Article

Digital Doughnut Contributor
Digital Doughnut Contributor 13 February 2015

The Rise Of The Chief Digital Officer

According to Gartner, by 2015 25% of organisations will have a Chief Digital Officer sat on the board of directors. Then, by 2020, 90% of technology spending will be driven by departments outside of IT.

According to Gartner, by 2015 25% of organisations will have a Chief Digital Officer sat on the board of directors. Then, by 2020, 90% of technology spending will be driven by departments outside of IT.  

 

Although analysts have been known to be wrong on the odd occasion, Gartner does have an outstanding track record and there’s no denying the impact of digital on organisations, employees, customers, partners, suppliers and stakeholders.  In fact, pretty much every aspect of doing business.

The convergence has been driven by a number of factors, all coming together at the same time: mass adoption of social media, the consumerisation of technology including the growth of ‘mobile-everything’ and the opportunities opened up by the cloud.  

 

All of these factors are creating new business opportunities and as a result, business departments and functions are becoming digitised. Marketing budgets are moving from analogue to digital, research projects are now mostly digital and services are being provided digitally. Digital is fast becoming a new revenue stream for all and sundry.

 

As a result, the lines are becoming blurred between what was traditionally allocated to the IT budget and the marketing budget.  Two very different departments with very different objectives, outlooks and characteristics, are being forced to work together – unsuccessfully in many cases – and there is an emerging power struggle at board level.  The trouble is, the CIO and the CMO both speak in entirely different native tongues.  Why not?  Up until now they have had no need to become bi-lingual.

 

So, the key questions for me are who will ultimately win the battle and end up with budgetary control?  Will the emergence of a hybrid Chief Digital Officer (CDO) replace the traditional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or Chief Information Officer (CIO) roles?  Will we see a hybrid department emerge and what will be the future of the IT and marketing departments?  What will the shift in budgets mean for jobs, skills and training, and what should marketers be doing now in order to prepare themselves and keep their career options open?

 

I don’t know the answers to many of these questions just now, however, I’m following them closely and with much interest.  Perhaps the marketing department is best placed to make sense of the convergence of social, mobile and cloud?  Let’s face it, the IT crowd hasn’t done a great job of communicating the benefits of digital and the cloud so far.  

 

What I do suspect is that the rise of the CDO will be a gradual one that creeps up on us as organisations continue to digitise large areas of business, such as the research and development budget.  But at some point, someone will have to assume responsibility for developing a digital business strategy, and as Gartner points out, that’s a long way from running back office IT.  It is a scenario where IT does not define the rules, but becomes merely an enabler.  Thus, leaving the issue of power, career paths and development opportunities wide open for the taking.

 

If I were a marketer, the question I’d be asking myself just now is “Outside of the traditional marketing role, what technology and IT issues do I need to get to grips with, to take advantage of this career opportunity?” If cloud computing, big data and social enterprise analytics are all terms that sound like white noise to you, it might be worth considering a cosy lunch with one of the IT crowd and a pen and paper.  Whatever happens, I know this much: you can’t be in marketing if you don’t understand digital. And you can’t understand digital if you don’t understand technology.

 

Read more insights from Six Degrees Group

Read More on Digital Doughnut

Please login or register to add a comment.

Contribute Now!

Loving our articles? Do you have an insightful post that you want to shout about? Well, you've come to the right place! We are always looking for fresh Doughnuts to be a part of our community.

Popular Articles

See all
How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

A company website is crucial for any business's digital marketing strategy. To keep up with the changing trends and customer buying behaviors, it's important to review and make necessary changes regularly...

Digital Doughnut Contributor
Digital Doughnut Contributor 25 March 2024
Read more
The World Is Shrinking: 6 Degrees of Separation Is Now 2!

The World Is Shrinking: 6 Degrees of Separation Is Now 2!

Six degrees of separation is not just a party game, it's a reality. Everyone is the world is interconnected, and thanks to social media, that connectedness gets tighter and richer each day. See the research...

Scott Christley
Scott Christley 9 August 2017
Read more
The Impact of New Technology on Marketing

The Impact of New Technology on Marketing

Technology has impacted every part of our lives. From household chores to business disciplines and etiquette, there's a gadget or app for it. Marketing has changed dramatically over the years, but what is the...

Alex Lysak
Alex Lysak 3 April 2024
Read more
Cats and Dogs Boost Your Business By 300%. Here’s How.

Cats and Dogs Boost Your Business By 300%. Here’s How.

It’s the age-old question that has endured ever since the creation of the internet: are you a cat person or a dog person? Or do you love both cats and dogs? We have both dog lovers and cat lovers at Sortlist, so it...

Aline Strouvens
Aline Strouvens 27 August 2021
Read more
What Marketing Content Do Different Age Groups like to Consume?

What Marketing Content Do Different Age Groups like to Consume?

Today marketers have a wide choice of different content types to create; from video to blogs, from memes to whitepapers. But which types of content are most suitable for different age groups?

Lisa Curry
Lisa Curry 21 October 2016
Read more