The conversation for the past 10 years has grown in decibels when it comes to data. The lifeblood of every company is often as forgotten as humans when ingesting their nourishment. AI, ML, and Analytics all require massive amounts of data, congruent data, to provide intelligence and insights.
Product innovators need data to enable a marketable product to current and future customers; sales and marketing need data to target their prospects and grow revenue; risk managers and customer service need data to mitigate losses and enable a great customer experience; executives need data to address strategic direction and adaptation to performance outcomes.
With all that’s at stake, why do we continue to fuss about data challenges? Data Management? Data Cleansing? Reporting and Analytic tools? In my opinion we must move past this phase by thinking differently and progressively.
Every day, executives and operational managers, ask questions. Every day the IT department adds to their log. Every day new sources and fresh data is available but often “jailed” by its inaccessibility. Monetizing this data will become more and more complex unless there is a fresh approach.
Every leader with a C-title knows their role. Recently the roles of Chief Digital Officer have taken over the CIO role, and the Chief Revenue or Commercial Officer have replaced the Chief Sales Officer, and the roles of Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer were created. All these roles seem to sit on the “business” side of the house, albeit their direct link to the “IT” side. However, one role has been missing, the one who glues the data puzzle to intelligent insights and generates revenue - the Chief Data Monetization Officer (CDMO).
The “Why a Chief Data Monetization Officer '' is better addressed by the role and associated responsibilities. But before we delve into it, we must remember that omni-channel data ingestion will continue to grow both in size and in complexity, hence affecting those who must keep the lights on and go about their daily tasks!
The CDMO role will blend the roles of the Chiefs Digital, Data, Analytics, Innovation, and Transformation Officers, who often overlap responsibilities. The CDMO will partner directly with the direct revenue generators (Product, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service) and the support functions (Finance, Operations, HR, IT). Set at the epicenter, the CDMO value proposition is to further enable the strategic direction and bring nudges that enable success and differentiation. To be successful in meeting his role’s objectives, the CDMO’s team will be composed of industry subject domain experts, Data Scientists, Analytics experts, statisticians, actuaries, and operational domain experts.
Lastly, what skills and capabilities must the CDMO have? Deep industry and technology expertise are a must. They must be a business operator as well as a value creator that can direct the creation of innovative and transformative IP to monetize. Of course, this individual must be a ‘People Developer’ to enable the evolution of his team to become a key contributor to revenue generation.
The CDMO must also be a Market Maker. They must be enablers of the ongoing evolution of the company’s products, solutions, and services. Their contribution will also include expense and loss mitigation as critical for increased margins through data insights. The CDMO is a must role--if not in title then at a minimum in responsibilities for companies who want to thrive by the end of the decade.
What next?
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