Guest Post was written by Sean Mortberg, an aspiring tech writer.
Since 2012, Chief Data Officer positions have quadrupled in number. A new and growing role on the C-suite level, Chief Data Officers work in data strategy, maintenance, and optimization of the data value. It’s not hard to see why CDOs are so important–we create 25 quintillion bytes of data every single day and all that data is meaningless without the right person making sense of it. Whether the data is consumer demographics, sales records, or social media engagement, data is invaluable and essential to the many industries. Properly managed data can lead to growth as well as streamlined processes.
80.7% of Big Data initiatives lead to great benefits for businesses and 68.7% of these initiatives were catalysts for innovation and disrupting the industry. While results like these are strong indicators of what CDOs and a company focused on data can do, it’s important to understand that not all data is useful or gathered correctly. Data has to be timely, comparable to similar data, complete, accurate, and relevant to the overall data set. CDOs ensure these standards are met. Once data is input properly artificial intelligence can help find meaning in it, but the role of the CDO in ensuring it is usable is critical.
Different types of data tools are central to understanding the importance of data and the CDO role. Master Data Management, Collaborative Data Governance, and Interpretation with Analytics help determine opportunities through analysis, creation, and development of company data strategies, and increase in overall company efficiency.
Industries from finance to sports utilize CDOs. Many departments report to CDOs, including analytics, data strategy, and data architects. CDOs are sure to become an even larger role in the age of endless data, with record success in collecting data compared to organizations without CDOs.
Learn more about the role of the Chief Data Officer with the infographic below, provided by Semarchy.
What do you think of CDOs? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.