Exasol: the chief data officer is the future-proofer
We live in a world of data analytics and software application development designed to function with ever-increasing levels of intelligence functionality based upon insight derived from analytics engines.
But, even with this boost available to us… not everybody is happy.
Research undertaken by YouGov on behalf of analytics database provider Exasol suggests that around three quarters (72%) of businesses ‘worry’ that their inability to generate insights through the analysis of data will have a negative impact on financial performance.
This is despite a similar number (77%) of respondents stating that data is now their organisation’s most valuable asset.
Exasol CEO Aaron Auld suggests that many organisations are still struggling with legacy data systems and have no clear data strategy in place.
“This is where the chief data officer CDO role has come into its own, harnessing and demystifying data to inform business decisions, improve differentiation and foster financial growth within an organisation,” said Auld
The findings of the research, combined with additional desk research and the views from a number of industry commentators, are brought together in Exasol’s eBook: From CDO to CEO: why your data expertise could make you a future business leader.
Future-proofing power
The company thinks that a CDO’s ability to intrinsically understand the business and plan for its future will place these individuals as ideal candidates for future CEOs.
Caroline Carruthers, one of the UK’s first CDOs, contributor to the whitepaper and co-author of Data Driven Business Transformation thinks that currently, most businesses are ‘data hoarders’, wanting to get their hands on as much data as possible.
“However, without people with the skills to understand how to process and use that data, the questions needed to improve data use are not being asked within the organisation. The data is available, but those without experience in data handling don’t know what they don’t know, so they can’t use it to its full value,” said Carruthers.
While the value of data professionals isn’t in doubt, the path from CDO to CEO won’t necessarily be a smooth one.