Accelerating Business Value with a Modern Data Strategy

Once a rarity, the Chief Data Officer (CDO) is now firmly entrenched in the C-suite. A 2023 survey by NewVantage Partners finds that nearly 83 percent of organizations employ CDOs or Chief Data and Analytics Officers (CDAOs). In 2012, that number was a scarce 12 percent.

This upward trend is no surprise. For years, organizations have been focused on amassing as much data as possible. Now they want to understand how to harness the potential of that data.

Enter the CDO. CDOs are tasked with turning data potential into organizational power. The role is wide ranging and ever-evolving. CDOs—and by extension CDAOs and de-facto data leaders—are responsible for a multitude of data-related challenges. However, their most pressing challenge is creating tangible business value from data.

Much has been written on the demanding nature of the CDO job and its often short tenure.2 Many CDOs are brought on as change agents, but are stalled in their efforts to create meaningful business transformation. NewVantage Partners reveals that only 24 percent of CDOs and other data executives say their organization is data-driven. A mere 20 percent say their organization has
a data culture.

The numbers are discouraging, especially given our conversations with CDOs. They tell us they are laser-focused on helping their organizations realize value and meet business objectives. The hectic nature of the CDO role may account for some of the disconnect, but lack of progress comes down to more than a job description. The true determining factor in a CDO’s success, or lack thereof, is strategy. Traditional data strategies have more to do with long-term aspirations than today’s realities.  

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