600 Chief Data Officers Share Insights on 2024 Data Strategy – Is Yours Aligned?

Download the Informatica CDO Insights 2024 survey to find out!

Today’s chief data officers (CDO) are at the center of setting an organization’s data strategy. Heading into 2024, everyone across the organization is excited about the promise of adopting AI. But the lack of confidence in data and AI management solutions could make or break a modern digital business by preventing the ability to scale out data use.

Achieving trusted AI hinges on how well you can manage trusted data to accelerate AI, analytics and other data-driven applications.

So, what can we learn from these 600 CDOs and how can their insights propel your success?

Findings (Figure 1) from a recent survey of over 600 CDOs, “CDO Insights 2024: Charting a Course to AI Readiness,” provide valuable insights into what’s new and what’s next in data management. The major takeaway from this year’s annual report is that trusted data is pivotal to delivering trusted AI. This means that to gain value from generative AI, it is even more crucial that your data is carefully managed, ethically treated and handled responsibly.

Figure 1. CDO survey GenAI insights

Navigating growing data volumes and meeting your organization’s requests for reliable access come with several benefits. Data gathered across multiple sources can unleash untapped potential for more relevant insights. And subsequently, drive strategic decisions by fueling your AI and analytics initiatives with greater confidence. Moreover, relying on AI-powered data management can increase efficiency and ultimately empower the right people, processes and tools across your organization. But how do we get there?

The annual survey reveals that despite certain technical obstacles that organizations may face in realizing their data strategies (Figure 2), an overwhelming number of data leaders remain optimistic about achieving their goals. This optimism is rooted in the knowledge that investments play a crucial role in data management, enhancing data quality, privacy and similar areas to avoid “garbage in, garbage out” results.

Figure 2. CDO survey GenAI challenges

Being a data leader in the AI era also means paving the way for a data-driven organizational culture. It involves managing potential risks and capability gaps to facilitate transformative change. To harness the potential of AI, data leaders are cognizant of the need for adequate tools and resources to deliver trusted business outcomes.

A further revelation from the survey is that 48% of data leaders would consider upskilling or reskilling their staff on AI and machine learning. This highlights the importance for a CDO to invest not only in their data management capabilities but also in their workforce, as these skills are vital for future growth and effective utilization of tools.

As we gear up for an AI-fueled enterprise, a significant percentage of surveyed CDOs recognize the need for a standardized solution to handle large volumes of data. They expressed a need to upskill their team with the appropriate tools and technologies required for managing AI and data. One standout stat we found from survey participants:

58% are already managing 5+ tools just to wrangle the 1,000+ data sources that only 41% are utilizing.

This doesn’t offer economies of scale when having to integrate and manage multiple, disconnected data management products; learn a half-dozen separate UI’s; and align mismatched data governance capabilities to achieve reliable, trusted results from data.

The data leaders surveyed tell us that they are investing heavily to align on data privacy and protection, data quality and observability, and data integration and engineering to improve overall data governance that streamlines operations. These investments will be the ones most crucial to support data strategy priorities and make the most of generative AI moving forward.

As a chief data officer, you deliver value across your organization when championing your data strategy. Your pivotal role involves fostering a data-driven culture, ensuring the right data reaches the right hands while managing risks, harnessing the power of AI and investing in your workforce — all essential steps in charting the course to AI readiness for your organization.

Your data management and AI strategy can empower your organization to embrace the future and outpace competition when done right. Would you like to learn more? Hear from other experts and get a complete picture by downloading this year’s survey.

Download CDO Insights 2024: Charting a Course to AI Readiness.

Set up a call with an expert to discuss your 2024 data strategy plans!