09.19.2022 Executive Data Bytes – CDO Leadership: Present & Future

09.19.2022 Executive Data Bytes – CDO Leadership: Present & Future

Executive Data Bytes

Tech analysis for the busy executive.

Welcome to another edition of Executive Data Bytes! This week, we are discussing CDO leadership and how the role is evolving.

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Focus piece: “A new era of leadership – The DNA of the Chief Data Officer

Executive Summary

The prevalence of CDO roles has grown globally in many sectors. To be effective, a CDO must be focused on business value, balance enablement and control, and view data and analytics as a value chain instead of a centralized, isolated silo. Read on in this CEOWorld Magazine article to learn more about the future of the CDO role.

Key Takeaways

  • Global data creation is expected to reach 175 zettabytes by 2025, and the global big data and analytics market is on pace to reach $135.71 billion. Companies worldwide are scrambling to reengineer their data strategy.
  • The CDO role is one of the newest potential additions to an organization's senior leadership team, and comprises seven critical job types. The CDO role may differ from one business to another, depending on the market context.
  • To remain competitive, organizations will need to transform their data systems. CDOs are crucial to this process.

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Focus piece: “Five reasons why today’s CDOs will be the strategic leaders of tomorrow

Executive Summary

Data is the lifeblood of an organization, but many businesses aren't investing enough in deriving true value from it. This is why the Chief Data Officer (CDO) role has become so popular in recent times. This article from Intelligent CXO lists five reasons why CDOs are the leaders of the future.

Key Takeaways

  • A CDO is a trained data strategist that can interpret data and make the best use of it. He or she helps to make data less scary and more open and ensures that every employee understands the value of data-driven strategies.
  • The first CDO was appointed almost 19 years ago by CapitalOne, and today they are integral to overall business processes and performance. They have a breadth of knowledge and skills and relationships with every department, which means they can drive the business forward across the board.
  • CDOs are responsible for managing and using an organization's most important asset: data. They are also responsible for selling the idea of data-driven change to stakeholders throughout the organization, and are able to transform data from a confusing, gated asset into an open, useful tool.

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Focus piece: “How The Chief Data Officer Role Is Starting To Fork” 

Executive Summary

The initial incarnation of the chief data officer (CDO) was more of a governance job than an analytics-focused one. This Forbes article explains how the CDO role is starting to split into several different functions.

Key Takeaways

  • In the beginning, there was a lot of talk about being data-driven, but as these data stores expanded and evolved, companies recognized that they were not just assets but liabilities, and started to organize and make data actionable.
  • With the shift from focusing on governance to focusing on analytics, it's important to rethink data architecture. Some tools that are thought of as analytics-enabling are actually geared toward governance.
  • Data catalogs are important for governance, but they don't necessarily make analytics easier. Non-technical business users are often locked out of the process and may have difficulty answering even very basic questions with data.
  • Both governance and analytics functions need insight into how data assets are being accessed, and this comes from highly descriptive metadata. A well-defined and executed data analytics strategy is critical for success.

Let's lead the change!

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