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We All Love Island Vacations - But Your Data Doesn't
I recently went on a vacation to the spectacular island of Maui. One of the biggest draws to the Hawaiian island, other than the weather, culture, and opportunity to play ukulele on top of a volcano, is the remoteness and isolation. It’s truly in the middle of nowhere in the Pacific Ocean, providing a much-needed escape from everyday life. It’s an interesting feeling, to be completely in the middle of nowhere. It’s a long flight, but totally worth it.
In between watching the humpback whales and soaking in the sun on the beach, I had a thought - We all need a little isolation and to disconnect from time to time but you know what doesn’t? Your data!
Often, we find that our customers have data that is isolated, living in its own island or silo. As both the volume and value of data continues to increase, it is more important than ever to make sure your data is not only accessible but manageable.
Data Island & Silos
When you are working with multiple systems and sets of data, it is much better when they communicate with each other. When different databases are left separate from one another, they become data islands; siloed off from everything else.
A good example of a data island is a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or something similar that has limited to no external connectivity. This not only limits users from syncing data to other devices, but it also inhibits their ability to integrate with other systems.
Real-World Data Islands
Depending on the industry and organization, there are many ways data islands show up. Last month I attended the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) Conference in Windsor Ontario, and one of the things I kept hearing was that the shop floor serves as a separate data silo. Many manufacturers are monitoring their machine uptime and counts with a pen and paper. This requires duplicate data entry and creates reporting delays for managers. This is just one example of many.
Why Connect your Data?
From a business perspective, there are many reasons to connect your data. Connecting data means:
- Improved Efficiency
- Improved Data Accuracy
- Elimination of Dual Entry Errors
- Real-Time Information
- Leveraged Data in More Valuable Ways
- Improved Accessibility Across Multiple Systems
Your data works better together. When integrated, your data gives you a real-time 360-degree view of your business, allowing you to make more educated, impactful business decisions. You gain more transparency into your business and processes, allowing you to identify areas of strength and improvement. Additionally, you save time by not having to access a slew of other systems in order to access the information you need. You can pull all the data you need into one system, reducing complexity in the process.
Most manufacturers I spoke with at the APMA conference acknowledged that system and data integration would make them significantly more efficient and that IIOT will allow them to be more connected. However, the challenge is deciding how to take the first step – and putting your data in the cloud is a big first step in the right direction.
Data is Stronger Together
The Cloud has allowed us to have all our data available at our fingertips across all devices, which is important because the average consumer has 3.2 connected devices. I know I have 7 devices myself (2 computers, a cell phone, 2 tablets, and 2 game consoles), and those are just the devices I actually use. The more switching between my devices I can do, the better. When I can access my computer data through my phone/tablets, my life becomes much easier to manage because the technology allows me to work the way I want to work. Technology doesn’t get in the way. Unifying your data just makes life easier plain and simple.
We all love island vacations. Your data doesn’t. At CoreSolutions, we want to help you keep your data connected and eliminate data silos and islands. We’ll help you get started down the path to more accessible data.
