Over 10% of govt organisations to have chief data officer by 2014: Gartner

The development and implementation of digital government strategies is putting the government Chief Information Officer (CIO) role under pressure, leading to the creation of new roles, according to a study by Gartner.

The research and analysis firm predicts that by 2014, more than 10 per cent of government organisations will have appointed a chief data officer and more than 20 per cent will have appointed a chief digital officer.

“Digital government strategies issued in several jurisdictions during the past 12 months, as well as the continued momentum of open government, are bringing new leadership roles to the fore,” said Andrea DiMaio, Managing Vice President, at Gartner.

“In Government, as well as other industries, roles like chief data officer or chief digital officer are emerging in response to the increasing importance of enterprise digital assets,” DiMaio added.

The newly created roles are likely to co-exist with more traditional ones, like CIO and chief technology officer, in the short term at least, necessitating a close working relationship between new and existing roles.

“Government CIOs must establish good working relationships with chief data officers, chief digital officers or equivalent roles introduced to support the digital strategy, and identify areas where they can add value to a different role's responsibility,” said DiMaio.

“They should also push for a clear demarcation between their role and the roles of others with regard to information by defining clear principles about ownership, purpose and use.”

rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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