Software and silos

One of the most common problems in IT organizations has been said to be silos. Because of the need to specialize in each technical discipline in Information Technology, the organization splits itself into silos of specialization. This may be understandable, however, it is the cause of ineffective use of technology in large businesses.

What I have found to be more interesting is the fact that these silos exist in small organizations, and it is having the same impact. The source of the problem is not specialization of technology here, but focus on the day to day jobs. In any business, there are stresses or alligators that drive day to day activities of staff. These alligators are the cause of the problem. They prevent a business from getting the most value from the software that they purchase.

In working with small organizations, I have found that this discontinuity starts when an organization has about five people, and it is a communication problem that is developing. They each are very focused on their own jobs and not aware of the problems that they are creating for others. As the size of the organization reaches 10 people, the impact is starting to be felt, but the business owner/manager doesn't recognize the source. As the organization reaches about 15 people, the impact becomes painful and they start to look for solutions. Often this comes in the form of software. They have heard about others in their industry that have improved performance with the introduction of software.

If the business owner/manager assumes that the software was the solution, he goes out and evaluates different software products, picks one and sits back and waits for improved performance. If he recognizes that the software will change the way his business runs, and put the steps in place to make sure that his employees understand why things are changing and what must happen, then the business will achieve the benefits that he sought out.

In a recent project, a company had purchased software and was struggling to make it work. Only a small portion of the function had been implemented. The rest was backlogged and little effort was being made to finish implementation and get the value.

In my review of the business owner's goals and analysis of what was happening, a number of gaps were identified. Although the staff understood the business very well, they didn't understand the impact that they were having on each other. Because each was very focused on doing their job as well as they could, they were making life difficult for each other. Some were being given assignments based on their skills, but they didn't understand the whole process.

By outlining the goals and the process for achieving the goals, each individual understood the impact that they were having. After a short period, they each recognized how they could improve the process, and started to take actions on their own. They also learned to express the impact that others were having and what they could do to improve operations. I was then able to sit back and watch them do it.