From Blocks to Breakthroughs

Tetris combines elements of a classic puzzle game with a strategic approach to problem-solving. Blocks arrive with increasing speed throughout the game, testing players’ agility and accuracy.

And just as Tetris players have to make instant — yet precise and correct — decisions to create order out of continuously evolving chaos, the same can also be said of today’s data leaders. The difference, though, is that what they do isn’t a game. 

Inrupt’s new report From Blocks to Breakthroughs: Strategies for Today’s Top Data Challenges and Opportunities features exclusive interviews from today’s data leaders. It highlights how emerging regulations and technologies — such as generative AI, digital wallets and personal data stores — are transforming how we manage, use and share data today. 

Below, we highlight key trends from the report that will help CDOs tackle today’s data challenges and opportunities. 

A Secure, User-Centric Future of Data 

In the report, data leaders highlighted the usage of personal data stores and digital wallets as a promising path to secure, flexible, user-centric data. These approaches provide a seamless customer experience while unlocking new value for individuals and organizations alike.

Storing user data in a consented, user-centric manner aligns with emerging privacy regulations and ensures that this information can be securely used across departments, organizations, and industries. 

Many organizations are already prioritizing ways to connect with their customers through centralized, user-centric methods, most often in the form of digital wallets. The most effective digital wallets are built on an interoperable foundation that allows for features beyond financial transactions, and enables a consumer to use the same wallet seamlessly across services and companies. Universal data standards and protocols make this foundation possible.

One particularly promising approach is the Solid Protocol, a standard developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web. Solid defines a user-centric model of storing and sharing data that benefits organizations and individuals alike.

“Tim Berners-Lee’s vision of a decentralized identity model exemplifies a future of data management and control,” said Angela Livingstone, CDO of Dataly Consultancy, in the report.

Solid unlocks the full potential of data for individuals and organizations, and allows individuals to act as direct participants in their data experience. At the same time, organizations can gain access to information that is both accurate and up-to-date, enabling them to create a better customer experience and offer new and innovative services. 

By storing all data about a customer in a single location, organizations can begin to truly understand what their customers need and how to connect with them. 

The Evolving Role of the CDO

These emerging technologies, coupled with new privacy regulations and shifting consumer sentiments around data use, contribute to an increasing recognition of data as a strategic asset for organizations, and to an expansion and elevation of the CDO role. 

CDOs are tasked with more responsibilities than ever before, including ensuring compliance with new data regulations, conducting regular audits, and fostering a culture of privacy within enterprises. In fact, CDOs could be on the verge of taking an even more influential and strategic seat at the executive table. 

“In the next decade, I envision data management, governance, and value extraction becoming central to the C-suite agenda, transforming the role,” said Peter Jackson, co-founder of data consultancy firm Carruthers and Jackson, in the report. 

“I predict that as organizations awaken to the critical influence of data for their survival and growth, their influence will rise significantly. The need of the hour will be for leaders who possess a deep understanding of data’s flow within the business, its vulnerabilities, and its potential for opportunity,” added Jackson.

How AI Impacts Data Leaders

In the face of a rapidly-changing data landscape, CDOs have increasing opportunities to drive digital transformation within their organizations. By leveraging advanced analytics and AI technologies, CDOs can enhance operational efficiency while improving customer experiences and fostering innovation in products and services. 

According to a report by NewVantage Partners, 92% of executives from leading corporations are increasing their investments in big data and AI, a finding that underlines the critical role of robust data infrastructure and governance.

Carlo Nebuloni, Chief Data Officer for AXA UK and Ireland, agrees that the role of CDO has changed with the advent of AI. 

“[The role] now encompasses more responsibility when it comes to our teams and unions, as well as our customer privacy and data protection, but it will continue to oversee analytics and have a strong focus on value generation, delivered in a responsible and ethical manner,” said Nebuloni.

In an era when data breaches are becoming increasingly common, issues surrounding trust are steadily moving to the top of the agenda. A survey by McKinsey found that 87% of consumers said they would not do business with a company if they had concerns about its security practices.

Like in a fast-paced game of Tetris, data leaders today must adapt and align various moving pieces — such as new technologies, emerging regulations and consumer opinion — to unlock new forms of data-driven collaboration, innovation and growth. 

You can download your copy of From Blocks to Breakthroughs: Strategies for Today’s Top Data Challenges and Opportunities here.