The recent emphasis on regulatory compliance, SOA, and mergers and acquisitions has made the creating and maintaining of accurate and complete master data a business imperative. SQL Server 2008 R2 Master Data Services helps enterprises standardize the data people rely on to make critical business decisions. With Master Data Services, IT organizations can centrally manage critical data assets companywide and across diverse systems, enable more people to securely manage master data directly, and ensure the integrity of information over time. This introductory presentation will explain the theory and architecture behind MDM and how SQL Server 2008 R2 Master Data Services can be leveraged within your enterprise.