Over the last several months, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in discussions with chief data officers (CDOs) about how they are dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Across industries, there are three key themes that have consistently surfaced. Dealing with the Initial Shock A crisis such as a global pandemic creates... more
“What’s in it for me?” As a CDO, that’s the key question you need to answer when building out your data governance strategy. In my work with customers, everyone from C-level executives to data practitioners describes a new charter within data governance. While controlling risk and overseeing compliance are still priorities, CDOs are now also... more
To do their jobs well, people across an organization need quick and easy access to data they can trust. By providing that access, CDOs enable organizations to identify new opportunities, introduce operational efficiencies, and build new products and services to grow revenue. But many of the people needing access lack technical skills. So, how can... more
Even Fortune 500 companies face challenges when making data widely accessible to constituents. All too often, organizations lack protocols to be able to accurately track who is using data and for what purpose. A large defense contractor described a daily challenge faced by its analytics community of some 600+ data analysts and scientists, who were... more
In 10 Ways CDOs Can Succeed in Forging a Data-Driven Organization, Gartner Inc. states, “Culture and data literacy are the top two roadblocks for data and analytics leaders.”[1] It also states, “One cannot change the behaviours and belief systems of an enterprise without changing the conversations within it.”[2] So how can chief data officers (CDOs)... more
I was at the MIT CDO Symposium in Boston at the end of July, where there was a lot of discussion around the business value of data, and the challenges of cultural and behavioral change. I agree that business leaders need more data literacy. And I also think the corollary is true: data leaders need... more
Over the past year, my travels have taken me all over the world. From events in Amsterdam to Dublin, from New York to San Francisco, D.C. to Chicago. At each event, conference, summit, or symposium, I seem to always pick up one or two new tricks of the trade. At some of these events, I’m... more
Throughout this series of posts, I’ve emphasized the importance of IT and overall information architecture in the journey to cloud. But as organizations become all-cloud—or more likely, a hybrid mix of cloud and on premises infrastructure—there’s another key stakeholder: the chief data officer. CDO is a relatively new role, and it’s still being distinguished from,... more
It is widely understood now that data drives business success. Data today is understood as a strategic asset – a critical ingredient for business innovation, and the currency for digital transformation. Data is now increasingly “owned” by business leaders, partnering with IT to realize the greatest value from their data. For many enterprises, this has... more
Forget degrees from Harvard or MIT, forget NoSQL, Hadoop or OBIEE. These are all powerful tools but they will not win you the face-off. It starts with who you are (or are not), who or what you are going up against and what has happened in the past. Why should martial arts be a job requirement... more