Breaking Down Data Silos: Improving Collaboration, Data Quality, and Access

Session Abstract: Data silos present significant challenges for organizations, especially in educational institutions where information is often dispersed across multiple systems. These silos occur when departments manage their data independently, leading to redundancy, poor communication, and integration issues. As a result, valuable insights can become isolated, hindering effective decision-making. In this presentation, we will discuss how UIC’s Office of Institutional Research (OIR) piloted a data virtualization tool to enhance data sharing for surveys across various campus units within a decentralized environment. The virtualized survey responses were integrated with Enterprise and other internal data sources, allowing curated data to be shared with campus units. This approach granted appropriate permissions, enabling them to generate reports and visualizations without navigating the complexities of diverse data sources or storing the data locally.

Keywords: data virtualization, visualization and integration, data silos, data analysis, real-time data access