Maybe your C-suite is already a bit crowded. The standard hierarchy will embrace a CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, CMO, CIO, and some extra. Including one other place might not be terribly interesting, however there’s one C-suite function each firm ought to contemplate—chief knowledge and analytics officer (CDO or CDAO).
The CDO is the purpose particular person in your knowledge technique: the chief who oversees how knowledge is collected, managed, and put to make use of to enhance the group; the one that ensures that wherever there are alternatives to monetize knowledge, these alternatives aren’t being squandered.
The CDO is a necessary function in a data-driven group. Knowledge is the lifeblood of contemporary enterprise, the gasoline that powers digital transformation, and each firm ought to have a knowledge technique. That being the case, you want a CDO to spearhead and defend that technique.
With out a knowledge champion, the C-suite can overlook and even ignore knowledge. Gartner’s CDO Agenda Survey for 2023 discovered that 78% of surveyed knowledge leaders rank organizational knowledge technique and imaginative and prescient as considered one of their high three priorities, and 68% are prioritizing initiatives primarily based on alignment to strategic objectives. With a number of stakeholders throughout a corporation and the overwhelming quantities of knowledge, CDO is the purpose one that may also help advocate your knowledge initiatives and priorities on to the CEO.
Listed here are seven compelling causes for why your organization wants a CDO:
1. CDO establishes a data-driven tradition
The C-suite closely influences the tradition on the firm, and if knowledge just isn’t a part of the C-suite, it isn’t prone to be a part of the tradition. Anybody can speak about having a data-driven tradition, however an precise technique requires motion, not simply speak. The CDO drives the implementation and use of platforms, instruments, and processes to assist a knowledge technique. The CDO additionally helps form, talk, and implement the info technique and imaginative and prescient to all stakeholders.
2. CDO evokes the info crew
To succeed, leaders must encourage their groups to be passionate, productive, and keen to work with different stakeholders towards frequent objectives. Leaderless and uninspired knowledge groups are prone to really feel misunderstood and such organization-wide efforts as knowledge governance could be laborious to implement. The CDO evokes and motivates their crew by means of clear communication, well-defined objectives and—when wanted—course correction.
3. CDO units knowledge objectives
Accumulating and storing knowledge from numerous sources just isn’t ample for a sound knowledge technique. Knowledge technique begins and ends with enterprise worth. Knowledge groups want to know the forms of knowledge they’re dealing with and the place it comes from to correctly set KPIs and objectives for the info. With out well-defined goals, spearheaded by your CDO, the insights you count on out of your knowledge could by no means come to gentle.
4. CDO prevents treating knowledge as an afterthought
With out a CDO, a corporation is prone to assign data-related duties to the CIO or Chief Digital Officer—somebody already weighed down with different obligations. Because of this, the info technique could not get the main focus it deserves, and will even be handled as an afterthought. If this occurs, an organization can’t actually change into data-driven.
5. CDO ties knowledge technique to ROI
Knowledge-related choices must be made with ROI in thoughts. The implementation of contemporary knowledge structure applied sciences—knowledge lakehouses, knowledge mesh, and knowledge cloth—ought to produce concrete returns on funding to make sure continued assist from management. These returns are sometimes measured in enterprise worth. The CDO performs an important function in making certain data-related investments are delivering outcomes and speaking these outcomes to all related stakeholders.
6. CDO takes accountability
As with all different a part of the enterprise, accountability is required within the knowledge crew. Because the crew chief, the CDO is accountable for guiding the crew and course-correcting every time it turns into crucial. As such, the CDO finally is the particular person held accountable for knowledge successes and failures, making certain their visibility for the C-suite.
7. CDO improves competitiveness
In accordance with Harvard Enterprise Overview, 41% of surveyed CDOs outline their success by attaining enterprise goals. This interprets to improved agility and competitiveness, one thing that each one organizations with a watch on the longer term must be striving for.
Even when your C-suite is a bit crowded, your group wants a CDO to drive the group’s knowledge technique and promote a knowledge tradition throughout all of the departments. With out a devoted, accountable knowledge chief, you should still derive insights from the info you gather, retailer, and analyze. However you will want a CDO to make sure the group reaches the complete potential of these insights. Watch this video to learn how one CDO helped to rework their enterprise.