Early adopters of chief data officer role pioneering organisational function

Gartner, Inc.’s second annual chief data officer (CDO) survey has found that early adopters of the CDO role and the office of the CDO (OCDO) are pioneering an organisational function, to go alongside IT, business operations, HR and finance. Organisations that have made the strategic decision to introduce the CDO role are looking to get maximum new value from the position. Thirty per cent of the surveyed CDOs said they report directly to the CEO. CDOs are adding to the competitiveness of their companies by adding to strategic planning and decision making, and by leading digital business initiatives. As a result, Gartner predicts that, by 2020, 15 per cent of successful CDOs will move into CEO or other C-level positions. “Fifty-four per cent of the organisations we surveyed said their OCDO was fully or partially implemented, with a further 20 per cent already exploring, planning to explore or planning to implement an OCDO within the next year. Only 19 per cent said they are unlikely to implement an ODCO,” said Debra Logan, VP and Gartner Fellow.