Cdaos Might Be Key To Genai Success Now — But That Could Change

Chief Data & Analytics Officers are important to AI success, but by 2027, 75% of those who don't beryllium their worth successful AI activity could suffer their C-level role, Gartner warns.

Before organizations tin efficaciously deploy generative AI tools, nan information connected which they must beryllium trained has to beryllium preprocessed to guarantee it’s organized, standardized, and cleaned from outliers, duplication, and errors.

Without that, attaining ROI from immoderate genAI task is adjacent to impossible. In fact, complete nan past mates of years, lawsuit studies person shown one-in-three AI projects fail to scope completion aliases produce an ROI because of unclean data.

A Gartner study this week indicated that 1 top-level position successful peculiar is cardinal to genAI deployment success: nan Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) — truthful overmuch so, that nan position has now been fixed executive position astatine astir companies. (Gartner added “analytics” to nan CDO title a fewer years agone to bespeak a changing role, which now involves combining information guidance pinch analytics strategy to make insights and business value.)

“The integration of AI into business strategies has further solidified nan CDAO’s domiciled arsenic a top-tier position wrong companies,” said Sarah James, a Gartner elder head analyst.

Beyond information and analytics, CDAOs are now cardinal to genAI readiness — captious for driving amended business outcomes, arsenic shown successful Gartner’s 2025 CDAO Agenda Survey for 2025.“This twelvemonth is simply a captious 1 for CDAOs, arsenic AI presents a caller opportunity for them to found their rank successful AI leadership,” James said.

The nonstop ngo and usability of nan CDAO role, however, stay unclear.

In Gartner’s CDAO Agenda Survey for 2024, 74% of respondents reported that executive activity has assurance successful their information and analytics (D&A) function, but nan rationale for that assurance is not afloat substantiated. Only 49% had established business-outcome-driven metrics that let stakeholders to way D&A value.

“Respondents reported having an mean of 14 superior responsibilities — a year-over-year summation of 56% from 2023 — suggesting a tactical alternatively than strategical focus,” James said. “There is intelligibly activity to do for CDAOs to found themselves, their usability and their worth to nan organization.”

Meanwhile, Gartner predicts that by 2027, 75% of CDAOs who aren’t seen arsenic basal to their organization’s genAI occurrence will suffer their C-level position.

CDAOs are presently uniquely positioned to lead genAI efforts acknowledgment to their information expertise and cross-organizational reach, according to James. “Their domiciled is pivotal — nary 1 other is amended placed to link nan dots and thrust AI success,” she said.

According to nan survey, 70% percent of CDAO’s person nan superior work for building AI strategy and an operating exemplary for nan organization. In ray of that, 36% of CDAOs now study to nan CEO, up from 21% successful 2024.

Tom Davenport, a distinguished professor of IT and guidance for Babson College, said he was amazed Gartner’s study recovered 70% of CDAOs reportedlyhave superior work for genAI efforts. His investigation shows it’s usually shared pinch CIOs, CTOs, and CDOs.

If trues, he said, it would people a awesome displacement successful nan CDO/CDAO role, moreover arsenic AI is simply a “hot topic” galore execs want to lead. “That said, work for AI will person its challenges for CDOs, who already look a number of them,” Davenport said via email. “An IBM study of CEOs released past week recovered that only 25% person seen nan expected ROI from their AI projects. It won’t beryllium easy for CDOs to reside that issue.”

At nan aforesaid clip nan CDAO aliases CDO domiciled is gaining importance, only 8% of companies considered to beryllium leaders successful genAI deployments are scaling nan tech astatine an endeavor level, which intends embedding nan exertion into halfway business strategy, according to a study by master services patient Accenture.

Scaling AI starts pinch data, according to Accenture, and while 70% of nan 2,000 companies it surveyed admit its importance, fewer afloat leverage their proprietary data. And only 15% are “AI reinvention-ready” and person built nan basal capabilities needed to standard AI successfully, according to nan firm.

The domiciled of CDAO domiciled is expected to soon germinate successful 3 chopped directions, according to Gartner:

• Expert D&A Leader: A elder information leader (often a vice president aliases caput of data) pinch a cross-functional view, overseeing business intelligence, Mobile Device Management, reporting, and information platforms. The personification typically reports to IT and supports information strategy crossed nan business.
• Connector CDAO: Someone who bridges CxOs pinch D&A, embedding smart solutions into products and services. They thrust nan AI schedule and enactment arsenic cardinal leaders successful an organization.
• Pioneer CDAx: A transformational exec who combines nan CDO, CDAO, and CDAIO roles, leads cross-functional D&A and AI efforts, ensures ethical governance, and champions innovation.

Some judge CDO and CAIO roles mightiness person a built-in expiration date. An earlier Gartner study of 400 package engineering leaders indicated that up to half of their package improvement teams employment various genAI devices to augment workflows, acting arsenic unit multipliers alternatively than replacements.

Davenport agreed, and has written astir nan phenomenon successful nan past.

After years of being focused chiefly connected information — not worker — management, surveys show CDOs often deficiency nan skills to tackle nan taste challenges captious to a data-driven culture, and their roles stay little understood than different C-level positions, Davenport said. “Surveys of CDOs besides propose that their jobs are little good understood than different C-level executives,” he added.

In one caller article, Davenport based on location are excessively galore technology-focused C-level executives successful galore companies, including CIOs, CTOs, Chief Data and/or Analytics Officers, Chief Digital Officers, and CISOs. “The CIO domiciled is overmuch amended understood and while it, too, erstwhile was characterized by short tenures, it’s overmuch much acquainted than nan CDO role,” he said. “Many CDOs attraction chiefly connected information governance and guidance activities for which it is difficult to show value. Those who besides person analytics and AI responsibilities person a somewhat easier clip of that.”

Given nan captious domiciled now of genAI successful shaping business strategies, aspiring CDAOs should attraction connected processing expertise successful data, analytics and AI technologies, James said.

The request for CDAOs who tin efficaciously lead genAI initiatives, navigate nan technology’s complexities, and leverage it for competitory advantage is increasing, she added. “Individuals willing successful this profession way should purpose to get skills successful AI readiness, information governance, and strategical leadership, arsenic these are basal for driving successful AI integration wrong organizations,” she said.