Within the last few years, data silos, or information silos, have emerged as one of the biggest killers of businesses. A recent survey of marketing companies showed that almost 50% of marketers say their data is siloed and difficult to access. While the answer to many businesses’ data silo problem seems obvious, changing the way their departments share information can be quite challenging for larger businesses. Anthony Scott Beeman, also known as Tony Scott Beeman and Anthony Beeman Forsyth, is a Sales and Business Development professional with over 20 years of experience in the business industry. Mr. Beeman, who specializes in IT solutions and consulting, is often confronted with businesses experiencing difficulties resulting from data silos. In order to better help organizations, Mr. Beeman will share the many reasons data silos are often created within companies.
For many larger organizations, it isn’t unusual for various departments to use different software programs. If, for example, a sales team uses Zendesk sell to collect their data, but the marketing team only uses Funnel, the two departments will not be able to share data without the help of a third program. When it comes to finding solutions to share data across different departments, management will often not have the time to complete the task of sharing data, or it will not be seen as a priority.
Within an organization, it is easy for “team bonding” to stop at teams. For many people, meeting people outside of their department is a rarity. It can be difficult for people from different departments to bond over biannual work functions, which in turn means that teams are less likely to take the time to share data or information. For this reason, companies should strive to support cross-departmental relationships.
The amount of unused data caused by data silos can be staggering. Whether a company has not taken the time to implement technology that can be used across departments or haven’t prioritized cross-department meetings, data silos are costing companies hundreds of millions of dollars each year. For an organization to function to the best of its ability, all information must be available to its leadership. In the future, companies should take measures to help manage data and make company information properly available to all departments.
