top down

We live in an era where the return on investment and shareholder accountability is gaining traction, this makes data critical

‘Data is the new fuel’ has been jargon for a long time. Having said that, it is not just information that is important, but its management becomes pivotal. With a balance of privacy and transparency, companies handling data must be cautious, which is why it is necessary to have extremely competent top leadership. Some large companies and individual business owners utilise these data points effectively, while many are lagging. Traditionally, data platforms come under the Chief Technology Officers (CTO) of the companies. While we are living in an era where the bottom-up approach is the norm, such is not the case with data management. In this case, the top data manager, that is, the CTO must lead the brand.

Why Data?

We live in an era where the return on investment and shareholder accountability is gaining traction, this makes data critical. It is necessary for gaining operational insights and acting on market fluctuations effectively and tracking cross-company synergies. It is also pivotal for investors looking at the exit to draw maximum profit and take part in the market effectively. History is the best lesson, and data can be used as a predictor for future business prospects, by keeping track of sales and enhancing the agility of the supply chain.

If one is in a business where customers are the bread and butter for a company then a solid customer relationship management database must be at the heart of the business. This is needed for customer contact details, interaction history, and new business opportunities. Also, data granularity is needed for micro-task allocation and constantly reworking company goals.  Lack of transparency is going to lead to lower return on investment and stagnant growth which implies having an officer who can decide how much to share. Also, database gaps can make companies miss out on what needs to be tended to immediately, resulting in fire fighting and subsequent growth.

Why Have A CTO To Handle Data?

Given how important and cross-sectional data is, it is important to have a responsible top leadership and it should not land in the hands of the wrong person. This is especially true when customer data is at stake and there is no public relations team to handle the situation. In such a situation the business becomes fragile and may even face legal repercussions and massive public scrutiny. Many databases do not condense across all kinds of portfolios, like customer relationship management, human resource, and enterprise resource planning. Given how interrelated all these systems are, it is needed to bring them under a common umbrella, which must be the CTO of the company. CTO requires to practically run a campaign with the employees of the company for training them, equip them with the data handling techniques and processes. With large data handling requirements and rapid digitisation pressures, breach through cyber attacks has become a huge risk to the company.

If companies are not doing it right now, it is critical to be aware of your data, which is also an indicator of business health. A good centralised system is especially needed when the company is expanding and hiring new staff, which has become one of the crucial roles of a CTO in today’s time. Having a top-down approach will lead to better resource allocation based on information instead of every vertical acting as per its whims and fancies. A dispersed system will thus lead to fragmentation especially if one is looking to grow their enterprise, which top management with technical expertise is required to tackle. CTO leads the transformation of the company and needs a full top-down commitment and support. Without this, success in the emerging digital paradigm would be at great risk and companies cannot afford failure.