DataIQ has spent over a decade in conversation with data leaders, their teams, and stakeholders, meaning DataIQ sits at a strategic mid-point between diverse businesses and has a unique insight into the operational intricacies of data functions, often shared by those at the top.
We want to share these insights with you across a four-part research series. In this, our fourth and final instalment of the four-part research series, we delve into the fourth key challenge area data leaders noted when looking ahead at 2024, as sampled from the reported experiences of the DataIQ 100 industry leaders of 2024.
In the first instalment, we scrutinised foundational issues, reporting on literacy, culture and strategy. In the second instalment, we delved into the second strand to report on the interesting similarities in top-down issues with upskilling and retaining talent. Last week, we investigated all things threat, including quality, security, privacy, and generative AI. Join us on the research journey as we shake down the biggest challenges for the biggest leaders in data.
The information in this report was pulled from data leader responses to the question: What are the key challenges to your data function that you are facing as its leader?
OUTSIDE OF THE DATA OFFICE
The final part of this series explains and analyses the greatest challenges for data leaders in 2024, the type of pressures and expectations that originate from outside the data office.
It goes without saying that data leaders do not often get into the heavy details of analytics and architecture; instead, they must champion data to those outside of the organisation, explaining again and again the story, purpose, and value of the data function at all levels. Many things can destabilise relationships with stakeholders rapidly – a board change, a strategy change, budget cuts – and data leaders must maintain and develop these relationships no matter what.
Leaders must be constantly prepared to highlight and re-imbue the value of data to kickstart analytical involvement, and – on the other end of the scale – to manage stakeholder expectations regarding innovation and delivery. It is this gap between BAU and beating the rest that proves challenging for almost half of leaders; the speed of change within the data office is often dictated outside of the data office. Most of the biggest challengers for data leaders in 2024 sit at this threshold.
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