Michael Vizard explains that current IT culture is used to giving people access to only a finite amount of data. But new data management frameworks such as MapReduce and Hadoop make it possible to cost-effectively analyze large amounts of data. Many IT organizations don’t have the skills in place to master those technologies. This gap between the IT skills at hand and the desires of the business community is starting to create some tension, which could be resolved with the appointment of someone who will function as chief data scientist or officer.
One might argue that because chief information officers are theoretically in charge of information, this task would fall under their purview. But there is a world of difference between managing data and understanding the business value of that data; hence the need for a new class of business data specialists.
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