Here are seven excellent reasons to replace your data silos with a unified ERP that integrates with a broad range of third-party applications.
For many organizations, the dreaded data silo is something that adds more time to repetitive tasks, costs money, divides entire departments, inhibits collaboration and ultimately throttles business growth. Defined as a repository of data that's controlled by one department or business unit and isolated from the rest of an organization—similar to how farm silos are closed off from outside elements—siloed data is stored in standalone systems.
These standalone systems contain data that’s incompatible with other data sets, effectively inhibiting any type of cross-functional data sharing.
“Data silos can have technical, organizational or cultural roots. They tend to arise naturally in large companies because separate business units may operate independently and have their own goals, priorities and IT budgets,” Tech Target points out. “But any organization can end up with data silos if it doesn't have a well-planned data management strategy.”
You’ve probably heard the phrase “data is the new oil,” but if your information is trapped in different systems, inconsistent and inaccessible, there’s no way to unlock the value of that “oil.” According to Oracle, data silos are problematic for many different reasons. Here are seven common complaints we hear from organizations that are grappling with data silos:
Many different scenarios can lead to data silos in today’s technological environment. Vendor lock-in is one common example, where the cost of switching vendors causes a customer to be “stuck” with their existing solution, but any scenario in which data can’t get where it needs to go can create a data silo. According to Techopedia, these silos can quickly become problematic when the information stored in them can’t be shared with any other systems.
As the “connective tissue” for digital systems, application programming interfaces (APIs) are one effective tool for breaking down silos that exist within systems. As a leading cloud ERP platform, NetSuite uses APIs that allow different systems to communicate with each other and exchange data in a standardized format.
NetSuite integrations connect various applications and systems, enabling seamless data flow and unified information access across those solutions. As a NetSuite Partner, ScaleNorth uses standardized protocols like SOAP and REST to enable communications between different systems, map data fields between various systems (e.g., CRM, e-commerce platforms, financial institution platforms, etc.) and ensure that everyone has access to accurate, real-time information.
New artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) engines are another way to tackle the data silo beast. “AI and ML have made significant advances in recent years and are now able to classify and move data at levels never before seen,” Techopedia reports. “Consequently, AI and ML may represent the future of breaking down data silos.”
The process of combining data from disparate sources into one central repository to facilitate data analysis, data integration plays a crucial role in a business’s ability to conduct analysis and answer queries. “For example, using data visualization tools that rely on integrated data, business leaders can get a complete and accurate picture of their business, which aids their decision-making,” NetSuite points out.
Without proper integration, it can be difficult to access the necessary data when it is needed. To create reports, for example, users might need to manually gather data from multiple sources, which can require time-consuming actions such as logging into different accounts and importing data into spreadsheets for reformatting and manipulation. “On top of that, data can be inaccurate, incomplete, inconsistent or include duplicates, leading to untrustworthy reports,” NetSuite explains. “When data is integrated into a central repository, businesses can extract value sooner.”
By enlisting the help of a NetSuite partner like ScaleNorth, you’ll be able to eliminate your company’s data silos, get everyone working from the same data “playbook,” and reallocate all of the time and energy previously spent populating, adjusting and sharing spreadsheets. Everyone will have a common data repository to work with, leaders will have easily-accessible dashboards to refer to and there will be two-way autonomous data flows between NetSuite and any other systems you use.
Isn’t it time to unlock the power of unified data by eliminating silos and moving to a unified ERP? Contact ScaleNorth for more information and to get a NetSuite quote and demo.
