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Thursday November 10, 2016

The IBM Watson Data Platform
and the Rise of the Citizen Analyst

Last week I had the good fortune of being in Las Vegas as an IBM Analytics Insider at IBM’s World of Watson (WoW).

Almost 20,000 people attended WoW, filling the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and the T-Mobile Arena.

The event offered a first-hand look at IBM’s new announcements and exciting developments.

The highlight of the event was the launch of IBM’s Watson Data Platform (WDP), a new, open-source, cloud-based data and analytics platform that enables organizations to become “cognitive businesses” by simplifying and automating data-driven decision-making.

The promise is that Watson may make data analytics as simple to execute as a Google search.

Data mining, predictive and prescriptive analysis, and insights/analytics are highly specialized skills, usually requiring a Chief Analytics Officer (CAO), a Chief Marketing Technologist, and/or dedicated insights and analytics teams.

The goal of the CAO is to create value from the data—to identify new opportunities, cut costs, achieve better business outcomes, and/or gain competitive advantage.

The problem? There are currently fewer than 100 people globally who hold that exact title—Chief Analytics Officer. People with these important skills are extremely hard to find.

This is, possibly, where IBM’s Watson comes in.

Watson could herald the dawn of the “Citizen Analyst,” which could solve the CAO shortage before it becomes a widespread problem.

The Watson Data Platform’s ability to understand natural language hides the complexity from end-users, allowing “citizen analysts” to run queries and discover insights previously owned and operated by professional business analysts, CAOs, data scientists, marketing technologists, and statisticians.

No need for years of schooling in engineering, math, or statistics. No menus. No command lines. No search language. No boolean operators. No confusion. No complexity.

Simply put, Watson helps #MakeDataSimple.

How? Find out here, and learn more about the World of Watson.

As CDO Club members may recall, we’ve been following the IBM Watson trajectory for a while:

Our 2015 NYC CDO Summit featured IBM Watson Vice President Steve Abrams on How CDOs Can Profit from the Data Revolution, featuring panelists from the Harvard Business Review, IBM, the CDM Group, Bayer, and Elsevier.
Our 2016 NYC CDO Summit featured Kevin Eagan, IBM’s Chief Digital Experience Officer and GM of Digital Platforms on Success Principles for Digital Transformation, with Object Frontier Software, Healthgrades, the City of Boston, IBM, SAP, and Centric Digital.

We are excited to announce the expansion of our relationship with IBM!

In 2017, IBM will sponsor a couple of our CDO Summits, including our flagship New York City CDO Summit on April 26–27, 2017.

We’re celebrating our 5th anniversary, and have very special guests and speakers planned.

Seating is limited. Our NYC event always sells out. Register now to reserve your spot and lock in Early Bird discounts.


Steve Abrams: Vice President at IBM Watson	Kevin Eagan: Chief Digital Experience Officer at IBM


“How CDOs Can Profit from the Data Revolution” NYC CDO Summit 2015	“Success Principles for Digital Transformation” NYC CDO Summit 2016

DOUBLE YOUR EXPOSURE:

All 2017 CDO Summits are TWO-DAY events!

Due to popular demand, our 2017 CDO Summits will be TWO-DAY events, starting with our Sydney CDO Summit on 1-2 March 2017. The format will be:

Day 1 covers DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.
Day 2 covers DATA and ANALYTICS.

Come for one day, or even better, both days, to maximize your investment. As usual, we’ve stacked the agenda with the BEST digital and data leaders in the public and private sector.

REGISTER NOW for the Sydney CDO Summit for single day registration, or the 2-day package.

Join us at our upcoming CDO Summits

*Discounts Available for a Limited Time*


Early Bird Price: A$995.00 Ends November 30, 2016	Early Bird Price: $995.00 Ends December 31, 2016

SPONSOR OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE

Good news: Sponsor opportunities are now available for our upcoming events in Sydney, New York City (our 5th year), Washington D.C., and London (our 3rd year).

Sponsors love our events: We have a 5-year history of bringing together some of the most important digital and data leaders on earth, in intimate settings designed for networking.

But don’t take our word for it. Check out the brief 2-minute video below from our recent NYC CDO Summit to hear what our sponsors and speakers had to say, in their own words:

Endorsements:

“Congratulations and thanks to David Mathison for spotting the need for community and collaboration in the growing Chief Digital Officer space, and for having the wherewithal, network, and organizational talent to put together such a top-notch event in its inaugural year. Next year’s summit should be even more of a must-do for anyone working digital at senior levels in all kinds of businesses.”

– Teddy Goff: Chief Digital Strategist for the Hillary Rodham Clinton 2016 US Presidential Campaign. Former Digital Director for President Barack Obama, 2008 and 2012

“David, here’s a handy C^3 test for conference value: Did I learn at least three new perspectives? Check. Did I meet at least three interesting people? Check. Did I take back at least three relevant pieces of news I can use? Check. Flying colors for the Chief Digital Officer Summit 2013! Thank you so much, and yes, I’d be very pleased to participate next year!”

– Perry Hewitt: Former Chief Digital Officer at Harvard University

About the CDO Summit:

The CDO Summit addresses the challenges and opportunities arising from big data, the cloud, digital disruption, and social and mobile media. Our gatherings include the best digital strategists and practitioners on earth, in intimate, collegial, and supportive environments designed to encourage networking, learning, and knowledge-sharing. Visit the website.

About the CDO Club:

The CDO Club is the world’s first, largest, and most powerful network of C-suite digital leaders. Our 2,000+ members receive access to breaking news, original research, career development support, networking opportunities, and inspirational events such as the CDO Summit. Visit the website.

Contact Information:

We’d love to hear from you. Email us at info@CDOSummit.com or call +1 516 488-1143.