Developers are wasting a significant amount of time as a result of data silos and trying to find the information they need.

Stack Overflow released its 2022 Developer Survey. The survey polled 73,000 developers from 180 countries on a range of topics, from their favorite programming language to the challenges they face in the workplace. One of the biggest challenges developers are facing is dealing with data silos and finding information.

According to the survey, 68% of developers encounter silos at least once a week. “Knowledge silo” is a term for the barriers and obstacles that prevent the sharing of data and free communication between the various parts of an organization. Developers often need to understand other parts of the organization in an effort to better develop software and solutions.

Interestingly, the problem is even worse for people managers, a position that’s often filled by more experienced developers. According to Stack Overflow, 73% of people managers run into knowledge silos at least once a week.

Similarly, the majority of respondents, or 63%, spend more than 30 minutes a day searching for answers or trying to find the solutions to problems. For 25% of respondents, that time surpasses an hour a day. As Stack Overflow points out, that time quickly adds up:

This productivity impact can add up. For a team of 50 developers, the amount of time spent searching for answers/solutions adds up to between 333-651 hours of time lost per week across the entire team.

Stack Overflow’s full 2022 Developer Survey provides valuable insights. This particular insight should serve as an incentive for managers and executives to better streamline the flow of information within their organizations.