Overview of Data Silos
Data Silos is generally explained as a storage system of information by significant departments where the information is isolated from the rest of the departments and organization. Different organizational domains kept their information separately in a secured and authorized way. This information is only accessible to authorized personnel. Some examples of the information types are employees’ salary slips, customer information, inventory information and the company’s purchasing and sale ( Li et al. 2021).
The overview of LTR based data-keeping procedure in isolation can be referred to as the data silos process. Within LTR, four different teams work for different domains. All of the four teams are authorized to access their respective and individual data only. For example, if there is a situation relative to the customer query concern then the customer executive and the customer service team will be the first department to handle it and then forward it to the concerned departments (Wibowo, Sulaiman and Shamsuddin 2017).
The data storage method of LTR is a long term procedure that increases its capacity to impact and become a threat to the organization. The data silos method of LTR can also result in contributing less efficient performance in different segments of the company. The three major considerations of LTR related to the impact of its Data Silos process are people, emerging technology and organizational culture.
It is known that data is maintained separately from individuals and the entire data silos process can impact the employees in a way that they may feel that sharing this data might jeopardize their job security within the organization or intentionally hold up important information to increase the competition in an unhealthy manner within the departments. Among all, the most common reason is to hold up data and information out of employee grudges which reflects an unhealthy attitude of the employees showing individualism over team unity or collectivism traits.
Technology has been a great benefactor for many companies and in many cases because the adaptability of new technology has improved the business opportunities and performances by the remaining question of cost effectiveness by using this technology (Patel 2019). The continuous question arises about the comparison of cost and the utilization of technology investment whether the desired results and minimization of error is a successful achievement for most of the companies or not.
The organizational culture is impacted through the Data silos mostly because the organization becomes somewhat wise and viable through its decisions. The main occurrence resembles the small organizations primarily. In a small organization the data management only focuses on individual single data sets rather than multiple layers of databases. In case of larger organizations, the scale of employees will be working on multiple levels of data bases and departments for which the Data Silos process might become a greater liability and it might cause different errors on different levels of databases.
Impact of Data Silos
Pulling out an entire data from data silos can be extremely costly but the end result has the opportunity of being more effective. Here are significant solutions related to the business and its issues of data silos which can be adopted by the companies.
There are different awareness programs which can be conducted in two different organizational structures through which the employees will understand the important benefits and outcomes of the appropriate and correct way of data sharing process (Garrido, Sangiao and Cardiel 2017). The various workshops are directly connected to the problems of data silos which include healthy competition, data accuracy growth and data reliability declination. The entire task might not be easy but it requires effort and commitment on behalf of the top management of the companies.
Data centralisation process within different organizations is the most important factor and solution in order to ensure that the data is not manipulated or the information is not changed at any point of time by maintaining a cloud-based server. The scattered data generally helps in accessing all the data from one single place so that the accessibility from different individuals and groups can be confirmed and updated according to the authorisation process (Holmes 2017).
One of the significant problems within the data silos is based on the accuracy of the data. There are major two sources from which the same data can be difficult to figure out and check its accuracy or whether it’s updated. The major solution for the data governance problem is to centralize the entire data management system of the organization through a cloud based server so that the implementation of data self governance has opportunities within the organization. The accessibility method will also help to self analyze and access the data with the appropriate authorisation.
Based on the understanding of software programs and its applications there are organizations which directly store, collect and access the data in the safest and easiest manner. A significant Microsoft software is discussed below.
The Microsoft Azure Synapse is a significant Microsoft software which provides an analytical facility which helps the consumers in bringing the highlighted data with better and quicker yet effective methods (Thompson 2018). This particular software also helps in gathering the data all together so that the customisation in handling this data becomes more efficient.
Digital collaboration is generally defined to be a group of people who are continuously working together through a particular digital platform. Here digital collaboration can also be referred to as a group of people who are brought together on one individual platform with the information sharing and the entire work execution is done through software or applications. Most of the mediums of sharing information is done through data sharing video calls and daily reports uploaded on cloud (Giridharan 2022) .
Solutions for Data Silos
Project management within the digital e-collaboration is much easier and efficient. Project management allows different clients and suppliers to manage their assigned tasks which will be assigned to employees and clients so that the responsible personnel are given significant tasks to achieve their goal (Zamfir 2021). Here the solution of tracking the to-do list is to help everyone be clear about their individual and group goals and objectives so that their roles and responsibilities are able to maximize the complete progress of the project.
