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Gartner: Organizations Are Evolving D&A Operating Model Because of AI

A majority (61%) of organizations are forced to evolve or rethink their data and analytics (D&A) operating model because of the impact of disruptive artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, according to a new Gartner, Inc. survey.

"Responding to the rapid evolution of D&A and AI technologies, CDAOs are wasting no time in making changes to their operating model," said Alan D. Duncan, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. CDAOs are doing it to support data-driven innovation and accelerate organizational agility, with data governance at the core.

When asked about changes CDAOs need to make to their D&A operating model to be fit for current and future purpose, 38% of CDAOs said that their D&A architecture will be overhauled over the next 12-18 months, and 29% said they will revamp how they manage data assets and adopt and apply governance policies, practices and standards.

CDAOs Are Expanding Responsibilities

"While the management of their organization's D&A operating model is increasing year over year, no other role than the CDAO has the responsibility of many of the key enablers of AI, which include data governance, D&A ethics, and data and AI literacy," said Duncan. "The scope of responsibilities of the CDAO role has also expanded as budget and resource constraints become even more of a problem."

Among the CDAO's key responsibilities are managing the D&A strategy (74%) and D&A governance (68%). Being accountable for AI is also high on the CDAO's agenda. The survey found that 49% of CDAOs said generative AI (GenAI) is within their scope of primary responsibilities. AI is within scope for 58% of CDAOs, which is an increase from 34% in 2023.

CDAOs to Negotiate the Way D&A Is Funded

The expansion of responsibilities entails a significant cost for CDAOs. Among CDAOs who report a year-over-year increase in their function's funding, 46% still report budget constraints as a challenge. "CDAOs who present better business cases to CFOs, receive better and quicker funding for their D&A initiatives. They also gain higher executive buy-in," said Duncan.

CDAOs must explain to the CFO how any change in D&A funding models aligns to the ratio of D&A value propositions as a utility, enabler or driver of the organization. "However, only 49% of surveyed CDAOs have established business outcome-driven metrics that allow stakeholders to track D&A value. In addition, 34% have not established business outcome metrics for D&A," said Duncan.

CDAOs need to grow their power and influence to make things happen. They also must understand the value levers and pain points of the organization end to end to showcase their value to the board. "If not, by 2026, 75% of CDAOs who fail to make organization-wide influence and measurable impact their top priority, will be assimilated into technology functions," said Duncan.

Methodology: The annual Gartner Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) survey was conducted from September through November 2023 among 479 chief data and analytics officers, chief data officers (CDO) and chief analytics officers (CAO) across the world.

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Gartner: Organizations Are Evolving D&A Operating Model Because of AI

A majority (61%) of organizations are forced to evolve or rethink their data and analytics (D&A) operating model because of the impact of disruptive artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, according to a new Gartner, Inc. survey.

"Responding to the rapid evolution of D&A and AI technologies, CDAOs are wasting no time in making changes to their operating model," said Alan D. Duncan, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. CDAOs are doing it to support data-driven innovation and accelerate organizational agility, with data governance at the core.

When asked about changes CDAOs need to make to their D&A operating model to be fit for current and future purpose, 38% of CDAOs said that their D&A architecture will be overhauled over the next 12-18 months, and 29% said they will revamp how they manage data assets and adopt and apply governance policies, practices and standards.

CDAOs Are Expanding Responsibilities

"While the management of their organization's D&A operating model is increasing year over year, no other role than the CDAO has the responsibility of many of the key enablers of AI, which include data governance, D&A ethics, and data and AI literacy," said Duncan. "The scope of responsibilities of the CDAO role has also expanded as budget and resource constraints become even more of a problem."

Among the CDAO's key responsibilities are managing the D&A strategy (74%) and D&A governance (68%). Being accountable for AI is also high on the CDAO's agenda. The survey found that 49% of CDAOs said generative AI (GenAI) is within their scope of primary responsibilities. AI is within scope for 58% of CDAOs, which is an increase from 34% in 2023.

CDAOs to Negotiate the Way D&A Is Funded

The expansion of responsibilities entails a significant cost for CDAOs. Among CDAOs who report a year-over-year increase in their function's funding, 46% still report budget constraints as a challenge. "CDAOs who present better business cases to CFOs, receive better and quicker funding for their D&A initiatives. They also gain higher executive buy-in," said Duncan.

CDAOs must explain to the CFO how any change in D&A funding models aligns to the ratio of D&A value propositions as a utility, enabler or driver of the organization. "However, only 49% of surveyed CDAOs have established business outcome-driven metrics that allow stakeholders to track D&A value. In addition, 34% have not established business outcome metrics for D&A," said Duncan.

CDAOs need to grow their power and influence to make things happen. They also must understand the value levers and pain points of the organization end to end to showcase their value to the board. "If not, by 2026, 75% of CDAOs who fail to make organization-wide influence and measurable impact their top priority, will be assimilated into technology functions," said Duncan.

Methodology: The annual Gartner Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) survey was conducted from September through November 2023 among 479 chief data and analytics officers, chief data officers (CDO) and chief analytics officers (CAO) across the world.

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According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

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In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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