About Information Silo.
Introduction
About Information Silo.
Information silo refers to a data management system that does not necessarily communicate with another information management system. Silos restrict the exchange of information because data moves up and down within the silo, but it cannot be shared with the other departmental organizations. Information silo is characterized by an aspect known as Vertical Communication (VC). Vertical Communication makes it difficult for information silo to communicate freely with other unrelated systems. Information silo mostly occurs when an organization fails to believe in two main things; insufficient benefits that come from sharing of information and when access to data is not of significant help to the other system’s personnel (Chen & Zhou, 2010). It is believed that information silo occurs when various departments in an organization decide not to allow the sharing of information and sharing of knowledge with other groups from the same organization. Management is responsible for creating such environments that do not encourage collaboration and sharing of information.
Information Silos as a Problem to Organizations.
Information silos can result in numerous problems in an organization. Due to lack of knowledge and sharing of information between departments of the same organization, the organization experiences low growth and efficiency in their businesses. Other problems caused by information silos are effort duplication, missing opportunities and lack of synergy. An organization’s priorities lack consensus mainly because various groups and departments cannot share information or decide to work together. Information silos can also result in an organization developing different systems which increases costs. Therefore, wasted efforts and many cases of various departments within the same organization failing to meet their set goals is likely to happen. When departments within the same organization fail to share data or information, they lack the chance of spotting conflicting priorities. Goals help workers to decide the tasks and actions that are significant to success. Without enough data or information, the objectives set by departments cannot help in the growth of the company. It is because when data is not there, workers are forced to believe that what they are doing is not essential. Lack of information sharing might hinder the organization from reaching its visions due to lack of trust and oneness among the workers. According to Forbes, they believe that it is essential for the leaders to acknowledge the importance of buying in long-term objectives before passing them on down to their teams at lower levels.
Movement of Organizations to the Cloud
Cloud services refer to any Information Technology services which are controlled and can be accessed from the providers of cloud computing. The cloud computing provider ensures that there are reliability, security and availability of the cloud. The cloud services are accessed and delivered from the internet. There exist three types of cloud services, namely; Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Due to the numerous and individual business problems encountered on day-to-day life, cloud services have proved to be essential in Colony Nursery and Landscaping company. Many organizations are also moving to the cloud mainly because the cloud offers benefits that can be broadly classified into efficiency, flexibility and strategic value.
- Efficiency- In a business structure like Colony Nursery and Landscaping, productivity can be achieved in terms of accessibility, cost savings, security and disaster recovery. Cloud computing enables the company to access applications and information anywhere from the world using an internet connection.
- Cost-saving is enabled since cloud computing offers businesses having scalable computing resources like Colony Nursery and Landscaping by maintaining the funds.
- Security, on the other hand, has been improved by cloud computing, offering the best security measures to protect the company’s data and private details.
- Colony Nursery and Landscaping can now recover their lost information and applications in the most reliable and fastest way.
Flexibility in Colony Nursery and Landscaping Company has been facilitated by cloud computing in various ways. They include; scalability, tools selection, cloud options and control choices. Cloud computing has enabled Colony Nursery and Landscaping to select multiple tools and features to get solutions embedded to their specific needs. Through the as-a-service options like SaaS, PaaS and IaaS, companies like Colony Nursery and Landscaping have been able to determine their level control. Cloud computing has enabled Colony Nursery and Landscaping Company to gain a strategic edge through increased productivity, automatic software updates, competitiveness and increased collaboration.
Most businesses cannot operate efficiently without the help of computer automation activities like the use of applications. ERP system has come up with a form known as SYSPRO. This application provides the organization with the right toolkit to control and manage its business. This application is specifically designed to simplify any business’ complexity for all manufacturers and distributors in the whole world. SYSPRO application provides an organization with access to their information at any time from any internet-connected device.
Cloud-based data storage refers to a model of data storage through a computer whereby the digital information is stored in logical pools. A large company like Colony Nursery and Landscaping with large amounts of data need to host that data in the cloud where it can be accessed anywhere, anytime. However, storing the wrong type of information in the cloud has its consequences. It is sometimes tricky to retrieve data from the cloud, especially if it is in terabytes of data.
Business process reengineering is a primary method that designs already existing business processes to improve productivity and quality of the operations. Implementation of ERP systems requires business process reengineering because of the following reasons; maintaining or gaining competitive advantage. Another reason is for the deep understanding of business processes since it is essential to familiarize workers with the new platform before the ERP implementation process starts. Colony Nursery and Landscaping companies can go for business process engineering before ERP implementation, which will help it save in terms of cost and resources.
Conclusion
Cloud computing, as recent technological development has had a significant impact in the world. It marks the new era in information and technology fields since it brings an evolution paradigm which can alter how computing is done. Cloud computing has numerous advantages, especially in the business sector. However, a few challenges develop along the way which are security problems, privacy and reliability of the information. Cloud computing, as the latest technology promises many benefits. Business process reengineering provides a very realistic comprehension of the already existing processes. It helps organizations and companies like Colony Nursery and Landscaping in going for successful ERP implementation through the cutting of extra cost and fastening the operations at the same time.