Should I use EPMA or DRM?

Over the past several months, and quite possibly the past year or two, there have been numerous discussions regarding the need for a separate master data management (MDM) tool such as Hyperion / Oracle Data Relationship Management (DRM) to manage Hyperion metadata outside of the Enterprise Performance Management Architect (EPMA) tool that comes with Hyperion System 9 and Oracle Fusion 11.

Hyperion, and obviously now Oracle, has invested deeply in EPMA and it is difficult to identify how and where it might differ from the DRM product. Oracle has even used portions of the DRM base code and underlying architecture in EPMA and when looking at vapor-ware demos, you might draw similar conclusions to those quotes above. In reality, EPMA, in its current state, is a pumped up version of the old Hyperion HUB as it relates to metadata management. Granted, EPMA has updated the user interface leveraging the glyphs (icons) and nomenclature from DRM while completely missing the intellectual aptitude that a master data tool provides.

• Unifies and aligns application administration processes across the Hyperion EPM system
• Imports and shares business dimensions in the Dimension Library
• Builds, validates, and deploys applications in the Application Library
• Designs and maintains business rules in Calculation Manager
• Loads and synchronizes transaction data into and between EPM applications

DRM

• Manages change of business master data across enterprise applications
• Consolidates and rationalizes structures across source systems
• Conforms dimensions and validate integrity of attributes and relationships
• Synchronizes alternate business views with corporate hierarchies
• Key Features include:

           i.      Versioning and Modeling
           ii.     Custom rules and validation
           iii.    Configurable exports
           iv.    Granular security
           v.     Change tracking

 *Oracle Hyperion Data Relationship Management, Fusion Edition 11.1.1– Robin Peel