In my last blog, I wrote about how chief data officers are now being recognized as business leaders, as shown in IDC’s survey, “Chief Data Officers: The New Business Leaders,” commissioned by Informatica. In this blog, I will dive deeper into the survey results; specifically, the discovery that a CDO’s job consists of four roles,... more
IDC’s State of the Chief Data Officer (CDO) survey commissioned by Informatica found that CDOs are the new business leaders. (Traditionally, CDOs are senior executives who are responsible for data governance and management.) In the survey, nearly 60 percent of CDOs report to a business leader, and the most common organizational hierarchy structure is reporting into the... more
In this era of data-driven business initiatives, many chief data officers (CDO) are focused on driving new revenue opportunities, increasing efficiencies, and reducing costs as much as minimizing risk and ensuring compliance. Data governance and data management strategies often center on delivering greater value to the business. But even the best-designed strategy may fail if... more
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