“Disrupt, or be disrupted.” That’s the rallying cry of commerce in the 21st century, and big data is the materiel that battles will be fought with. Companies increasingly are turning to chief data officers (CDOs) to become the generals for defining and executing the big data strategies that will enable them to fight off disruptions, and become disrupters themselves.
Whether companies are playing offense or defense when it comes to digital transformation strategies, the common denominator is data. Data, in all its forms and manifestations, has become absolutely critical to the existence and success of companies.
As part of that ever-increasingly reliance on data to stay competitive, the CDO’s role has also evolved and expanded. In fact, according to Forrester principal analyst Jennifer Belissent, the CDO is now often responsible for data analytics.
“In many organizations, the [CDO] role has evolved to become more of a chief insights officer with purview over both data and analytics,” Belissent writes in “Chief Data Officers: Evolve Your Teams To Accelerate Impact From Data Insights,” which was published last week. “With a single role responsible for the entire data value chain, organizations can ensure an equilibrium in the supply and demand for data.”
Nearly two-thirds of companies now have a CDO (or somebody who’s role matches the CDO definition, even if their title does not), according to Forrester’s research. The firm also found that companies with a more mature “insights driven” approach (i.e. they are better at actually using data in practice versus just going with their gut or experience) are more likely to have a CDO compared to those at the beginning of their journey to become insight-driven.
In other words, the mere presence of a CDO is a good indicator that a company is on the right track. According to Forrester’s research, firms with CDOs are more likely to:
Sean Knapp, the CEO and founder of Ascend.io, says 2021 will be a big year for CDOs. The next 12 months will be the “defining year” for the CDO, and go far in establishing whether the CDO role will go the route of a cost or a profit center.
“In years past, CDOs, and therefore the teams they direct and influence, have approached their position from a very technical and tactical mindset–operating primarily as a cost center for the enterprise as they lay a foundation for the future,” Knapp says. “However, as data becomes more intertwined with the fundamental success of the business, CDOs must refocus their efforts on strategy and transformation of how the business interacts with and benefits from data, rather than the technologies employed along the way.”
CDOs have multiple roles, including being a “gatekeeper” to data (and sometimes analytics). Making sure data is well managed, that regulations are adhered to, and that BI applications sitting atop the data are running well, are all CDO responsibilities. But just keeping the data lights on, so to speak, is selling the potential of the CDO role short.
