Are CDOs or the environment responsible for failing data programs, Edition 50
Are CDOs or the environment responsible for failing data programs, Edition 50
Hello All,
Thank you for supporting the newsletter.
We are now 500 subscriber members strong.
Last week, I flew to Sunny Florida.
What a feeling!
I stopped traveling last year post my wife's 3rd trimester and the birth of our daughter. Time flies fast.
But, little has changed.
Security lines and Starbucks, there are always long queues.
Here is what is interesting this week.
Are CDOs or the environment responsible for the data initiative failures?
LastPass drops a bombshell
TikTok ban intensifies
Book Recommendation
2023 tech predictions from AWS CTO
Camera Shy Hoodie
Are CDOs or the environment responsible for the data initiatives' failures?
CDOs. Data Officers. Digital Guardians.
There are a ton of new titles that have come about.
CDOs like CISOs have become a rage in the past several years.
For over a decade, the importance of data has grown. It is a differentiator. so much so, that data leaders or the topic got a prominent spot in the boardrooms. 8 in 10 biz leaders say data is critical in decision-making at their organization.
It is not uncommon to see senior leaders (let's call - them "the CDO") hired by companies to "up" their data strategy. To gain that "edge".
but, even with all the tools, budgets, and bright minds why do the majority of data initiatives fail?
Let us compare both sides-
What do enterprises expect from the CDO?
Pay big bucks to have their business transformed, with data.
There is a vision for the promised land...
Added revenue by 15%,
Reduced costs by 30%,
Massive Improvement in customer experiences etc.
The board wants promises of transformations.
No incremental improvements.
No one is hiring a CDO and asking them- "Come and see if our data can give us an advantage".
It is an implicit expectation for high-profile hires.
and, what do future CDOs project?
The resume doesn't say small things.
No one says - they burnt $5M without seeing results,
or their program failed
or they abandoned a project after trial and error.
The iceberg above the surface is visible.
Major outcomes delivered,
Large teams managed,
and revenue jumps achieved.
What no one wants to talk about?
Data initiatives and their failures
Large teams = Money pit
Business value delivered < Money spent
Abandoned projects
Complex engineering projects
Simplification of data and easier access a critical business obstacle
But the truth is, business transformation comes from small efforts. Unfortunately, it is not sexy to talk at conferences or get hired.
Small teams.
Collecting small wins.
Starting with the hypothesis.
Starting with an easier use case.
Starting with knowing that 80% of the efforts may not even payout.
Understanding what the end customers expect from the brand.
end-to-end complete loop - engineering to end customer and a feedback loop
Dropbox and Hubspot were all started on the sidelines with an MVP approach, to test the idea. At Amazon too, a lot of stellar products started with an idea and a small team (sometimes a couple of people). Lots of those failed. Lots of them became billion-dollar products.
For data initiatives to become impactful, the expectations must come down. Common sense needs to prevail.
LastPass dropped a bombshell of another breach from the same hacker
LastPass dropped a bombshell this week. The hacker which had intruded on Aug 12, continued the breach and engaged in a new exfiltration activity. The actor was able to steal valid credentials from a DevOps engineer's data vault. This gave him access to a shared cloud-storage environment with encryption keys for vault backups.
This is a scary but relatable issue.
Tik-Tok ban intensifies
US govt agencies go full force behind tik-tok. a federal order requires getting rid of tik-tok from all federal devices in 30 days. Canada also joined US & Europe in banning TikTok from official devices. It is an interesting move globally. There has been no evidence presented. On one side, TikTok's methods of data collection are related to privacy & Security risks. on another side, they say- no government information has been compromised yet. Seems so ironic to me.
Book Recommendation
I have been reading "never eat alone" it is one of the books that has had an immense impact. so much so that I decided to return the library edition and get my own copy because I had so many notes. have you read it?
2023 tech predictions from AWS's CTO
The CTO of AWS, Wener Vogels is an avid writer and a thought leader.
I have enjoyed reading his 2023 tech predictions.
You can find the article here.
Camera Shy hoodie
Here is an example of a DIY anti-surveillance hoodie.
This makes the wearer unrecognizable even from the Night Vision Security cameras.
The use cases can be... ahem! a lot!
They have named it as " Camera Shy hoodie"