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January 25, 2010 -- Open source data integration specialist Talend today released what it calls the first comprehensive enterprise master data management solution on an open source platform supported by a large community of users. Citing "typical" MDM deployment costs of $500 thousand to $1.2 million, Talend executives predict the new platform will have a disruptive effect on the market with enterprise pricing between $50,000 and $100,000. A community version is also available at no cost under GPL license.

Talend executives say the product represents the first comprehensive solution for data integration, data quality, master data and data stewardship. The platform includes data model-driven components for active data integration, data quality and lifecycle; domain integration with visualization; master data quality with profiling and standardization; stewardship and collaboration; and management/workflow tools.

The most commonly approached master domains -- customer and product -- helped drive the platform to market, but Jim Walker, head of MDM product marketing at Talend, says that users of the platform don't have to stick to a rigid model. "We aren't MDM for customer or product, we're MDM for business."

David Loshin, president of consultancy Knowledge Integrity Inc., says Talend's approach makes sense for users that want to assemble architectural components of data integration, data quality, master data etc. into a MDM model based on business requirements. "That's a different approach than the hub vendor that is going to deliver a deep working model with services layered on top," Loschin says. "Talend's approach is to let the internal users devise their own model based on their business uses."  

Business driven MDM domains resulted in 100 native and 300 community-built components that now ship with Talend's core integration product to address different databases and routines. "Along with our own work, we've built the best community components into the product and added support around them," Walker says.

Walker also cited an early adopter, global shipper Bolloré Logistics Africa, that chose Talend's platform to model a domain for logistics that allows agents to provide shipping and capacity quotes for vessels, routes and locations. In December, Information Management interviewed Bolloré CIO Thomas Darbois, who affirmed his company's use of the product to coordinate logistic domain knowledge in a single environment.
 
Talend claims 300,000 users and 1,000 enterprise customers. The new MDM product is available in a free community edition for projects of modest scope under GPL license. The enterprise version is available by subscription and brings more features, technical support and warranties to protect customers from legal challenges.  

Jim Ericson is editorial director of  Information Management, a SourceMedia publication. You can reach him at Jim.Ericson@sourcemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jimericson.