For any chief data officer today, the job description sounds like a cross between every other top-level information technology position in the organization. Data quality, governance and management are all required skills, in addition to information strategy, business analytics and data science. Oh yes, and make sure that this can all be monetized while coming in at or below budget.

“The starting point for a CDO in a for-profit company is how to use data to create value and monetize that value. It’s really supporting the monetization of the business,” said Dave Vellante (@dvellante, pictured, left), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio.

Vellante offered his observations during theCUBE’s coverage at IBM Chief Data Officer Summit in Boston, Massachusetts. He was joined by co-host Rebecca Knight (@knightrm, pictured, right), and they discussed IBM’s insights into the CDO role, whether the CIO position might disappear, and the critical need for data science skills. (* Disclosure below.)

Function matures from back-office role

The evolving role of the CDO was the central topic of discussion at IBM’s conference in Boston. With well over 300,000 employees and operations in multiple countries across the globe, the company relies heavily on data management as a central part of its business. IBM executives offered insight into how the CDO function has matured from a back-office function to one where oversight of data quality played a significant role in overall business strategy and direction.

“This explosion in data is really changing the role of the CDO,” Knight said. “That data was in the back office, and now it’s really front and center in the organization.”

In the quest for enterprise efficiency and maximizing data for the business, it’s tempting to wonder whether the CDO will ultimately replace the chief information officer. “I don’t see it that way,” Vellante said. “There’s more overlap between the chief digital officer and the chief data officer.”

A major challenge confronting organizations today is a shortage of data science talent. This is becoming more important in the role of the CDO, as the pressure to generate value from data will depend on math and science skills.

“We have a real shortage of people who know data science and analytics,” Knight said. “That’s a big problem that a lot of these companies are facing.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of IBM Chief Data Officer Summit. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the IBM Chief Data Officer Summit. Neither IBM, the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE