Chief data officers increasingly expected to drive revenues, according to Gartner

More firms are hiring chief data officers, claims Gartner - and expecting them to find new revenue streams from corporate information

Chief data officers are increasingly being pushed into helping their businesses make money from their data, rather than managing and securing for digital transformation, according to Gartner.

The analyst group claims that as more firms continue to take on chief data officers, these data and analytics professionals are increasingly becoming "linchpins" in the business world, and tasked with finding ways to make money out of organisations' growing volumes of data.

According to the third Gartner Chief Data Officer survey - conducted between July and September among 287 chief data officers - support for the role is growing among businesses around the globe.

In 2017, more than 57 per cent of companies had shown an interest in introducing that role in their organisation, compared to 50 per cent in 2016, and the number of firms taking the next step and appointing a chief data officer also increased.

Budgets are growing too. On average, respondents reported a chief data officer budget of $8 million, an increase of 23 per cent compared to the $6.5 million reported in 2016.

But 15 per cent of companies claimed that their budgets for were greater than $20 million - a doubling in the number of chief data officers with such budgets compared to last year.

It has also opened up opportunities for all kinds of data specialists working under the chief data officer. Gartner found that, on average, chief data officers have around 54 people working under them compared to 38 last year.

But, while regulatory compliance issues such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation has been one of the driving forces behind the recruitment of chief data officers, organisations are also increasingly expecting them to drive revenues - this being categorised as a top-three measure of success.

The survey also considered how chief data officers manage their time. On this basis, respondents said 45 per cent of the CDO's time is dedicated to creating value and revenue; 28 per cent to saving money; and, 27 per cent to reducing risks.

Valerie Logan, research director at Gartner, said that the role of chief data officer is constantly broadening into other areas of business.

"While the early crop of CDOs was focused on data governance, data quality and regulatory drivers, today's CDOs are now also delivering tangible business value, and enabling a data-driven culture," she said.

"Aligned with this shift in focus, the survey also showed that, for the first time, more than half of CDOs now report directly to a top business leader, such as the CEO, COO, CFO, president/owner or board/shareholders.

"By 2021, the office of the CDO will be seen as a mission-critical function comparable to IT, business operations, HR and finance in 75 per cent of large organisations."

Michael Moran, another research director at the firm, added: "The steady maturation of the office of the CDO underlines the acceptance and broader understanding of the role and recognises the impact and value CDOs worldwide are providing.

"The addition of new talent for increasing responsibilities, growing budgets and increasing positive engagement across the C-suite illustrate how central the role of CDO is becoming to more and more organisations."