Who Should Own Analytics: IT, the Business or Both?
CIO, Friday, October 2nd, 2026
A consultant recommends IT own data engineering, the business own analytics, and a small bridging team keep the two aligned.
Drawing on client work, Arturo Torres Arpi Acero argues that putting analytics entirely in IT or entirely in the business fails in predictable ways.
IT-owned analytics tends to have strong security and governance but slow iteration, as analysts wait in ticket queues, while business-owned analytics moves faster but produces inconsistent metrics, duplicated dashboards and declining trust in the numbers.
His recommended model splits ownership: IT runs data engineering and secure access to source systems, business units own analysis, and a small central team maintains shared definitions and standards between them.