The first chief data officer (CDO) was appointed at Capital One in 2002. Although just 12% of Fortune 500 companies had a CDO a decade later, more than two-thirds of major companies employ CDOs now. Companies generate unfathomable amounts of information – one credible estimate compares the daily data output to 166,000 times the data contained in the Library of Congress. […]
What Data Practitioners Need to Know (and Do) About Common Language
“Unless and until all members of a team have a common understanding of the problem, attempts to solve the problem are just so much wasted energy.” –Gerald M. Weinberg [1] In March 2019, one of us (Thomas C. Redman) served as the judge in a mock trial of a data architect (played by Laura Sebastian Coleman) […]
Data Strategy Trends in 2022
What is Data Strategy? “Well, the short answer is, it’s the data chapter of your business strategy,” said John Ladley, consultant and author of the book Data Governance: How to Design, Deploy and Sustain an Effective Data Governance Program. Contrary to popular belief, the one thing it isn’t, he said, is a technology procurement plan. […]
Data Literacy Trends in 2022
Investing in leadership skills as well as data skills allows organizations can ensure that they can have decisive marketplace and intra-organizational impacts. The Chief Data Officer (CDO) role is only a few years old, and many organizations still don’t have a CDO. Data Literacy is an essential component to all of this. In a recent […]
Building a Data Governance Program: Ten Steps to Success
Building a Data Governance program from the ground up can be a huge undertaking, much like a puzzle, but with no picture as a guide. The Chief Data Officer at American Fidelity Insurance, Ryan Doupe, spoke at DATAVERSITY® Enterprise Data World Conference and presented a practical ten-step plan for starting or improving a Data Governance […]
CDOs Can Lead Their Organizations in the Successful – and Ethical – Use of Data
Data plays a central role in digital transformation. In fact, it’s been referred to as the currency of modern, digital business. Without data, companies lack a true understanding of their customers, markets, trends, and even their own products and employees. While most organizations likely appreciate the value of their data, many struggle with figuring out […]
Redefining Success with Agile Data Governance
Laura Madsen wants to challenge your outdated ideas about Data Governance. “I’m pretty sure that we wouldn’t use software that we used 20 years ago, but we’re still using Data Governance and Data Governance methodologies the same way we did 20 years ago.” And although she advocates for Agile, she’s not an Agile coach or […]
Speed Up AI Development by Hiring a Chief Data Officer
Click to learn more about author Jitesh Ghai. The role of the chief data officer (CDO) has evolved more over the last decade than any of the C-suite. A position once laser-focused on regulatory compliance is today one of the most strategic enterprise decision-makers. As companies plan for a rebound from the pandemic, the CDO […]
Why Data Democratization Should Be Your Guiding Principle for 2021
Click to learn more about author Mathias Golombek. When Maximilien Robespierre first uttered the now famous phrase “liberté, equalité, fraternité,” during the French Revolution, the concept of data democratization didn’t yet exist. In Robespierre’s speech, the phrase was intended to unite and inspire French revolutionaries with the three ideals of freedom, equality, and brotherhood. However, […]
What Is a Chief Data Officer (CDO)?
A Chief Data Officer (CDO) helps bridge the gap between technology and business. This person evangelizes an enterprise-wide Data Management strategy at a senior level. The CDO leads Data Management initiatives, enabling an organization to leverage its data assets and gain a competitive advantage from them. A CDO tends to be part business strategist, adviser, […]