One of the reasons that organization were so slow to respond in the past was that they simply did not have a clear view of what was happening within their company. Yes, a large amount of data was available, but it was fragmented around the organization in many different places, different isolated systems and incompatible formats. Additional, the data was inconsistent due to different definitions, cut-off dates and measurement criteria.
Large businesses (and countries) have been traditionally less efficient than smaller organizations due to the cost of coordination and the increase in bureaucracy to deal with large amounts of information. Delegation of authority to compensate for this factor has led to lack of control, lower efficiency and fragmentation of business.
The solution is a single, logical, central database that gives everybody in the organization access to the same data at the same time. Many organizations are now bringing together all their separate systems to achieve this singular view.
A single source of data gives the organization the ability to combine information across all business operations. Whereas managers used to receive a separate printed monthly report from each system, they can now obtain daily, or even hourly, electronic reports that give a single view of what matters, as it happens, across their entire organization.
Chief executive can access a single dynamic report on screen to monitor their critical success factors and key performance indicators, such as sales, leads, liquidity, staffing or inventory levels. These interactive reports allow the user, not just to monitor everything that is important to the company, but also to investigate variances and get immediate answers within a few mouse clicks.
The availability of global information systems enables companies to maintain a functional structure on a large scale, which is more efficient, rather than creating multiple business units with complicated communication cycles.
Single Database in Organization