The information flows through different levels in an organization which is called communication. Here within the digital collaboration system the communication is mainly referred to a data flowing system either non verbally or verbally through different methods such as applications softwares auto text messages. The method also eliminates any factor of compulsion of unavailability that might be present within the office and it also allows people to share their own ideas with individual employees and groups.
In case of a complete and proper communication system the work efficiency needs to be maximum which holds the major importance. Without proper and complete communication different errors might be generated and improper works might increase. Here are the best solutions to avoid any such compulsion is to share appropriate data digitally via third party applications, social applications, emails, or video calls (Darics and Cristina Gatti 2019). Data sharing plays an important part in understanding and creating better work performance and efficiency within an organization.
One of the significant advantages of features of digital collaboration is to provide high security age within an organizational database system. Increment of data is generally done through storing of data automatically by eliminating the errors and cyber-attacks. Most of the cyber attacks are prevented by securing the data accessibility, increasing the authorisation process, and maintaining the transparency regarding the usage of data.
Accountability is considered to be the transparency where the work directly contributes to the business growth. Within the digital collaboration system accountability of tracking the data sharing competencies is a more beneficial factor so that the clients are able to track the data sharing process and the work progress entirely (Mao and DeAndrea 2019). Here the collaborating tools are mainly considered to make sure that there is no information stealing process, a data manipulation process with leakage of information which is being done within the organizational structure.
Authorisation mainly refers to privileged access to several important databases. Here the data accessibility is only help for the authorized persons who will be successful in maintaining the security of the data. Digital platforms mostly give access privileges to the The limited authorized person so that the safety is maximized within the organization and its data basis.
Awareness
From the given LTR based case study, the internal communication system has been identified that the company uses its internal communication system mostly through emails which eventually results in a lack of communication system and declined work performance. It was justified within the case study that the email conversation could not emphasize organizational perspective more than it required due to the fact that the employees found it very difficult to manage the daily large numbers of emails (Stiehr and Vandermause 2017). The lack of management also relates to uh avoidance of different important messages and it cost errors which impacted the key performance of the organization. There are some significant findings from the case study which have been identified on the basis of LTR’s internal communication.
- In order to maintain a good communication system between different channels it is always important to send and receive different messages correctly and information so that the messages are written and received in the appropriate manner. In case the process is not executed properly then the consequences and the results might impact the profitability of the business. In case a large volume of information is not appropriately delivered daily then the missing information will lead to longer resolving periods of problems as well as the customers in service providers will go through unnecessary delays.
- The lack of adequate communication also leads to a large volume of an intended workload and pressure on supervisors who are sending continuous reminders to their employees regarding certain work (Stacho et al. 2019). Here the extra workload and the lack of performance of supervisors eventually declining the goal-oriented achievements rates and making the objectives more difficult to attain.
- Poor manageability of the emails are continuously disrupting the primary conversation channel of the LTR which is leading to a poor manageability of internal communication systems. The poor data management system is also leading to ignoring some important information through key messages and it is generating more errors and poor results at the end. The errors generated results are coming through different penalties due to which the unwanted delays and dissatisfaction of the customers are becoming the top of the list problems (Dery, Sebastian and van der Meulen 2017).
In this particular section, significant solutions will be provided on effective communication to the employees after analyzing the problems faced by the customers and employees of the LTR organization. In this case, the complete elimination of emails is not at all recommended but there are points which might need to be focused on in order to rectify the problems which have been induced within the system of LTR organization.
- In today’s world one of the most emerging technologies is social media platforms. Here social media applications such as WhatsApp shows a great potential in creating better bonds among the employees (Rossolini, Pedrazzoli and Ronconi 2021). This particular tool can be used for providing written messages along with different multimedia options such as videos, photos and voice messages for a better understanding of the message. WhatsApp also provides a greater opportunity for people who are unable to meet face to face to get familiarized with each other through video calls.
- Face to face communication is one of the most important factors and effective communication systems irrespective of several software applications and programs which have already been introduced within the market. Face to face communication can be utilized to have an attentive individual conversation or a communication among groups which is more transparent and clear (Hyland-Wood et al. 2021).
- Seminars workshops for business meetings also sound more efficient than emails because through this method the information can be passed among a lot of people who are at the same time listening to them without overloading them or losing their attention. The flow of information will be improved through the utilization of seminars, workshops and business meetings method of communication system. The business hierarchy will also be improved along with the effectiveness and quality of the communication pattern.
- Visual communication system is another method or pattern of communication that helps the communication terms through videos, pictures, posters, infographics and presentations. Visual communication is an effective and entirely efficient form of communication through which information flows smoothly among a lot of people with detailed criteria and memorized information (Ruesch 2018).
