The advancement of generative AI – and the hype surrounding it – has immensely changed the business landscape, and consequently, it is also reshaping the role of the Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO). With direction from the Board and executive leadership, CDAOs are under pressure to evaluate how they can utilize this emerging technology to generate business outcomes and gain a competitive edge.
For years, CDAOs’ top priorities have centered around their data governance framework and building a data-driven culture. And while these are still critical initiatives, data leaders have no choice but to fundamentally rethink their approaches if they intend to enable AI capabilities securely and at scale. According to the Gartner CDAO Agenda Survey for 2024, “The acceleration of generative AI has heightened the need for CDAOs to reinvent themselves and their function. CDAOs must restructure foundational data and analytics capabilities, funding approaches and governance or risk failure.”
Here, we examine CDAOs’ top priorities and challenges for 2024, based on our proprietary Leadership Perspective Survey of more than 800 CDAOs in Evanta communities.
Top Priorities for CDAOs within the Data Function
It was presumptive that generative and traditional AI would be one of the top priorities for CDAOs this year, but the results of our survey show that it is overwhelmingly the number one priority for data leaders in 2024. In prior years of our annual survey, this was categorized as AI and machine learning, and it never made it into the top five.
Data and analytics strategy is now the number two priority for CDAOs, up from number four in 2023. This reflects the impact AI has on their plans this year. Data and analytics governance dropped two spots to their third priority for 2024. Although it is no longer number one on this list, data governance is foundational for enabling AI, and data leaders will continue to evolve their governance framework to the business strategy.
Data democratization and self-service and data-driven culture and fluency are strongholds on CDAOs’ list of critical priorities each year. In 2024, they came in at number four and five respectively.
Below, we further explore CDAOs’ goals and challenges for their top three priorities.
Adopting Generative & Traditional AI
CDAOs are racing to understand the business problems best suited for generative and traditional AI and develop roadmaps for adoption. Gartner predicts, “By 2025, context-driven analytics and AI models will replace 60% of existing models built on traditional data,” and, “By 2027, 75% of new analytics content will be contextualized for intelligent applications through GenAI, enabling a composable connection between insights and actions.”
We recently conducted a survey of our CDAO community members about AI adoption at their organizations, and it is evident that the majority of CDAOs (84%) are already piloting or implementing AI in some capacity. One data leader who completed the AI survey commented, “The continuous advancements in AI technology open up new avenues for efficiency, scalability, and competitive advantage, and I am eager to explore and implement these opportunities within our organization.”
CDAOs outlined their goals and challenges for generative and traditional AI in 2024, and below are the results. They shared that their goals are to improve business outcomes and efficiencies, and their greatest obstacles are the quickly changing landscape and lack of skills in this sector.
Goals for Generative & Traditional AI
60% Improving business outcomes
57% Improving processes and efficiencies
43% Delivering and defining value
Challenges around Generative & Traditional AI
49% Quickly changing landscape
46% Lack of skills
36% Data quality and availability
In addition to our survey, we conduct hundreds of follow-up conversations with CDAOs about their critical focus areas. Here is a sample of what CDAOs are saying about their approach to generative and traditional AI this year:
AI can’t do our work for us. There's excitement around AI and what it can achieve, but we need to have a heavy understanding of ethics.”
It’s groundbreaking, but it's slow to administer in organizations. We hired a new AI leader… I can build the capabilities, but I can't transform the organization – that's another job.”
The biggest thing we're all struggling with is the pace of change. Technology is changing daily/weekly in GenAI at the moment. How are people staying on top of these things?”
CDAOs also expressed interest in discussing AI from a strategic perspective (81%) with their peers at future CDAO community programs.
Building a Data & Analytics Strategy
CDAOs are tailoring their data and analytics strategies to business strategies – with a major focus on “AI readiness.” Many CDAO community members shared that they need to improve their foundations – including data quality – before they can move the needle with AI.
Funding for foundational elements has always been difficult for CDAOs, as it often cannot be tied directly to business value. CDAOs are hoping the push towards AI will help them gain executive sponsorship and funding for these critical areas so they can lay the groundwork for innovation.
