Chief Data Officer survey 2024
With the increasing importance of data in today's business world, how can Chief Data Officers navigate their expanding responsibilities and achieve impactful outcomes?
Chief Data Officer survey 2024
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The Chief Data Officer is a strategic leader responsible for driving value from data for organisational success. Possessing a blend of strong business acumen and an understanding of organisational objectives, their key focus is to unlock the full potential of data, propelling the organisation to achieve and exceed ambitions.
The role is gaining prominence across industries, driven by several factors: data-driven decision-making, greater value-generating opportunities, and the importance of regulatory compliance.
As responsibilities of the CDO are constantly evolving, organisations are tailoring its scope to maximise impact. This report delves into the multifaceted role of the CDO, including their long-term vision, influence on the organisation and control over their own teams.
What drives success for a Chief Data Officer?
We believe that a CDO’s impact on business performance is driven by three core factors:
Vision
Having a vision aligned to the business strategy.
Control
Having significant control over how data is gathered, managed and delivered to the wider organisation.
Influence
Having a material influence over the aspects of data they don’t control – by building strong internal relationships.
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Insights from the 2024 Chief Data Officer survey
What are core priorities for CDOs over the next 12 months?
The CDO role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities, reflected in their varying priorities for the next 12 months. These priorities span artificial intelligence and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) (49%), alongside core functions such as building the business case for data investment (42%), data governance (35%), and insights and analytics (35%).
What skills are CDOs looking to hire into their team?
Whilst CDOs have successfully established strong data teams, there’s a continued desire to build in new specialist expertise. CDOs of more mature organisations prioritise advanced skills such as machine learning (25%), communication (25%), and data architecture (24%). Conversely, CDOs of less mature organisations focus on foundational skills like data management (23%), change management (23%), and data engineering (23%).
Who do CDOs report into, and who do they want to report into?
Whilst reporting structures for CDOs do still vary, 72% of CDOs report into C-Suite, however, there’s a strong desire among CDOs for a more strategic reporting structure. More than 50% of CDOs would like to report directly into their CEO. Currently, a significantly lower proportion (3%), say they already do.
How are CDOs making an impact?
The majority of CDOs (66%) have successfully enabled their organisations to better leverage data to enhance business process efficiency and ensure regulatory and legal compliance. Positively, 63% of CDOs have improved strategic decision making.
The role of the Chief Data Officer
Key questions that the 2024 survey focuses on are:
- What does a successful CDO look like?
- What are the key priorities of a CDO?
- What opportunities do CDOs have to drive impact?
- What challenges do CDOs face in realising their ambitions?
- How has the increased focus of artificial intelligence and GenAI impacted CDOs?
Read our previous Chief Data Officer surveys
