Most of us are quite familiar with executive titles like CEO, CFO and CTO. But how many of us have heard of CDO? The Guangdong government has recently proposed setting up a pilot system of “chief data officers” – the first province to do so in the nation. Ten pilot cities in the province including Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Foshan have already released their related action plans. “Chief data officer” has suddenly become one of the most widely discussed topics these days. So, what’s a CDO? What are the duties and responsibilities of CDOs?
The CDO concept first appeared in the early 2000s. Many of the world’s top companies have by now set up such a position, which is mainly responsible for improving internal efficiency through data analyses and structure.
To get a better idea about it, I had a talk with Liu Zongchang, the CDO of Shenzhen-based Foxconn Industrial Internet (Fii). I found the role involves more responsibilities with digital upgrading developing widely and deeply. The giant’s experience could be an inspiration for firms that are considering jumping on the bandwagon.
A sharp difference between the new generation of CDOs and the previous CDOs is that one assessment criterion of the Fii CDO’s work is how much profitability is created for the company. Understanding the companies’ business and operations is a more important advantage than technological prowess while choosing a CDO.
Compared to data digging and analyses, an increasingly important role of CDO is to build up data management mechanisms that can help smooth the production process and improve efficiency and yield. For instance, Fii forged its accumulated data-driven operating criteria and data management system of multiple production lines into models and software, so that other manufacturers could use the tools directly.
All companies however are not suitable to set up such a position. If an enterprise has yet to sort out the management process or upgrading to a data-driven system, the work of the CDO is very likely to fail, said Liu.
Fii launched a position of CDO only after accumulating a large amount of data by standardizing working process and transforming assembly line management to software. Realizing the growing contribution of data as a production factor, it later started to wrap up its data management experience into services for other manufacturers.
To the government, which may not have a specific profit target for evaluation, the CDO of Fii suggests the contribution to economic growth could be a reference. Globally, the United States was one of the first countries to have such a position in the government – as early as in 2011 when Chicago appointed the first municipal CDO in 2011.
According to the plans of Guangdong governments, the proposed CDO system will cover a wide range of government institutions including district governments and functional bureaus, like the public security bureau and human resources bureau. The impact could be wide and in-depth. Sub-district office and state-owned firm should have a data specialist.
You might remember the sudden surging fervor around introduction of “chief innovation officer” in Shenzhen several years ago, which faded away gradually. Will CDOs embrace the same fate? It’s to be seen what down-to-earth values the measure could bring to the development of cities and companies in the digital era.
Chai Hua joined China Daily as a reporter in 2013 and covers business news in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay area. Based in Shenzhen, she focuses on tech trends, innovative startups and Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation. She can be reached at grace@chinadailyhk.com .
