Information Silos and Their Problems
According to Wood, (2010), an information silo is an information management system that is not able to share data with other information management systems in an organization. Information silos are established mainly in situations where the data system is not integrated with other systems. Also, silos exist where the data systems are not compatible. Incompatibility of the data systems can occur in the data architecture, technical architecture, or application architecture of the data system. Within an information silo, communication is usually vertical hence resulting in an unfeasible and complicated scenario that hampers the system from working with other unrelated systems.
Problems Posed by Information Silos
Information silos pose problems for organizations that use them. Silos severely hinder the exchange of information because its information is only permitted to flow up and down within the silo but sharing with other departments is prohibited. When different entities are unable to share information and work together, there lacks consensus on the company priorities and thus resulting in wasted efforts as well as the failure of individual divisions to achieve goals. Also, silos can give rise to issues such as lack of synergy, duplication of energy, and missed opportunities. It is, therefore, necessary to identify the problems of silos and correcting them to facilitate opening up the lines of communication within a business entity.
Moving to the Cloud to Solve Information Silo Problems
Information silos make it hard for a particular department to tap into required information, a problem that can be solved by utilizing the cloud. Most organizations lack resources to establish and maintain their computer infrastructure thereby opting for cloud services. Moving to the cloud offers an efficient way to archive data with minimal investments into an on-premise infrastructure. Numerous organizations are transferring data that lack regular access to the cloud with the aim of meeting compliance regulations. The cloud is therefore cost-efficient and assures stable data storage. The ease of collaboration among users is also a significant reason organization are moving to the cloud. According to Yu et al., (2010), cloud technologies makes it easier to encrypt data both at rest and in motion, and since it is native to the cloud, the organization does not need third-party add-on applications. This technology ensures data security without add-on applications. The cloud simplifies application hosting because the server, operating system, and storage software do not require to be locally installed.
Benefits of Cloud Services for Colony Nursery and Landscaping
Colony Nursery and Landscaping organization is not in a position to purchase, develop, and maintain the ERP system on site and therefore using cloud services will reduce capital expenditure. Cloud services enable the company to pay for the usage of resources that are needed and takes advantage of reliability and scalability. Also, the company does not need to carry out an internal software update because there is an automatic update process. Spreading the cost associated with more massive purchases over an extended period will benefit the company in the long run because this will eventually enable the company to effectively channel the budget on marketing and other related operations that in the long-run facilitates business growth. Resorting to cloud service, therefore, would solve the ERP information silo problem (Kaufman, 2009).
Competitive Advantage through the ERP System and Cloud Services
The use of the ERP system, as well as awards program, would provide the organization a competitive advantage because cloud services are provided on a subscription model. This model means that eventually, the company's cost corresponds to its usage over time and thus preventing the organization from utilizing its budget at once. Besides, cloud services permit test-driving their services before completion of the process of data migration. Also, cloud service providers have a reasonable grace period, and thus the organization can channel its investments into other operations. Finally, taking early exits from the cloud tends to be cheaper compared to buying the outright long-term up-front permissions for both hardware and software on premise (Goel, Kiran, " Garg, 2011).
Implementation of ERP System and Business Process Re-engineering
The implementation of an ERP system by Colony Nursery and Landscaping requires business process re-engineering due to various reasons. The process will enable identification of new services and business opportunities. It is essential in gaining and maintaining the competitive advantage. It helps the company to align inflexibility legacy systems with the contemporary business needs. Various business processes will be affected the customer awards system will be able to award points to the customers at any end in the two stores. The data silos will be eliminated because all data storage function will be via the cloud. The workforce needs to be trained to enable efficient use of the cloud services.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the use of cloud ERP application will allow the users to access ERP software over the internet. Besides, the cloud ERP has less upfront cost because all the computing resources are licensed o the monthly basis and this proving the organization access to the business-crucial applications at any point, any time.
References
Yu, S., Wang, C., Ren, K., " Lou, W. (2010, March). Achieving secure, scalable, and fine-grained data access control in cloud computing. In Infocom, 2010 proceedings IEEE (pp. 1-9). Ieee.
Kaufman, L. M. (2009). Data security in the world of cloud computing. IEEE Security " Privacy, 7(4).
Goel, M. S., Kiran, R., " Garg, D. (2011). Impact of cloud computing on ERP implementations in higher education. Institutions, 5, 8.
Wood, D. (Ed.). (2010). Linking enterprise data. Springer Science " Business Media.
