Information Silos

Scenario: A company called Colony Nursery and Landscaping opened a new store   located a few hundred miles away from its original location. The company wants   to implement an award system that awards their customers with points whenever   customers make a purchase, but the two stores are not able to share  information.  Colony Nursery and Landscaping will need to implement an  enterprise resource  planning (ERP) system that will solve the information silo  problem by collecting  and making this user data available. Colony Nursery and  Landscaping is hoping  that by providing customers with this award system, they  will be able to  maintain competitive advantage. Colony Nursery and Landscaping  cannot afford to  purchase, develop, or maintain this system on-site, so they  are investigating  cloud solutions.

In addition, for many organizations, Colony Nursery and Landscaping included,  information silos make it difficult to tap into needed information. Discuss   whether or not the problem of information silos can be solved by using the   cloud. Some organizations do not have the resources to construct or maintain   their computer infrastructure, so they utilize cloud services instead to reduce   costs and improve scalability. In this assignment, you will discuss whether or   not the cloud offers solutions for Colony Nursery and Landscaping and identify   an application that the ERP system could provide. Compose an essay that  includes  the elements listed below.

Define what an information silo is.

Explain why information silos are a problem for organizations.

Discuss why organizations are moving to the cloud.

Determine whether or not using cloud services, such as a cloud-based host       for data storage, would solve the ERP information silo problem at Colony       Nursery and Landscaping.

Explain how using the ERP system and awards program would provide a       competitive advantage for Colony Nursery and Landscaping.

Discuss why the implementation of an ERP system might require business       process reengineering for Colony Nursery and Landscaping. Be sure to explain       the business processes that will be affected (e.g., the customer awards       system). Use diagrams or tables as needed, but this is not required.

Your essay must be a minimum of two pages in length (not counting the title   and reference pages), and it must be formatted in APA style. You should include   an introduction section that gives background and context to your reader. You   must use at least two scholarly resources as references. Any information from   these resources must be cited and referenced in APA format.