CIO vs CTO: Their key differences including job duties Workable
As a result, the role of CTO in software company also entails coming up with new ideas for updates, modifications. Many startup entrepreneurs want to employ an expert to develop a minimal viable product and then promote it. As a result, the CTO must be familiar with the tools and technology required to create an MVP. Furthermore, they are solely accountable for the final product’s quality.
Moneypenny handles outsourced phone calls, live chat and digital comms for thousands of companies globally. However, they may report directly to a company’s CEO, especially if there is no CIO position. Many large corporations need both a CTO and CIO, while smaller companies tend to have one or the other. The journey to learning a department in an organization varies from professional to professional. There are, however, similar characteristics needed to achieve success as a CTO.
Which teams should report to the Chief Technology Officer?
A CTO has to observe the market for related technology solutions, learn if they suit the company’s tech strategy and set the acquisition goals. CTOs are responsible for building technological products/services that meet the customer needs. The role of a CTO requires constant research for high-tech solutions to improve the company’s product/services.
The following diagram represents the executives in a large corporation, where a CTO reports to a CIO. Don’t make a mistake of employing a CTO just because every Silicon Valley company seems to have one. If you do think you need this person, do it for one of the following reasons. The CTO also has to execute or at least assess the tech talent acquisition.
Required Skill Set of a CTO
They are the charismatic visionary, spokesperson and are an integral part of the leadership team. Well, the role of a CTO isn’t as well defined as you might think and differs significantly based on the size and stage of a company’s growth. But in simple terms, the role can be defined as overseeing the development and dissemination of technology for external customers, vendors and clients to help improve and increase business. A chief technology officer is a high-ranking executive-level position in a company, part of the senior-level, “c-suite.” So applicants may need more than 15 years of experience in the IT field before being considered for a CTO job. This kind of CTO will help set up the corporate strategy and fuel technological infrastructure, will analyze target markets, and create business models. Additionally, the CTO will have a close relationship with the CEO and other members of the company’s senior management.
For example, an innovation-focused CTO might be measured on their product innovation, whereas an operation-focused CTO might be measured on defects or P1 incidents. With the emerging trend of the Chief Product Owner who is responsible for developing a company’s products, their partnership with the Chief Technology Officer has never been more important. Having multiple technology executives as peers creates the wrong behaviours and often creates unnecessary friction. Due to the importance of technology in the modern business environment, it is the CTO who should be the most senior technology executive. It is a common anti-pattern to have the CTO report to the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) or CMO (Chief Marketing Officer).
Work in technology roles
An important distinction to keep in mind is that not all CTOs manage the IT side of a business. While some CTOs manage help desk professionals and make decisions about the tech tools companies use, many businesses are opting to let a chief information officer (CIO) handle these things. The CIO focuses distinctly on IT and ensures those issues are in line with company goals. While not every company needs a CTO, at the very least this role can provide an alignment between a product or service’s strategy and a company’s technology strategy. After a bit of research, you’ll learn a lot of modern CTOs were former developers and project managers themselves. Today the CTO role is an integral part of how all businesses operate.
When it comes to a CTO’s base pay, data from the company review website Glassdoor estimates the average at around £93,901 a year. This pay can range anywhere between £46,000 to £193,000 depending on experience. Ultimately, a team that is inclusive is likely to be more inclined to buy into the vision. And before they buy into the vision, workers need to be able to buy into the leader. CTOs shouldn’t forget that the whole team is looking at them and the standards and best practices they set will be followed.
Technology Resource and Budget Planning
To succeed in all of these areas, the CTO must collaborate with other C-level executives. To make uncommon but successful choices, the Chief Technology Officer must be able to look at problems from a fresh perspective and come up with a novel solution. Now, we’ll discuss some tech obstacles that should be solved following the duties of a CTO.
- More important to the role than in-depth technical knowledge of hardware and code might be the ability to leverage advanced technologies (AI, big data and machine learning, for example) to set a strategic course for a company.
- Today, their roles are certainly more diverse and critical as advanced technologies emerge and impact their marketplaces.
- Most larger corporations need two technology executives, CIO, and CTO, while smaller companies have one of these two roles.
- Additionally, when introducing fresh concepts to executives or stakeholders, great communication skills might be beneficial.
- CTOs can establish surroundings where developers should be able to unite to reach ambitious objectives.
- They must be well-informed about the latest technology, be innovative, and have the leadership skills to run all technological aspects of their organization.
- So it is understandable that CTOs find the work more critical than ever, with higher reach and a greater demand placed on them for success.
According to IBM’s The CTO Revelation report, which polled 2,500 CTOs and 2,500 CIOs, 61% of CTOs saw themselves as the executive that will play the most crucial role, beyond the CEO, over the next three years. Harvey Nash says the global average wage for CTOs touches £120,000. The average CTO salary in the United States is $244,907, according to Salary.com.
Engineering tasks
A CTO can report to a CIO or CEO or both, depending on the company. While both of them have different roles, they most often work together to achieve the same goal, support and drive business growth. Strategy planning is one of the biggest job of a CTO that includes creating new products, adopting new technologies, their costs and resources, and putting this all together with a team and even hiring a team. For mid to smaller companies, a CTO may direct manager project managers, software architects, and product owners. A CTO is a technical person who is responsible for all decision making, planning, and adoption of technology in a company. In large corporations, VP, Engineering and Director, Technology may report to a CTO.
They must consider sustainability when making technological decisions, whether that be through the use of energy-efficient data centers, environmentally friendly product designs, or ethical cto roles and responsibilities material sourcing. Sustainability is the CTO’s primary responsibility, not just a trendy corporate buzzword. The importance of cybersecurity has grown along with our reliance on technology.
Drive stronger performance on your mission-critical priorities.
The importance of this dual-facing aspect of the CTO’s role emerges with particular clarity in conglomerates and multi-business-unit organizations, where cross-cutting topics are at risk of not being recognized. Companies can often uncover new, transformative opportunities by finding the ideas that fall between the cracks in the organization and scaling new initiatives so that every business unit benefits. While there are no specific certifications geared to CTOs, individuals seeking a CTO role should also pursue certifications in areas such as project management, development, programming or database administration. Strategic thinking and strong business acumen are essential in this role. We expect you to be well-versed in current technological trends and familiar with a variety of business concepts.
Sometimes a CTO can learn along the way, in tech, it’s a little more complicated. A CTO that is constantly staying on top of the latest trends is a good bet. A CTO must acquire an innovative mindset to find new ways to create products, processes, cost structures, operating models, and application development. CTO as a service comes with reduced cost, lowered risk, increased growth, and heightened value. They support the technology issues facing a company and find better solutions for the software development phase.
Established companies often look for this branch of CTO, very seldom startups. The CTO needs good leadership qualities to motivate, inspire, and retain good talent. Effective communication and being a strong advocate for change are key to helping CTOs secure buy-in and bring them on the journey. “The most important thing for me, as a CTO, is to be curious, always – and never – stop asking questions. You should always look for ways to grow your knowledge and expand your horizons,” he argues.
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