Although the positions of CTO and CIO are generally separate roles, there is overlap between the two. At salaries of upwards of $130,000 a small- or medium-sized business can’t afford to fill one let alone both positions. However, it’s too it’s possible to merge the two roles, saving time, money and resources.
Let’s take a quick look at each of their duties according to Investopedia.
The CTO’s role
CTOs generally look outward, using technology to improve the company’s customer experience—the use of the goods and services.
A chief technology officer (CTO) is responsible for overseeing the development and dissemination of technology for external customers, vendors, and other clients to help improve and increase business. They may also deal with internal IT operations if a company is small and doesn’t have a chief information officer.
The CIO’s role
CIOs generally look inward, developing and using technology to improve the company’s procedures and operations.
The CIO analyzes how various technologies benefit the company or improve an existing business process and then integrates a system to realize that benefit or improvement.
The rCTO’s role
Due to the limited financial resources of small- and medium-sized businesses, they often cannot fill either or both of these positions. This is the reason we created the rCTO.
The rCTO is a temporary position designed to fill the roles of CIO and CTO for small- and medium-sized businesses who need to gain an advantage over larger, more funded competitors.
Our technology professional comes in, creates IT strategy, identifies business critical technologies, and implements a plan for success. Businesses with a CTO operate at a greater advantage, achieving their goals faster, cheaper, and more profitably.