INSIGHT: Why only half of CDOs are poised for success
- 14 April, 2016 06:48
If your business has made the decision to create a chief data officer (CDO) role, congratulations.
Now, get ready for some sobering statistics: Through 2019, 90 percent of large organisations will have hired a CDO - but of these, only 50 percent will be hailed a success, according to Mario Faria, managing vice president, Gartner Research.
CDOs face plenty of obstacles. The economy, government regulations and marketplace dynamics are a few examples of external challenges.
But internal roadblocks - such as getting the entire organisation to get on board with change - are often the most difficult for CDOs to work around.
One CDO’s response to the Gartner Chief Data Officer Survey described the challenge: “Our company is not familiar with data governance and its impacts. My responsibility as a CDO [is] being a change agent. I have to make hard decisions sometimes to get things done.”
“People, culture and internal resistance can create formidable roadblocks,” Faria adds, sharing recommendations to help CDOs stay on track with their objectives.
Identify and prioritise roadblocks
To be successful, CDOs need to be aware of the roadblocks that they might encounter. Some internal roadblocks cited in the Chief Data Officer Survey:
- Lack of understanding of the CDO role
- Lack of stakeholder involvement and support
- Lack of resources and funding to support the programs
- Lack of focus in defining the most important initiatives
- Not enough authority to execute responsibilities