Authored by Paul Gorman, Account Executive, ImageSoft
The first modern silo, a wooden and upright one filled with grain, was invented and built in 1873 by Fred Hatch of McHenry County, Illinois. Farm silos are designed to store silages and high-moisture grains that are used to feed livestock. The primary function of a silo is to provide protection from the elements to increase the storage life of the grains. Silos are also a crucial element in the overall operation for the entire system of grain storage. They are an incredibly important and useful invention.
In contrast, silos in a business are incredibly destructive and cost organizations time and money. These silos are often called data, or information, silos. A data silo is a repository of fixed data that remains under the control of one department and is isolated from the rest of the organization, much like grain in a farm silo is closed off from outside elements. An information silo, or a group of such silos, is an insular management system in which one information system or subsystem is incapable of reciprocal operation with others that are, or should be, related.
These silos develop as point solutions and are put into place throughout an organization. You know if you are implementing a point solution when you are solving one particular problem without regard to any related issues. Every time an organization adds a new point solution, an information silo is created. For many of the Departments of Transportation (DOTs) I speak with, silo construction has been a way of life for years. Each division has their own solution and their own silo. Some of the savvier DOTs are recognizing the problem and searching for solutions.
For too long the only solutions to information silos have been either: (1) replacing well-functioning point solutions with massive, integrated complex systems that everyone shares, or (2) customizing integrations with custom developed code (the technology equivalent of duct tape). Duct tape is a fantastic tool for temporary fixes, but is not a very solid solution for the long term.
Allow me to introduce you to the OnBase Repository Silo Solution!
OnBase has integration tools designed to ingest and share content with all the point applications at your DOT. With a shared central repository of content, fed automatically by your existing applications and integrated to your existing applications, every part of your organization can access the same content from whatever system they are currently using.
If you would like to see how OnBase can break down information silos without making you replace perfectly good systems, let’s chat.
We Want to Hear From You!
What is your biggest, “siloed” gripe about point solutions in your organization?
Answer in the “comments” section below or on LinkedIn. We read and respond – promise!
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