- +39 3406487807
- studioartem@studioartem.it
Content
Matt Mead, CTO of Chicago-based digital consultancy SPR, said the CTO role is an important part of company cohesion. To become a CTO, it is important to have the right tech skills, educational background and network. Salary may depend on level of experience, education and the geographical location. Moneypenny role of cto handles outsourced phone calls, live chat and digital comms for thousands of companies globally. Data security, QA management, and deployment issues also fall into their responsibility. If a small startup CTO works well, the company may grow quickly and the role of CTO will change significantly.
A chief technology officer is the highest technology executive position within a company and leads the technology or engineering department. They develop policies and procedures and use technology to enhance products and services that focus on external customers. The CTO also develops strategies to increase revenue and performs a cost-benefit analysis and return-on-investment analysis. For some companies, the CTO tracks and analyzes trends in big data to anticipate new technologies before competitors. For other companies, they are the operations manager for the entire engineering division, overseeing the teams that create the product/service with a mind to efficiency and security. For many SaaS and IT companies, the CTO may be the creator of the company’s core technology and responsible for presenting the technology to clients, investors, and the public.
Let’s have a look at how CTO roles and responsibilities evolve based on team maturity. By now you might have realized that the CTO’s range of duties is rather a variable than a constant. And flexibility is the main hallmark that sums up this professional role. CTOs fill multiple roles as needs change and metamorphose in sync with a company’s growth. But technical proficiency doesn’t come down just to programming skills. Instead, all CTOs have to become technical visionaries and step away from the keyboard.
They may also deal with internal IT operations if a company is small and doesn’t have a chief information officer. A chief technology officer is the executive in charge of an organization’s technological needs as well as its research and development (R&D). Also known as a chief technical officer, this individual examines the short- and long-term needs of an organization and utilizes capital to make investments designed to help the organization reach its objectives. The CTO usually reports directly to a company’s chief information officer , but may also report to the chief executive officer of the firm.
Some CTOs are also responsible for managing research and development initiatives and overseeing intellectual property at their organizations. Considering upgrading your current technology to adjust to a remote workforce? “I think the CIO role is evolving as well, but I think the CIO role is more infrastructure, keeping the lights on, creating efficiencies from sort of an IT implementation and operations perspective,” Mead said.
CTOs start out with bachelor’s degrees in a computer-science-related field. They often earn master’s degrees as well, again in computer sciences or mathematics fields—though more general MBAs are common as well. However, they may report directly to a company’s CEO, especially if there is no CIO position.
Since CTOs need to possess knowledge of every department role, experience in several different technology positions is valuable. CTOs also need to have a number of soft skills as well, including strong communications and collaboration. These executives work with many people across various functions, and the ability to collaborate well is essential. “Technology vision coupled with strategic thinking beyond technology” is important, says Ozgur Aksakal, president of the Global CTO Forum, an independent, global organization for technology professionals. A CTO focuses on product and strategy, according to Mead, whereas a CIO may be more focused on day-to-day operations.
CTOs also manage vendor relations to ensure that service expectations are delivered. After the MVP sees the light of the day, the team begins to continuously improve the product by polishing use case scenarios, adding functionality and fixing issues. The ultimate goal here is to deliver a competitive product to the market. To make the process of improvement effective the company needs to scale its team.
Representing the startup extends to engaging in speaking opportunities, conferences, and even appearing in written publications to showcase the company and its work. A CTO provides a face and personality to represent the technical endeavors of a company. A CTO with a firm grasp on operations is required to ensure the business runs smoothly. Create and execute a strategic plan; identify the exact resources necessary to put the plan into action; and oversee the entire process from start to finish.
It’s also important for a technical leader to improve the product by listening to ideas from the developers they oversee, advocating for innovative ideas, and finding paths to their implementation. A CTO needs to constantly track performance in order to maintain the productivity of their team. In a startup environment, the CTO should work closely with developers, understanding where they are finding success, and where they need work. CTOs also oversee the company’s hardware and server infrastructure and manage which internal technologies are adopted and implemented.
Understanding corporate risk and standards can be painful, but extremely valuable knowledge. The role of the CIO in the company is to develop an information strategy for business management based on advanced digital technologies, as well as to provide its IT components. The CIO also supervises the employees of the IT department and maintains https://globalcloudteam.com/ working relationships with other departments of the company and management. The very title of chief technology officer suggests that the person holding this position is responsible for technology in the organization. But this definition of the CTO’s role is too general and does not shed much light on the responsibilities of a typical CTO.
