data objects according to industry specific standards.

34. The computer program product of claim 27, further comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more programmable processors to:

distribute a framework to configure client system software to receive data objects from the central system.