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Gartner Predicts by 2014, More Than 10 Per Cent of Government Organisations Will Have Appointed a Chief Data Officer and Over 20 Per Cent Will Have Appointed a Chief Digital Officer

New Digital Government Strategies to Be Examined at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2013, 10-14 November in Barcelona

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The development and implementation of digital government strategies is putting the government CIO role under pressure by leading to the creation of new roles, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner predicts that by 2014, more than 10 per cent of government organisations will have appointed a chief data officer and over 20 per cent will have appointed a chief digital officer.

"Digital government strategies issued in several jurisdictions during the past 12 months, as well as the continued momentum of open government, are bringing new leadership roles to the fore," said Andrea Di Maio, managing vice president at Gartner. "In government, as well as other industries, roles like chief data officer or chief digital officer are emerging in response to the increasing importance of enterprise digital assets."

The newly created roles are likely to coexist with more traditional ones, like CIO and chief technology officer (CTO), in the short term at least, necessitating a close working relationship between new and existing roles.

"Government CIOs must establish good working relationships with chief data officers, chief digital officers or equivalent roles introduced to support the digital strategy, and identify areas where they can add value to a different role's responsibility," said Mr Di Maio. "They should also push for a clear demarcation between their role and the roles of others with regard to information by defining clear principles about ownership, purpose and use."

In the longer term, however, Gartner said the overlapping roles and the lack of a sufficiently clear distinction about responsibilities on information management, together with a loss of emphasis and enthusiasm on digital and open government strategies, will inevitably lead to rebalancing those responsibilities.

"The most vulnerable role in this scenario will be that of the chief data officer, because the tension between the internal information management focus of the CIO and the external focus of the chief digital officer, will intensify," said Rick Howard, research director at Gartner. "The application of open data principles to data other than public data will give CIOs the ability to regain a key role on driving the data architecture well beyond the externally facing remit of a chief data officer. As a result, the chief data officer role is very likely to be subsumed by the CIO or the chief digital officer. The title may remain, but the occupant will likely be reporting to the CIO or the chief digital officer."

Government CIOs need to assess whether they can and are willing to take over some or all of the responsibilities of other roles, and build a road map to do so. They should move, as soon as possible, the discussion on open data from how to best share data with the public to the broader role that open data can play when applied to non-public enterprise data.

During the next three to five years, Gartner said that the friction between chief digital officer and CIO will become more evident. While internal technology operations, as well as some aspects of technology innovation, will be left to the CTO, the battleground for CIOs and chief digital officers will be on information. By that time, all information will be digital, with other forms being a copy or an original for digital information.

Furthermore, most government organisations will have understood how to balance the value of internal information with information residing in social networks and other types of non-controlled data sources. Some of the original impetus that drove the establishment of the chief digital officer role will be subsumed by business unit leaders who now understand much more clearly the value and role of digital information, and are responsible for striking the balance between internal and external. As a result, Gartner predicts that by 2017, more than 60 per cent of government organisations with a CIO and a chief digital officer will eliminate one of those roles.

"The chief digital officer and the CIO will become information custodians, providers and, most of all, advisors. However, it will be up to the business to determine how to strategically use which information. In such a situation, there is little reason for keeping two separate roles," said Mr Howard. "Most likely, the chief digital officer role will be absorbed by, or become indistinguishable from, the CIO role. In a minority of organisations, the reverse might be true, mostly due to the negative connotation of the CIO as a "role of the past." It is quite possible that the new integrated title will be chief digital information officer."

Additional information is available in the report "Beyond the Government CIO: Chief Data or Digital Officers?" The report can be found on Gartner's web site at http://www.gartner.com/....

Mr Di Maio will further discuss digital government trends at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2013 in Barcelona, 10-14 November. Additional information about the event is available at www.gartner.com/eu/symposium. Members of the media can register for the event by contacting Laurence Goasduff at laurence.goasduff@gartner.com.

About Gartner Symposium/ITxpo

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the world's most important gathering of CIOs and senior IT executives. This event delivers independent and objective content with the authority and weight of the world's leading IT research and advisory organization, and provides access to the latest solutions from key technology providers. Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of attendees' annual planning efforts. IT executives rely on Gartner Symposium/ITxpo to gain insight into how their organizations can use IT to address business challenges and improve operational efficiency.

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The publisher indicated in each case (see company info by clicking on image/title or company info in the right-hand column) is solely responsible for the stories above, the event or job offer shown and for the image and audio material displayed. As a rule, the publisher is also the author of the texts and the attached image, audio and information material. The use of information published here is generally free of charge for personal information and editorial processing. Please clarify any copyright issues with the stated publisher before further use. In case of publication, please send a specimen copy to service@pressebox.de.