This one statement resonated with me because people are inherently resistant to change, and that inertia increases when we are dealing with corporate structures and hierarchies which date back over centuries.

However, the digital revolution has deeply disrupted organisational workings from both a tactical and strategic standpoint. The pace of innovation is becoming more rapid and buoyant than ever before, compelling businesses to adapt or fail. Chief Data Officers (CDOs) and Data Scientists (CDSs) have begun to appear in organisations hoping to innovate and capitalise on the data that is entrenched in every aspect of their business functions - and with good reason. A recent survey by Forrester Research concluded that the ‘top performers’ with 10% annual revenue growth were 65% more likely to appoint a CDO than ‘low performers’ that have less than 4% revenue growth.

Although the statistics appear to suggest a plethora of benefits, in some cases, the CDO has been met with an air of prudence and sometimes, rejected altogether. In spite of this, there have been some great successes; with CDOs holding responsibilities for compliance, best practice data governance and evangelising the value of data, shifting the organisation to data driven-decision making. But can a CDO’s mission ever be accomplished? If so, how do we define this success story and perhaps more importantly, what is the next step?

The early days of CDO

Early CDO appointments had strong roots within compliance and were created out of necessity for organisations to achieve effective Data Governance and management of their data assets. This is further cemented by the sheer prevalence of CDOs within heavily regulated industries, such as the Financial Services, and Gartner’s prediction that 50% of all companies in regulated industries will have a CDO by 2017. Ironically, these are also some of the oldest institutions inhibited by legacy infrastructures as well as cultural mind-sets.

You [the CDO] need to know your super-customers really well to address their needs, pain points and hopes. The best way to ensure this is through empowering your customers (co-workers, internal customers).

Contrast this with some of today’s leading tech giants, e-commerce and app-driven businesses which are able to experience a level of agility not afforded to their more traditional counterparts. These organisations have prospered in the digital age and have had data and analytics ingrained so deep within their cultural fabric that there is no need for a CDO.

Legislation has typically always lagged behind technology; this has been exacerbated by the exponential growth of technology observed in recent years. However, the EU Data Protection Directive is due for finalisation in 2017 which aims to take into account the “vast technology changes of the last 20 years”. What impact shall these legislative revisions have on organisations born in the digital age? Who will be responsible for this compliance and will this likely come in the form of a CDO?

How to keep seat at the executive table

CDOs must continue to evolve in order to maintain their seat at the executive table. Typically this evolution passes through specific benchmarks, such as data quality or compliance, improving processes, driving a data culture and then leveraging analytics and insights to draw real business value.  A CDO from a large hotel group stated their plan for the next 3 years includes the, “delivery of hot analytics, mainly data visualisation tools, as well as influence growth hacking and deliver bottom line models, thanks to advanced analytics and data science”. It could be argued that these are typically responsibilities held by a CDS or Chief Analytics Officer (CAO). Perhaps in the coming years we will see an increased amalgamation of sorts between these roles.

We must not forget the impact of an organisation’s internal stakeholders. Much of a CDO’s staying power is determined by their ability to meet the needs of their internal customers. I spoke with a CDO from the healthcare sector who stated, “you [the CDO] need to know your super-customers really well to address their needs, pain points and hopes. The best way to ensure this is through empowering your customers (co-workers, internal customers).” This was echoed by another CDO from a large publishing firm who defined his position by stating: "My role is about measuring how people use data and how we can support it centrally."

The only thing certain

Will the CDO role as it is defined now, still exist 10 years from now? Who knows what the future has in store for the CDO. Although one thing is certain: data shall continue to become a persistent and ever present aspect of modern day business. Developments in the Internet of Things will rapidly increase the amount of data available and those who begin implementing the architectures to prepare for this wave of information will succeed.

Power lies in the enabler who empowers an organisation to fully grapple the value of their data to create a competitive advantage, but perhaps more importantly, solve the strategic and operational problems faced by the business. This may not always lie in the hands of one individual or even one specific job title.

Will the CDO role as it is defined now, still exist 10 years from now? Who knows what the future has in store for the CDO. Although one thing is certain: data shall continue to become a persistent and ever present aspect of modern day business.

By Andrew Odong:

Andrew Odong is the Content Director US/Europe for the CDO Forum. Andrew produced the CDO Forum, Europe 2016, researching with the industry about the opportunities and key challenges for enterprise data leadership and innovating an interactive discussion-led platform to bring people together to address those issues – the CDO Forum has become a global series having been launched in five continents. For enquiries email: andrew.odong@coriniumintelligence.com