Understand the location of the data to be sourced.Ĭarry out a database audit to identify exactly what data the organization is already collecting. Then write down those specific questions and decide what data will be required to answer them.Ģ. That’s why the whole process needs to be driven by the questions management wants answered. Decide what data is required to solve a business problem.Ĭonsolidating and cleansing data to bring out business intelligence is no small task. What if an organization wants to know if a new product will work with their current marketing strategy and customer base and their current marketing stats and customer information is stored in separate data silos? They will need to take a metaphorical hammer to those silos and break them down to bring the data together. Many IT experts talk about the limitations and negative impact of information silos. This practice, which is sometimes referred to as knowledge hoarding, can be especially dangerous in organizations that do not value information transparency.

Silos can be created on purpose - using air gaps to protect sensitive information, for example - but they can also be created by individuals who want to protect their own turf within an organization. Mid-level managers will find it difficult to quickly locate and access data for specific business initiatives.ĭata silos often occur in large organizations because departmental units often have their own business priorities.C-level staff will struggle to obtain an accurate big picture view of the organization’s data.Employees will make decisions based on inconsistent or incomplete data.Different business divisions will create multiple copies of the same data.When this happens, the organization may face the following roadblocks:

If internal security policies prevent this information from being shared with the organization’s marketing team, for example, the database can be referred to as an information silo. One classic example of a silo is a relational database that stores customer addresses.

A picture of a silo