Don’t Have a Chief Data Officer? You Should Find One Fast

Chief Data Officer is the newest requirement for companies looking to beef up their C-Suites. As data science becomes more important to the daily operations of businesses, companies need to ensure that they are taking a look at the big picture of their data strategy and making it a priority. Projections say that as many as 90% of all enterprise companies will have a CDO within the next few years, and companies that are ahead of the curve stand to fare better when this talent pool becomes in high demand.

Nineteen percent of the top 2,500 companies in the world had chief digital officers by the end of 2016, compared to just 6% the year before. If the same rate of increase applies to 2017, then over 60% of the world’s large companies will have CDOs by the end of 2017.
-Charles Babcock, InformationWeek

While the first generation of CDOs were brought on to oversee data governance and data management, their role is transitioning into one focused on how to best organize and use data as a strategic asset within organizations. But many CDOs still don’t have the resources, budget, or authority to drive digital transformation on their own, so the CDO needs to help the CIO drive transformation via collaboration and evangelism.

“The CDO should not just be part of the org chart, but also have an active hand in launching new data initiatives,” Patricia Skarulis, SVP & CIO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said at the recent CIO Perspectives conference in New York.
-Eric D. Brown, via CIO magazine

Reasons to hire a CDO:
Don’t make this an extra task for your marketing or technology team. Although it may seem like analyzing and interpreting data is something these departments should be doing, their plates are likely full. In many cases, these teams understand and provide surface data analysis for technology platforms being used, but don’t have the bandwidth to dive deeper to optimize systems in place and plan for strategic data growth for your company as effectively as a designated CDO.
-Nikki Lindholm via RealTrends

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Source: Information Week | CIO Magazine | Real Trends