The new hero of big data and analytics: The Chief Data Officer
As the new natural resource of the twenty-first century, data has the power to transform industries and business models; but it equally has the power to overwhelm systems and stymie growth. As executives witness data’s proven impact on performance and innovation and recognize its strategic significance, they also realize the growing need for a leader whose primary role is to understand and advocate on behalf of data.
The Chief Data Officer is a business leader who creates and executes data and analytics strategies to drive business value. The role is responsible for defining, developing and implementing the strategy and methods by which the organization acquires, manages, analyzes and governs data. It also carries the strategic responsibility to drive the identification of new business opportunities through more effective and creative use of data.
As CDOs become more comfortable in their roles, overcome issues and celebrate successes, they will have more and more opportunities to network, exchange stories and establish best practices on a broad basis. Some of the best CDOs will emerge as role models. And as young professionals aspire to the role, they will steer their careers to build the combination of business and technical experience that helps create a strong CDO.
But the real measure of CDO success will be whether they help drive value from data. Most important, the CDO cannot afford to be risk averse and should be ready to assess opportu-nities and, as appropriate, venture into new areas, through fact-driven and imagination-inspired approaches. If in the not-too-distant future, case studies of CDO success abound, those organizations that got an early start in establishing the office and building an effective organization will stand to reap the benefits. For that reason, now is the time to begin an evaluation of the CDO role and its potential impact
In this expert perspective, we define the emerging role of the Chief Data Officer (CDO) to provide context and considerations for business and organizational executives who now have a mandate to create greater value from their organization’s data. We posit that the addition of a CDO to the organization’s executive team will enable greater focus and optimized use of this critical strategic asset. Our insights are based on our collective experience working with clients worldwide and interviews with more than a dozen CDOs from early-adopter organizations. These CDOs share their on-the-ground experience with defining a new C-level role, as well as the challenges they have overcome along the way.
Meet the authors
Marc Teerlink, Chief Business Strategist, IBM Watson Group, IBMBrett Gow, Corporate Transformation Leadership
Kingshuk Banerjee, Associate Partner
Originally published 24 November 2016