你真的需要一名首席數據官嗎？

信息和數據有什么區別？在閱讀一些講述首席數據官崛起的文章時，我的腦子似乎有點轉不過彎了。首席數據官（Chief Data Officer）顯然跟首席信息官（Chief Information Officer）是兩個完全不同的崗位，但我們大多數人恐怕都認為二者是可以相互替代的。

不開玩笑了。福雷斯特研究公司發布的這篇文章反映出，在過去12個月里，一個具有獨特職能的首席數據官職位正在快速崛起。

在福雷斯特公司定期調查的約3000家公司中，已有45%的公司任命專人負責公司數據戰略，另有16%的公司計劃在一年內指定專人負責這項工作。越是那些業績突出的企業，比如年收入增長率在10%以上的企業，越傾向于設置這個職位。

在不同企業，首席數據官的職責差別很大，這主要取決于雇主的需求。比如，有些企業的首席數據官主要負責數據管理與合規工作，以及更好地對數據進行組織，使其更緊密地結合到現有業務流程中。還有些企業的首席數據官主要負責預測分析與見解，特別是著重分析那些有助于使企業更加以客戶為導向的數據。

更令人摸不著頭腦的是，有些企業還任命了所謂“首席數字官”（Chief Digital Officer），它的縮寫“CDO”也和首席數據官完全相同。乍一看來，首席數字官們關注的事情與首席數據官很不一樣，比如，他們會關注紙質業務流程自動化之類。但歸根結底，二者的目的是一致的，即通過數據的使用使企業變得更加智能，再以更加智能的方式繼續收集數據。

至于具體選擇哪項技術來達到目的，這個權力則保留在首席信息官手里。福雷斯特公司的分析師詹妮弗?伯利森特表示：“擁有一個首席數據官并不是成功的先決條件，但在這樣一個數據化的世界里，競爭對手都在從數據中收集具有可行性的見解，如果你沒有這種能力，那么你最好重新思考一下，自己該怎樣實現業務目標，以保障企業的生存。首席數據官則從數據的角度，為企業打了一針強心劑?！?/p>

目前，首席數據官們既要向首席信息官報告工作，同時也要向首席執行官報告工作。這也強調了該職位的一個重要職責：讓業務主管和信息技術主管掌握同樣的信息。福雷斯特公司在《業績最出色的企業紛紛任命首席數據官》一文中指出：“最成功的首席數據官，可能是憑借自己在工作中總結的最佳操作，為自己掙得了這樣一個職位，然后又把它帶到了另一家企業?！?/p>

不過，在很多著名的所謂“數據原生代”企業的管理團隊中，你是不會發現首席數據官這類職位的。比如，優步和Netflix就沒有這樣的職務。這是因為自從這些公司成立的第一天起，數據的重要性就一直居于公司戰略的核心。（財富中文網）

譯者：樸成奎

審校：任文科

What’s the difference between information and data? I found myself puzzling over this brain bender while reading new Forrester Research about the rise of the Chief Data Officer. This is, apparently, an altogether different corporate species than the Chief Information Officer even though most of us those descriptors interchangeably.

Kidding aside, Forrester’s window in the mindsets of technology decision makers illustrate the fast rise of a separate and distinct CDO role over the past 12 months.

Fully 45% of the roughly 3,000 companies it polls regularly have assigned someone to oversee data strategy, while another 16% plan to do so within another year. “Top performers” boasting revenue growth of more than 10% were even more likely to include this role on their organizational charts.

The CDO’s job description varies dramatically, depending on the employer. For some companies, it’s about governance and compliance, about better organizing data so access is more tightly embedded into existing business processes. Others focus on the power of predictive analytics and insights, especially ones that help them become more customer-obsessed.

Just to further confuse matters, some companies appoint Chief Digital Officers, a title that winds up wanting the same acronym. On the face of it, digital strategists are focused on very different things than data gurus, such as automating paper-dependent business process. But both have the same central concern: making a company smarter by using the data it already has—and continues to collect—in smarter ways.

The mandate for choosing the specific technology to pull this off usually remains with the CIO. “Having a CDO isn’t a prerequisite to success, but in a data-driven world, where competitors glean actionable insights from their data, if you don’t have the ability to do that you better think twice about how you plan to achieve your goals and eventually survive,” notes Forrester analyst Jennifer Belissent. “The CDO role galvanizes an organization around the promise of data.

Right now, CDOs are equally as likely to report to the CEO as they are to the CIO. That underscores one of the more important aspects of this job: helping line-of-business executives and information technology get (and stay) on the same page. “The most successful CDO potentially works themselves out of a job by establishing a best practice and transferring it to another organization,” Forrester notes in its analysis,“Top Performers Appoint Chief Data Officers.”(Subscription required.)

By the way, you won’t find a CDO on the management teams of many highly visible “digital natives” Neither Uber nor Netflix has one. But that’s because data has been central their strategy since Day One.