BOSTON—A new study shows that as the desire for data-driven insight grows, there is a need for a more centralized data strategy and data owner—the chief data officer (CDO).
According to Experian, while some organizations are creating a CDO position, most businesses do not have this role, and that is limiting the organization’s ability to effectively manage their data. And when there is no CDO, the chief information officer handles most of the centralization of the data management strategy, the company explained.
More than 250 CIOs from large organizations were interviewed for the study, which found that 52% of CIOs have become increasingly responsible for data management in the past 12 months. The CIO’s main responsibilities in terms of data management are to improve the bottom line through lowering the cost of compliance, to provide platforms to support analytics, and to manage data value and risk, Experian explained.
Improving data management and data quality is no small task for the CIO, Experian said. The study found the following:
- In the past 12 months, 92% of CIOs have experienced problems as a result of poor data quality.
- The biggest challenge related to managing data — experienced by 46% of CIOs — is data quality issue resolution.
- Sixty-three percent of CIOs say their ability to exploit data for business insights could use improvement.
“Data is of critical importance to organizations and no longer can be managed in siloed, one-off approaches based on individual department needs, as it has been in the past,” said Thomas Schutz, senior vice president and general manager of Experian Data Quality. “There are a number of new roles being created in businesses to manage and manipulate data. However, a central key owner on the C-level is needed. The CIO, while strapped for time, is serving that role in many organizations. The CIO can help put technology, people and processes in place to better manage data and ensure the organization sees value from that asset.”