Master Data Management on a Budget

In 2010 Railinc management received the following project request: “We need a “single version of the truth” about our customers. Today Railinc has numerous customer data sources that are not integrated together. This leads to inaccurate and duplicate information. There is no consistently reliable source of customer information. These silos of customer data hamper our ability to operate efficiently in our customer communications, sales, operations, marketing, product support, and billing. Competing for multiple multi-year initiatives and projects we received approval for a three-year program with limited funding, to integrate four systems. By 2013, the last year of the program, we had integrated seven systems and implemented a CRM system that has delighted our internal customers.

Jose Solera, PMP, MBA (Cornell University) and a United States Military Academy (West Point) graduate, has over 25 years of experience in high technology companies. He has led and managed projects and programs of all sizes in IT, security, and marketing. Currently with Railinc in Cary, NC as the Director of IT Enterprise Services and the PMO, he worked previously for Symantec, Intel, and Accenture. At Railinc he leads many large multi-year programs, the delivery of enterprise services, user experience (UX), and Agile. Other major programs Mr. Solera has led include the Year 2000 program for all Intel, the Intel Inside® Program system development, and a SaaS (Software as a Service) initiative at Symantec in support of a new set of products. Mr. Solera teaches and coaches on leadership and project management at two major universities and PMI chapters.