Aninformation silo, or a group of such silos, is an insularmanagement system in which oneinformation system or subsystem is incapable of reciprocal operation with others that are, or should be, related. Thusinformation is not adequately shared but rather remains sequestered within each system or subsystem, figuratively trapped within a container as grain is trapped within asilo: there may be much of it, and it may be stacked quite high and be freely available within those limits, but it has no effect outside them.
Information silos occur whenever adata system is incompatible, or not integrated, with other data systems. This incompatibility may occur in the technical architecture, in theapplication architecture, or in thedata architecture of a data system. Suchdata silos are proving an obstacle for businesses wishing to usedata mining to make productive use of their data. However, since it has been shown that establisheddata-modeling methods are the root cause of the data-integration problem,[1] most data systems are at least incompatible in the data-architecture layer.
In understandingorganizational behaviour, the termsilo mentality[2] often refers to amindset which creates and maintains information silos within an organization. A silo mentality is created by the divergent goals of differentorganizational units: it is defined by theBusiness Dictionary as "a mindset present when certain departments or sectors do not wish to share information with others in the same company".[3] It can also be described as a variant of theprincipal–agent problem.[clarification needed]
A silo mentality primarily occurs in larger organizations and can lead to poorerperformance and has a negative impact on thecorporate culture. Silo mentalities can be countered by the introduction of shared goals, the increase of internalnetworking activities and theflattening of hierarchies.[4]
Predictors for the occurrence of silos include:
Gleeson and Rozo suggest that
The silo mindset does not appear accidentally ... more often than not, silos are the result of a conflicted leadership team ... A unified leadership team will encourage trust, create empowerment, and break managers out of their "my department" mentality and into the "our organization" mentality.[3]
The termfunctional silo syndrome was coined in 1988 by Phil S. Ensor (1931–2018) who worked in organizational development and employee relations forGoodyear Tire and Rubber Company andEaton Corporation, and as a consultant.Silo andstovepipe (as in "stovepipe organization" and "stovepipe system") are now used interchangeably and applied broadly. Phil Ensor's use of the termsilo reflects hisrural Illinois origins and the many grain silos he would pass on return visits as he contemplated the challenges of the modern organizations with which he worked.[5][6][7][8]