A data silo is a data repository controlled by one department or business unit and isolated from the rest of the organization. Siloed data is usually stored in a separate system and is often incompatible with other data sets. This makes it difficult for users in other parts of the organization to access and use the data. A department can create a data silo even in an organization that has robust data management processes in place. More often, however, data silos are a consequence of the way in which organizations are structured and managed as a whole, including their IT operations.

Especially when the organization is not mature or when data governance is not fully integrated and embedded, there is often a situation where there is little traceability of data processes and a lack of knowledge of the most important assets as they rest in these silos.

To truly break down data silos, it may be necessary to change the culture of an organization. Efforts to do so may be part of the data strategy development process or a data governance initiative. In some cases, a change management program may be necessary to implement cultural changes and ensure that departments and business units adopt them.

The roundtable is intended to focus on concrete experiences and practices of how to arrive at cross-domain asset management with a focus on domains rather than departmental silos.