Essay VI 2

Essay VI 2

James Jones (First M. Last)

School or Institution Name (University at Place or Town, State)

Essay VI 2

An information silo can be described as the information management system that is incapable of unrestricted communication with the other information management systems. The information silos are characterized by vertical communication that creates difficulty in working with unrelated systems. The existence of information silos is proof that management doesn't believe in sharing of information and doesn't consider access to information to other personnel useful. It restricts the information flow between departments and divisions and may hamper growth and efficiency in a business organization.

The information silos create many problems for the organization, as they exist due to the management control therefore it results in status quo and hinders change and efficiency. Few problems created by information silos include duplication of efforts and lack of synergy. The congestion of information results in a lack of efficiency and productivity based on the limited information available to most of the people working on one single project in both public and private organizations (Bundred, 2006). Silos also result in a number of missed opportunities to business and contribute to the overall failure of the company. It also results in a lack of consensus in case of group work and further results in missed deadlines, faulty decision making, and inaccurate future projection.

Cloud computing and cloud technologies are becoming a major attraction to business organizations. Many organizations are moving to cloud technology because it produces efficiency and productivity in an organization. They are ideal for business growth due to the flexibility they offer in case a business expands or shrinks. Besides, it offers low-cost disaster recovery. Another benefit is that servers are out of sight and there is no need to maintain and upgrade the servers; the cloud service providers do it all. The organization gets the benefit of reduced cost due to hardware elimination and enhances collaboration within the departments and divisions. It allows us to work from anywhere and hence organization can obtain more advantages (Chou, 2015).

The cloud-based host for data storage will help in resolving the ERP information silo at Colony Nursery and Landscaping. One way the silos are created is due to the fact that different departments make use of different tools and technologies to store information. Implementing one ERP system will help the organization in the storage of all the information at one place, and it will break the information silos as well. The cloud-based information system will allow the data of all the customers at one place; it will not only reduce the cost but will also allow information sharing, so that customer purchases from all the stores are at one place ensuring the effectiveness of reward point system.

ERP system will enhance the efficiency of business operations of Colony Nursery and Landscaping. It helps in managing the day to day operations and can help in future planning as it provides accurate access to the information coming from all the stores. It also helps in better and accurate forecasting. It provides the operational benefits in not only the form of low cost but also the managerial benefits in the form of standard reports helping ineffective managerial decision making (Staehr, 2012). The rewards program enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty and generate positive word of mouth, and it will help Colony Nursery and Landscaping to achieve a competitive edge.

Business process reengineering provides a realistic insight into the existing business processes. Revamping of existing processes is necessary before entering into the new system. It will help in maintaining or gaining the competitive edge by allowing Colony Nursery and Landscaping to keep the unique selling proposition. It will also give a deep understanding of existing business processes as the ERP system changes the business processes. In addition, the customer reward system and customer data are going to be impacted. Without the understanding of business process improvement, employees will be unable to gain the benefit of the new system. To sum up, business process reengineering will allow successful implementation of ERP and will make employees embrace the ERP after reengineering.

References

Bundred, S. (2006). Solutions to silos: Joining up knowledge. Public Money and Management, 26(2), 125-130.

Chou, D. C. (2015). Cloud computing: A value creation model. Computer Standards & Interfaces, 38, 72-77.

Staehr, L. S. (2012). An explanatory framework for achieving business benefits from ERP systems. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 13(6), 424.