Chief Analytics Officer (CAO)
On August 7th, there was an article written on the DM Review website by Peter Graham, which you can get to by clicking here.
Graham summarizes the article with this sentence:
“This article explores the idea of a chief analytics officer (CAO), the analytic function and the key actions that the CIO must take to support the analytic-focused organization.”
There was one point where Graham contradicts himself. First, he stated that the CAO would be responsible for data collection. Then a few paragraphs later, he says that the Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for data collection. The article is at times “fuzzy”, but overall, it delivers a good message. The idea of a formal and centralized position for analytics is a theory that I have been promoting for some time now for a few different reasons. I agree that:
- There should be a Chief Analytics Office solely responsible for company-wide analytics; a true function, similar to Finance or Marketing
- Analytics needs to be more than reporting data that already happened (little value)
- Predictive analytics should be the immediate focus to differentiate in the marketplace (enormous value)
- Organizations need to commit to analytics and value it as a true competency
- Working intimately with the CIO is imperative to the success of an analytic function
The major challenge I see is the development of a platform that addresses both data warehouse and analytical needs. There are many products that do a moderately good job at one or the other, but none that excel in both areas.
I believe the fundamental message of Graham’s is summed up in the table below, taken from Graham’s article. The chart depicts the set of organizational shifts that need to take place in order for a CAO to be successful.
Note two very important points in the chart above; the shift of culture and business knowledge. Functional departments need to stop hoarding the information they are responsible for, holding onto the argument that they are closest to the data and must know it best.
Most often you have many different departments using their home-grown frankensheets (I have to give Rob Bruce and Juice Analytics credit for this one) to support their analyses. There is much synergy to be gained by taking the analytic function out of the departments, who probably don’t boast the expertise, and giving it to the experts that would fall under the CAO. I may be able to do a fairly good job building a deck, but an expert carpenter could get it done much faster and precisely by having all of the right tools and experience!
I would be willing to bet that you will start to see a shift in organizations to adopt the role of a Chief Analytics Officer very soon.
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