CIO OPINION
The role of the CDO is multi-faceted and liable to change in line with key trends happening now and in the future . The critical skill needed is within data – you can ’ t drive change at an organisational level without a background and significant experience in data science . But this also goes beyond ; data interpretation is one of the core roles of the CDO and being able to read these statistics to create actionable insights is one of the biggest skills the chief data officer needs .
– meaning that most CDOs have to take on this aspect themselves as part of their day-to-day operations .
Another key attribute that CDOs need is the understanding of how all this information flows and how it can be utilised throughout the organisation . This usually calls for different technologies to be used to democratise and operationalise data , as well as to improve security .
Data governance is a very important part of the CDO ’ s role , including putting measures in to protect stored and transmitted data and creating strategic data access policies , both internally and externally . These policies will help to avoid data breaches , something that is sadly all too common with the rise of increasingly adaptable technology – according to an Atlas VPN report , over 5.9 billion online accounts were affected by data breaches throughout 2021 .
All of this must be done in line with regulations , one of the biggest in the last years being the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ), brought in to enhance an individual ’ s control and rights over their personal data . While this is primarily EU-based , the UK still retains the law in an identical form .
The Information Commissioner ’ s Office ( ICO ) recommends the creation of a data protection officer ( CPO ) who would fall inside the remit of the CDO , but as of yet , only 13 % of the FTSE 100 list have this role filled
This also means ensuring that those who need the data – including both executive teams and front-line staff – have adequate access , as well as being adequately trained so that they can use the data to gain business insights . This empowers the workforce to use data to justify their gut instinct – by having the power to freely explore the data , the organisation can gain an advantage over their competition .
While the above skills are integral to the role , being the chief change agent within the company for creating
You can ’ t drive change at an organisational level without a background and significant experience in data science .
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