If it takes a crisis to remind people of what really matters, there is no doubt that credit crunches and rogue traders have put data management at the centre of attention. 

The world at large has suddenly discovered what (mostly) genteel education and awareness-building by organisations like the EDM Council has said all along: Scratch the surface of any risk management project and you will find that it really is about data, data and more data.

In research released today, Aite Group singles out Enterprise Data management projects as the core technology priority for 2008.

The title of the report brings back memories of dust-filled weekends renovating my house: "Sanding the Edges in a Rough Risk Environment". Anyone who has used one of those handheld rotary sanders knows how difficult they are to handle - but the analogy is apt: enterprise data management has to date been mostly like the big drum floor sander. They are great for the common-denominator data sets that make up most of the  capital markets floor space (mixed metaphor alert), but how do they deal with the awkward corner bits?

This is obviously the next frontier for data vendors, software houses and end users: can we apply the enterprise data management approach to pricing, valuation, corporate actions and all of the other data sets that have an impact on value and risk profile of my business activity?

Data vendors and software houses are getting better at getting into the corners, but let's not forget that most of our industry is still walking around on some pretty threadbare carpets. These need to be ripped out first before commoditised EDM projects can smooth the path of progress to a more data-centric operating model.

This capital markets report  by Aite is hot on the heels of earlier research about the Top 10 Securities & Investments trends  

• re-evaluation of the processes that firms use to trade and process OTC derivatives following the subprime crisis of 2007
• the continued expansion of electronic trading into exotic asset classes
• the introduction of more funds geared toward socially responsible investing
• market fragmentation in Europe and Asia
• increased data integration and aggregation for increased transparency and a better understanding of risk exposure
• increased spending on corporate actions solutions

The same trends, with more granularity, but a simple conclusion: products and processes will always change and evolve - if you get the data right, the rest is transformation.