Introduction to Data Silos
(Part I)

By definition, all organisations should contain multiple entities (people or other organisations) whose unifying purpose is (ideally) the attainment of a set of shared goals. Achieving these shared goals through defined functions and processes requires co-ordination. From the most basic organisation to supra-national giants, the constant exchange of instructions, requests and notifications by the members of organisations is necessary for achieving desirable levels of effectiveness.

Not every entity in an organisation exists to perform the same function and as a result the data needs, inputs and outputs of individual entities vary. That means different entities may apply differing mechanisms to attain aforementioned shared objectives. Organisational management’s goal is to prevent entities from performing redundant or diametrically opposed tasks, best achieved through ‘strategic alignment’. One of the major obstacles to achieving this stated goal is the presence of data silos.

Data silos have been shown to have a severe negative impact on productivity and profitability of businesses due to the heightened inefficiencies they engender.

https://hbr.org/2016/12/breaking-down-data-silos

A data silo as the name implies contains data insulated from interactions with outside elements. While this approach may be recommended for storing grain, it is often undesirable for organisational co-ordination.

It should not be mistaken with data security. While data security is a well-considered effort to insulate sensitive information from unauthorised access, a data silo achieves the different objective of insulating relevant information from deserving parties coming through approved channels.

Likely Origins of Data Silos

Have you ever been in a meeting where everyone seems to have conflicting figures representing the same item?

Or witness otherwise reasonable colleagues unable or unwilling to share basic facts and figures even when this is clearly to the detriment of organisational objectives?

If yes, there is a good chance that your organisation contains data silos since they are the primary means by which such situations originate.

Data silos are brought into existence by technical, political or procedural limitations in data collection and processing, they are oftentimes also a long time in the making. As such it takes a deliberate effort to reverse or eliminate them.

Read Our next article on data silos to learn more.