In our survey, CDAOs shared that their primary goal for their data and analytics strategy is to improve business outcomes. Their top challenge is competing priorities.
Goals for Data & Analytics Strategy
70% Improving business outcomes
60% Making data-driven decisions
54% Delivering and defining value
Challenges around Data & Analytics Strategy
44% Competing priorities
39% Siloed operating model
37% Company culture
Here is a sample of what CDAOs are saying about data and analytics strategy:
Things have changed. The main things we are working on are a comprehensive data catalog and AI policy. How much can we trust data, and what policies can we use? What can we allow staff to use in terms of generative AI to make sure sensitive data doesn’t leave the company?”
Fundamentals of data management are more important than GenAI... You need really good data to make effective GenAI tools, and you need a good data foundation.”
We’re continually refreshing our strategy. Now with the impact of AI, we need to keep it fresh and assess how to move from one stage to the next.”
More than 80% of CDAOs are looking to consult their peers about data and analytics from a strategic perspective during community programs.
Modernizing Data & Analytics Governance
Data and analytics governance is the number three priority for CDAOs this year, and it is also one of their biggest undertakings. Data leaders are evaluating if the objectives of their data governance frameworks are compatible with the business strategy and appropriate for an AI transformation. This includes everything from data models, processes, data stewardship programs, data quality, etc.
CDAOs say their goals for data governance are to improve processes and efficiencies. They report that competing priorities is their greatest roadblock in this area.
Goals for Data & Analytics Governance
58% Improving processes and efficiencies
51% Improving business outcomes
47% Delivering and defining value
Challenges around Data & Analytics Governance
47% Competing priorities
43% Company culture
43% Siloed operating model
Here is a sample of what CDAOs have to say about their approach to data and analytics governance in 2024:
It’s not a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have.”
We’re building our governance as we speak… It's really based on the purpose, based on how the results will be used. The level of governance will be decided based on that.”
Governance is all about change management and people. We are resource constrained at the moment, and getting people to prioritize governance is a challenge.”
CDAOs say they would like to learn about data governance from both a strategic perspective (75%) and an execution perspective (74%) this year.
CDAOs’ Priorities Across the Enterprise
Our annual survey also asks CDAOs to outline their enterprise priorities. In 2024, data leaders are in alignment with their colleagues across the C-suite, as they all report increasing operational efficiencies and productivity as their top enterprise priority this year. CDAOs listed driving growth as their second enterprise priority, which also coincides with much of the C-suite.
Here’s a look at CDAOs’ top enterprise objectives this year.
There is a slight variation in CDAOs’ enterprise priorities in 2024 compared to 2023. Last year, driving growth was their top priority, followed by increasing operational efficiencies and productivity. Today, innovating for competitive advantage lands in the number three spot, up from number five last year. Increasing revenue was not a priority in 2023, however, it is CDAOs’ fourth most important priority today. Lastly, improving customer experience dropped from number three in 2023 to number five this year.
The Outlook for CDAOs
CDAOs have the opportunity to take an authoritative stance on generative AI and increase their influence across the enterprise. The ability to communicate business value and gain executive support will be the differentiating factor for those who are successful.
Likewise, Distinguished VP Analyst, Rita Sallam recently explored this topic at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit, and she said, “Top-performing D&A leaders are far more effective at informing senior business leaders about the impact of D&A capabilities than low performers.”
CDAOs realize that this skill must also be ingrained within their function. Although data and analytics talent was a middle-ground priority for CDAOs in our survey, data leaders did not shy away from discussing it during our conversations, with one CDAO sharing, “From a talent standpoint, we need people to understand the WHY behind the data.”
In 2024 and beyond, Evanta’s CDAO community members will be leading in this new front, and they will continue to meet and learn from one another as they progress.
To stay up-to-date with CDAOs and their top priorities, join a regional Evanta CDAO community near you. If you are already a member, explore an opportunity to connect with your peers through the MyEvanta membership app.
This article is an update to a previous report, which you can find here: Top 3 Goals & Challenges for CDAOs in 2023.
Based on 800 CDAOs’ responses to Evanta’s 2024 Leadership Perspective Survey.
by CDAOs, for CDAOs
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