Challenges of a CIO/CTO
Quite a number of companies
around the world, especially IT organizations have positions of Chief
Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Although there is a huge difference in their
responsibilities, for most organizations, these officers work simultaneously to
achieve the IT goals of the business. The two officers are responsible for
creating dynamic technological products through different skill sets and
ensuring those products acceptance by both the internal and external users. Due
to the similarities in their responsibilities, most small companies do not see
the essence of having both positions and thus they prefer an officer serving
both roles.
Source:www.martincomputersolutions.com
Who is a Chief Information
Officer (CIO)?
A CIO is an officer whose basic
focus is on improving and enhancing the efficiency and delivery of internal
activities or processes for providing quality services to the clients. The
officer is responsible for providing the extensibility and dexterity needed by
a business for competent operations and also to identify the best areas to
invest in the business entity. The CIO is also focused on policy making and
upkeep of operations in the internal system. Moreover, he supervises the staff,
activities and technological processes within the IT unit of the company to
ensure adequate and quality delivery of outcomes that align with the goals of
the business. A CIO is charged with basic leadership functions related to crucial
technical, management and strategic drives involved in providing security, sets
of rules to solve problems in the processes and satisfactory customer
experience. These also involve the power to influence data for the purpose of
alleviating threats in order to boost business growth. Succinctly, a CIO is an
executive of a company with the operational functionality of management, discharge
and utilization of information and computer technologies coupled with analysis
of how these technologies are advantageous to the company and its business
process.
The basic roles of a CIO
include the following:
- * Controls the organization’s internal IT processes
- * Works to align the business goals with the technological services provided
- * Focuses on the internal consumers (IT units and users within the organization)
- * Partner and manages vendors that supply the needed IT infrastructure to the organization Designs and implements strategies aimed at generating profits for the company
- * Ensures security and availability of authentic information Project management
- *Capital planning and utilization
- * Technology assessment
Source:www.drjeffdaniels.com
As technology is evolving day
by day, the CIO is faced with a series of challenges for justifying his
position and validating the company’s investment. These challenges include:
·
The CIO has to be a skilled and highly organized
manager with swift coordination to excel in the position
·
Sourcing for new opportunities and ideas that
can be incorporated into the business to boost its growth
·
The position requires vast knowledge on the
operations of the company; hence, a CIO must employ the needed skills and staff
to achieve the goals
·
The CIO must get updates on technology trends for
the organization to be well-grounded in the competitive market
·
Staff management and retention
·
Ability to cope with massive influx of data
arising from the rapid growth and change in the IT trends
·
Integration of data from both cloud and in-house
systems to ensure unlimited data access.
·
The CIO needs to have skills to cope with the
super speed of technology evolution happening at all times
·
Encouraging flexibility of access to services by
enabling mobile workforce while actively securing data
·
The CIO must provide cost-effective services,
techniques and resources
·
Ultimately, he must be involved in securing the
business data by preventing cyber-attacks with an efficient early detection and
swift response system
Who is a Chief Technology Officer (CTO)?
The CTO is a company’s
executive who oversees the provision and execution of current technology in
line with the company’s aim and vision. A CTO is responsible for evaluating the
short-and long-term objectives and requirements of an organization and invests
in the management of research and development of technological resources. In
order to enhance the quality of products and services provided to the external
customers, the CTO develops and implements policies, strategies and procedures
that improve the technology and thus benefit the business. It is also the responsibility of the CTO to establish
processes that will boost revenue and reduce costs. In summary, the CTO is
responsible for provision and management of technologies that boost the
business externally.
The following roles are
performed by a CTO in any organization no matter how big or small it is:
- *Functions actively as the organization’s technology planner
- * Enhances the company’s revenue with technological products
- * Focuses on the delivery of satisfactory services to external customers
- * Aligns the company’s technological plan with the business objectives
- * Implements tools for use by employees
- * Monitors technology trends and standards
- *Conducts thorough research
- * Maintains compliance to regulations
Source: www.govloop.com
Challenges faced by the CTO
include:
- · Coordinating with other units of the organization, especially the engineering and marketing departments for making a long-term strategy
- · Taking pragmatic decisions even when faced with strong oppositions on the implementation of a strategy
- · Managing the business and technical affairs
- · The fear of sabotage or failure of an implemented policy
- · Hiring required talents and retaining existing employees by creating an internal culture that encourages smooth working to strengthen the technical team
- · Maintaining a platform that promises reliance and efficient services to the external customers
- · Preparing cost-effective plans that meet with the budget of the company and also satisfy the needs of the external customers
- · Ensuring the safety of existing data
- · Ensuring the quality of products provided to the customers because if the products produced do not meet the requirements of the customers, it is a total failure.
The most common challenges
faced by both CIO and CTO positions are security of data, cloud computing,
retainment of staff, cost-consolidation, massive influx of data and
infrastructure. Conclusively, it is very important that a symbiotic
relationship exists between both these professionals in order to maximize the
company’s revenue and profits.
Other blogs by the author
55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
Other blogs by the author
55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01
Comments