Resisting the inefficiency of data silos

The dreaded data silo: it lurks inside unsuspecting businesses, dragging down efficiency and stifling interdepartmental collaboration.

If you haven’t encountered one in the wild yet, a data silo is essentially an isolated database or data storage unit that’s not integrated with the rest of the organization’s information system. Silos often develop within departments or business units, where information is stored in a way that’s inaccessible to other departments. Even when those departments have a shared need for said info. This can result from the use of incompatible software systems, interdepartmental competition, or a simple lack of consideration for the value information might have if it was widely available. Silos can also lead to incorrect or outdated information being circulated, when teams aren’t working from the latest available data, because it hasn’t been shared yet.

In the competitive intelligence field, gathering information is only half the battle. Ensuring that information makes it into the right hands in a timely manner is equally critical. A data silo can have a devastating impact on your competitive intelligence process, leaving valuable information on the table until it’s no longer actionable.

And when you’re paying for that information, either with your team’s time and effort or through an external service, letting information languish in someone’s inbox or desk drawer is a huge waste of money. Quick, effective dispersal is vital.

The solution? Use a common information collection and distribution platform, instead of relying on 100 different tools being used by 100 different people across various departments. With one centralized platform, accurate, up-to-date information is always available, which will help your business uncover valuable, time-sensitive insights and opportunities.

CI Radar, for example, provides an e-mail briefing service for its clients which ensures that users are kept in the loop on the latest competitive intelligence available. E-mail briefings can be scheduled to go out daily, weekly, or several times per day, depending on the subscriber’s preferences, and each briefing’s contents can be customized depending on what topics or competitors the subscriber finds relevant. This cuts down on the amount of irrelevant information each team is expected to wade through, saving time and energy. This system prevents data silos from forming by quickly and simultaneously dispersing competitive insights to each department.

Source: CI Radar