How The Chief Data Officer Role Is Starting To Fork
In the beginning, there was a lot of talk about being data-driven. This sparked a race that started in the 2000s and is accelerating as we speak. At its start, this involved efforts to more efficiently retain large amounts of data that were being generated either by or about organizations; there was a sense that there was tremendous value in this information, even if it was still mysterious and out of reach.
As these data stores expanded and evolved, companies recognized that they were not just assets but liabilities. As a result, much of what was done to organize and make data actionable was pushed out of the necessity for companies to protect themselves from regulation, lawsuits and anything else that might have dire consequences if datasets couldn’t quickly be identified and retrieved or if data wasn’t tightly managed.
The evolution of the chief data officer role.
Consequently, the initial incarnation of the chief data officer (CDO) was more of a governance job than an analytics-focused one. The mandate for this position was more about protecting the organization than it was about getting value from the data.
Fast-forward to today. While analytics has certainly been a key objective, in reality, it has been sidelined in favor of governance. Things are now shifting due to the fact that governance efforts have largely been successful, with vendors like Smarsh, Mimecast, Veritas and others providing software that made it feasible to organize and retrieve datasets in the event that a regulator called their clients to the carpet.
We’re now moving toward a place where many companies are thinking seriously about all three data functions—collection, governance and analytics. However, these are such big areas that it’s difficult, if not impossible, for a single person to do it.
As a result, we’re seeing an interesting thing happen, with the general umbrella of CDO splitting off into several different functions. You’ve got the more traditional role’s functions siphoning off into the chief governance officer (CGO), who focuses almost entirely on governance. They’re providing data for the lawyers.
Meanwhile, you’ve got other functions, such as the chief data analytics officer (CDAO), chief analytics officer (CAO) and other iterations of this role increasingly distinguishing themselves and taking more prominent positions at the leadership table.
With the shift from focusing on governance to focusing on analytics comes increasing pressure to deliver measurable business value from data.
This requires rethinking data architecture. Some of the tools that are thought of as analytics-enabling are actually geared toward governance. With all of the hype around being data-driven, it’s easy to forget the reason why many data leaders were appointed. As former Lloyds Banking Group CDO Roshan Awatar said: “In highly regulated industries, the emergence of the CDO was very much from crises.