The project plan is a significant development version of the self-interaction portal that will help to reduce the LTR staff members’ workload. Here the developed model will continuously help the customers in addressing their queries in an effective and appropriate manner with prompt answers. The entire process will also involve if accused that will help to resolve the problem instantly and eliminate the delay.
This email replacement project has a reason for execution which is based on excessive workload on the employees and the improper communication system that results in delay and wrong information input.
There are several options which can be considered within the LTR service desk. These options include limited scope for software and introduction of call centers to help resolve the queries that are continuously impacting the business operations. These queries and problems are increasing the operational cost of the projects but third party contractors are all soon introduced to solve the problems. New dedicated departments have been implemented to focus on solving the queries through an online portal where the customers will be able to access the services.
The project implementation will have few benefits which will be stated below.
- Reduced workload
- Improvement in productivity
- Reduced response time and delay
- Reduced operational costs
- Development of skill requirement
- Quick resolve of problems
Implementation of the projects or self analyzed software will lead to significant disadvantages which are stated below.
- It does not cover every problem
- The requirement of skilled IT personnel
- The maintenance cost is continuously increasing
- Continuous maintenance periodic revisions along with bugs fixing will be required
- Excessive traffic on one page might cause overload on the server or legging.
Data Centralization
Benefit Timeline
Benefits are generally considered to be long term goals that require patience and time. With the expected timeline for the benefits and almost one month after the operation has entirely started. For this particular project the methodology application is making sure that the project is not sure enough as soon as possible so that the benefits can start within one month of the project starting date.
The project is considered to be a maid-cost project. The initial investment is more sophisticated to have an appropriate resolvent of the problems. In this section, the entire budget is estimated by including the development costs.
Particulars |
Costs |
Marketing Budget |
100 |
Software development |
180 |
Hardware development |
150 |
Hosting |
70 |
Total |
500 |
References
Li, Q., Diao, Y., Chen, Q. and He, B., 2021. Federated learning on non-iid data silos: An experimental study. arXiv preprint arXiv:2102.02079.
Patel, J., 2019. Bridging data silos using Big Data integration. International Journal of Database Management Systems, 11(3), pp.01-06.
Garrido, A.L., Sangiao, S. and Cardiel, O., 2017. Improving the generation of infoboxes from data silos through machine learning and the use of semantic repositories. International Journal on Artificial Intelligence Tools, 26(05), p.1760022.
Holmes, J., 2017. Intercultural communication in the workplace. The Routledge handbook of language in the workplace, pp.335-347.
Thompson, N., 2018. Effective communication: A guide for the people professions. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Giridharan, K.S., COMPLEXITY IN THE WORKPLACE AND GUIDANCE FOR IMPROVING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.
Zamfir, C.M., 2021. Workplace Orientation: Norms, Rules, Roles and Values as Principles of Ethical Behaviour and Effective Communication. Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, 21(1), pp.439-447.
Darics, E. and Cristina Gatti, M., 2019. Talking a team into being in online workplace collaborations: The discourse of virtual work. Discourse Studies, 21(3), pp.237-257.
Mao, C.M. and DeAndrea, D.C., 2019. How anonymity and visibility affordances influence employees’ decisions about voicing workplace concerns. Management Communication Quarterly, 33(2), pp.160-188.
Stiehr, E.S. and Vandermause, R.K., 2017. Can’t we all just get along? A dual-theory approach to understanding and managing the multigenerational workplace. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 17(2), pp.103-110.
Stacho, Z., Stachová, K., Papula, J., Papulová, Z. and Kohnová, L., 2019. Effective communication in organisations increases their competitiveness. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 19.
Dery, K., Sebastian, I.M. and van der Meulen, N., 2017. The digital workplace is key to digital innovation. MIS Quarterly Executive, 16(2).
Rossolini, M., Pedrazzoli, A. and Ronconi, A., 2021. Greening crowdfunding campaigns: an investigation of message framing and effective communication strategies for funding success. International Journal of Bank Marketing.
Hyland-Wood, B., Gardner, J., Leask, J. and Ecker, U.K., 2021. Toward effective government communication strategies in the era of COVID-19. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1), pp.1-11.
Ruesch, A.L., 2018. Exploring an educational assessment tool to measure registered nurses’ knowledge of hearing impairment and effective communication strategies: A USA study. Nurse Education in Practice, 28, pp.144-149.
Wibowo, M., Sulaiman, S. and Shamsuddin, S.M., 2017, July. Machine learning in data lake for combining data silos. In International Conference on Data Mining and Big Data (pp. 294-306). Springer, Cham.