You all know the story and have read the articles.
You understand that data is the lifeblood of business.
We are constantly reminded that lack of timely, relevant data about processes slows us down and results in poor decision making and ineffective resource allocation.
We know that data can create revenue opportunities and drive new insights into markets, consumers, product usage and competitors.
AND we have a new CxO role in our world!
But what exactly IS the Chief Data Officer? Or, as some call it, the Chief Data and Analytics Officer.
Expectations on this role differ between organizations and the challenges do not stop there!
The respected data and business transformation expert, author and MIT Research Fellow, Tom Davenport, shares observations with Sanjay Srivastava in a fascinating 12 minute video.
It is worth a watch.
Tom makes it clear that we are moving from a technology-centric world of “collecting and organizing data” to one of “making sense of data”, which is the hard part.
CDOs reportedly have an average job tenure of 2.4 years, partly because of difficulties in demonstrating value.
Now, this may not fill you with confidence, but Sanjay and Tom hit the nail on the head with the point that this is now about “business transformation with data”.
THIS is where the value is.
This is also the subject of an upcoming webcast delving into research, practical experience and strategy options. You can get more details here . . .
I would add that business transformation is about business processes, the end-to-end value streams that power the organization.
CDOs and CDAOs need to get deep into the process change and transformation journey with business and process leaders. This is no longer a technology issue.
The challenges raised by Tom and Sanjay are very real and represent a clear and present danger for organizations. It is well worth spending 12 minutes on their video interview “The evolving role of the Chief Data Officer” here . . .
A great 12 minutes.
Thank you Sanjay and Tom.
And thank YOU for reading . . .