A recent study by Gartner reveals 90 per cent of large organisations will have opened a Chief Data Officer (CDO) position by the end of 2019.

According to the report, recent years have seen an increasing number of companies starting to explore the potential competitive advantage and improved efficiencies brought on by the effective use of information assets.

This trend will only grow stronger; thus, increasing demand for data professionals.

CDOs are expected to face a number of challenges, the majority of which relate to the novelty of the position – professionals will more often than not be learning on the job, and will be required to come up with an information strategy with relevant metrics that will tie the activities of their team to measurable business outcomes.

The study also shows that resistance has already been encountered by current CDOs, particularly resistance to change. The latter has been particularly problematic when it comes to IT departments giving up control of information assets and their governance.

Going on, these difficulties will ensure CDOs will find it hard to get the budget and commitment from the company they require to implement a successful data project.

According to Mario Faria, research VP at Gartner, "This raises a political aspect to the role. Building trust and relationships in the organisation will be important to achieving success”.

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