Expanding on Eddie Short's commentary, here's our current perspective for data leaders and professionals in 2025 regarding promotion or relegation: 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀/𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀: There's an ongoing discussion that the traditional roles might face significant changes. Consensus seems to be that if data professionals are not adding value to the business through their work, they might be at risk of being let go. The focus is shifting from merely managing data to leveraging it to drive business outcomes. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: While still critical, the emphasis is moving towards the governance aspect rather than just data management. This reflects a broader understanding that how data is used and governed is more crucial than the data itself for business success. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀: There's a strong sentiment that AI and automation could replace many traditional data engineering tasks, suggesting a potential decline in demand for roles that focus on data integration and management without adding strategic value. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Automation is expected to take over, but not necessarily by the traditional data management providers. This implies a shift towards new technologies or methodologies that might bypass conventional data management practices. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: For structured data, quality remains a priority, but there's increasing interest in unstructured data where the volume and availability might be more important than traditional quality metrics. The real challenge and opportunity lie in managing and deriving insights from unstructured data. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀: Value proposition for data professionals is increasingly about integrating data with analytics (including AI) to drive business value. This convergence is seen as the key to relevance and success in the field. Being able to use data to inform decision-making processes is crucial. 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮: There's a recognition that advanced AI can generate synthetic data, reducing the need for vast amounts of real data. This means understanding the "rules of the game" (i.e., the logic or algorithms behind data) could become more valuable than managing large datasets. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 (𝗖𝗗𝗢/𝗖𝗗𝗔𝗢): Role of Chief Data Officers or Chief Data & Analytics Officers is underscored as being about driving decisions and business change rather than focusing solely on technology or data management. The advice is to focus on decision-making and economic value, with technology leadership left to CIOs or CTOs. For data professionals to thrive in 2025, they must pivot from being custodians of data to being architects of business value through data-driven insights and decisions. The era of status quo in data roles appears to be over, with a push towards efficiency, automation, and a strategic focus on what data can achieve for the business.
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🥅 Data Leaders/ Data professionals - 2025 - it's time for promotion or relegation.... there isn't going to be a status quo! 💣 ...if you're still spending more money managing it (#data) than you are driving value from it, it's time for the Pink Slip, P45, Reduction in Force (other options for termination are available!) ⚡ Data Governance - remains critical, but it's less the data and more the 'Governance'. 💣 Data Engineers - you've had a good run, but AI will eat your breakfast, lunch and dinner... 💣 Data Management - it's going to be automated, but not by the providers you're used to (see Data Engineers).... 🎯 Data Quality - remains important for structured data, but the real action is #unstructured data, and there the requirement is data... just data (quality notsomuch)! To be valuable (and successful) you need to be in the business of bringing together Data and Analytics (which includes AI, because what is #AI, but #Analytics, sitting on top of structured and unstructured data!....) to drive #Value for the Business!!! BUT don't get too comfortable, because the really smart AI, generates it's own synthetic data, as it really just needs the 'rules of the game'... #DAMA #EDMCouncil please wake up and smell the coffee ☕ there isn't any value in being the world's most expensive librarians! It's got to be about driving value from data, not storing and managing it! #observability not just #lineage #CDO / #CDAO - the real #VALUE is not in the Data or the Analytics #TECHNOLOGY it's in driving action and change in the business, so take a leaf from the #dean Bill Schmarzo (and learn some Economics) and focus on #DECISONING. That's the job of a leader - leave the Technology to the #CIO/#CTO. Jon Cooke Daniel Rolles Mark Stouse Dan French Kyle Winterbottom Tim Ellis David Pidsley Malcolm Hawker Randy Bean