The Dawn of the Chief Data Officer

A NEW JOB ROLE IS EMERGING

The exponential growth of data has proved to be both a growing challenge and an opportunity for businesses across all sectors. New research shows that 90% of those surveyed believe data has changed the way organisations are doing business.

UK businesses are realising the strategic value of data as a competitive differentiator, a customer experience enhancer as well as a direct influencer of revenue. In order to make this a reality businesses are under increasing pressure to provide reliable and consistent data that is accessible corporate wide. Often by default rather than design, this responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of Chief Information Officers (CIOs).

Our recent research is illustrated in ‘The Dawn of the CDO’ infographic. The study revealed that 77% of CIOs believes data is not being used to its full potential as a result of limited budgets (51%), increasing data volumes (47%) and a cited lack of understanding of data analytics (47%). More worryingly, this is directly impacting revenue and customer engagement.

But the landscape is changing. The research we commissioned explored a growing trend where businesses, and particularly CIOs, are calling for a dedicated Chief Data Officer (CDO) to drive value from data. In fact, as many as 92% of CIOs surveyed would like to see a CDO role created.

CIOs highlighted that the introduction of a dedicated data owner (CDO) would help businesses to capitalise on big data opportunities (44%), create a competitive advantages (34%) and provide a more consistent approach to data-driven projects (41%).

So, who is the CDO?

CDOs will act as an enabler that spearheads data management, helping businesses to unlock the full value of data. Our research explores both CIOs and CDOs views, revealing how it’s the forward thinking businesses that are capitalising on this opportunity by proactively addressing data by introducing a senior data owner.

The research concludes that strategic data leadership is essential in order for businesses to capitalise on the wealth of opportunities data can bring. It’s time for senior management to act, and with support from CIOs – the dawn of the CDO is very much on the horizon.

Download the Dawn of the CDO research paper or click below to see the infographic

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A NEW JOB ROLE IS EMERGING

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