The Chief Data Officer (CDO) Summit was a valuable meeting. This summit which is hosted multiple times per year in the Minneapolis-St Paul area focuses on data and analytics use by organizations. I always come away with some worth while information as I discuss hot data topics. The meeting follows this proven format:
- Sign in
- Networking while enjoying drinks and hors d’oeurves
- Round table discussions with guided questions and discussion leaders
- Speaker
- Meal
Representatives from many organizations attended: Target, Best Buy, 3M, Sleep Number, American Express, Medtronics, State of Minnesota and Allianz Life (my employer). We were joined by the organizers and sponsors – firms providing consulting services, data related tools and database software.
The theme of the meeting was Data Governance – certainly a topic of interest to me. I am always looking to learn what other organizations are doing. The guided discussion topics were:
- What level of executive support does Data Governance receive at your organization?
- What is your organization’s greatest challenge in the area of Data Governance?
- What quick Data Governance wins has your organization achieved and how did you do it?
Levels of executive support for Data Governance ranged from resistance to all out top executive sponsorship. Clearly Data Governance is gaining momentum and more organizations have the support of the CEO and other executives. The greatest challenge is maintaining momentum and relevance – Data Governance must compete with many other initiatives to sustain visibility. Data quality improvements are examples of quick wins which can be promoted and lead to further actions.
The CDO Summits are certainly worth while. I recommend that you participate if you have the opportunity.