In my last posting, I got on a bit of a soapbox about how every “solution” to the data silo problem seems to proliferate yet more silos—SOA, MDM,  and even data warehousing.  Of course, that’s because technology alone can’t solve this kind of problem.

Technologists will often point to the need for a coherent enterprise data architecture in order to rationalize all the bits and pieces of data that can otherwise spring up.   But we are all familiar with the danger of architectures becoming no more useful than wallpaper—a pretty piece of design work that never becomes materialized.

My belief is that the root problem can almost always be traced back to organizational politics.  For example, the ability to have the enterprise data architecture have teeth is dependent on the empowerment of enterprise data architects.  This posting on DMReview does a good job describing the role of enterprise data architects, but only hints at the kind of sponsorship required to ensure they have a real influence in the organization.  As Anne Marie Smith mentions in the article, a data governance program goes a long way in putting in place the necessary organizational constructs to enforce consistent data-related policies and architectures.

Another approach to overcoming political barriers is implementing Integration Competency Centers or ICCs.  This topic has been well-covered by experts like Rick Sherman and John Schmidt, so I won’t delve too deeply.  But the basic premise is simple—create an organization that is dedicated to the discipline of integration.  The level of centralization and the scope of responsibilities can vary, but the mere fact of instantiating a single group responsible for integration is a meaningful way to address organizational barriers to integrating data silos.  With an ICC, it’s someone’s full-time job to solve this problem, and they just have to figure out a way to get it done.

This is not to say ICCs and data governance programs don’t engender a lot of politics in and of themselves—of course they do.  There will always be a struggle for control, and some group will feel like they’re losing out.  But at least then you’re tackling the problem head-on, instead of wishfully thinking people will magically align by themselves.