Future of Chief Data Officers: 10 Key Trends and Product Insights

On September 10, the founding ceremony of the Chief Data Officer Alliance (CDOA) and the First Chief Data Officer Conference were held at Peking University. The alliance was jointly initiated by Analysys International, Huawei, and the China New Generation IT Industry Promotion Alliance, with 23 enterprises and institutions as core members, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Lenovo Big Data Research Institute, and Qihoo 360.

In fact, the value of the Chief Data Officer has not only recently attracted attention. As early as 2012, Alibaba appointed a Chief Data Officer, committing to transforming the Alibaba Group into a “data sharing platform.”



Why Are Chief Data Officers (CDOs) So Popular? How Will Their Roles Evolve in Large Global Enterprises? Experian surveyed 254 Chief Information Officers (CIOs) worldwide and drew some interesting conclusions, with the most eye-catching finding being that the era of the Chief Data Officer is imminent. Below are 10 key takeaways:

1. Why Do Enterprises Need a Chief Data Officer?
Approximately 90% of respondents believe that data is transforming the way business is conducted; 92% of respondents stated that the Chief Data Officer (CDO) is the ideal person to define data strategy and also serves as the guardian of data quality within an organization.

2. Urgent Recruitment
61% of CIOs hope to hire a Chief Data Officer within one year. Approximately 47% of respondents stated that their biggest obstacle to success is the sheer volume of data—when enterprises seek to strengthen engagement with their audiences, the amount of data requiring processing is enormous.

3. Welcome to the Conference Room
Experian predicts that by 2020, Chief Data Officers will join senior executive boards, participating in data collection, optimization, and management, as well as ensuring the security of leadership communications.

4. Diverse Roles
In addition to collaborating with the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Data Officer must also coordinate with the Chief Digital Officer, the intelligence department, and specialized teams focused on data management and strategy.

5. Empower personnel across industries in vertical markets
Experian has noted that, regardless of a company’s focus in vertical markets, data supports corporate initiatives just as effectively as marketing professionals do. Therefore, ensuring data quality is a critical element in safeguarding interactions between enterprises and consumers.

6. Ensure Corporate Compliance
Chief Information Officers (CIOs) have been dealing with HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and other government regulations for over a decade. To strengthen information sharing among enterprises and reduce cyber hacking, the Obama administration will introduce more legislation. Due to the considerable complexity of corporate compliance, 38% of CIOs regard Chief Data Officers (CDOs) as key personnel, as they can help companies cope with the growing number of regulations.

7. Big Data, Big Opportunities
Despite the undeniable reality of information overload, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) still believe that effective data management can fully leverage opportunities. In fact, 44% of CIOs regard Chief Data Officers (CDOs) as key leaders who can help enterprises manage big data.

8. Low Risk, High Return
Furthermore, 41% of Chief Information Officers believe they can provide a consistent approach to data-driven projects, thereby reducing business risk.

9. Financial Separation
When it comes to investments in equipment and technology, Chief Data Officers appear more optimistic than Chief Information Officers. For instance, CIOs believe that investing in data quality tools can save enterprises $1.5 million. However, CDOs state that these tools can save enterprises $7.5 million.

10. Subject
In short, CIOs seem to have recognized the value of data. Experian states that they realize enterprises should place greater emphasis on data management and strategies to meet emerging customer expectations, both now and in the future.

Compiled by: Liu Jianqiu

Responsible Editor: Huang Jia