What is a Chief Technology Officer CTO? SearchCIO

They should also have great communication skills in order to articulate these ideas to staff, other C-level executives, and partners. They should additionally be able to effectively delegate tasks to a team they have helped build and that they trust will do the work accordingly. During downtime in their office, they review technology trends within their company’s industry and identify the types of IT systems that competitors use. They use this information to draft proposals for new technologies to implement in company operations. IT is an ever-evolving field, and a CTO must enhance their basic skills to stay relevant.

They always need to keep an eye on emerging technology trends, use customer intelligence, watch competitors, and the external market. All of this insight should be used to drive business model innovation well before the company can be disrupted by competitors. The CTO needs to communicate technical goals to non-technical employees and make them enthusiastic about the possibilities cto role and responsibilities it offers. However, more recently, the expectations and job description of a CTO have changed; and they have become more externally focused on technology propositions for customers. Depending on the size and focus of the company, the CTO position can overlap and interact with other senior technology roles such as the CIO (Chief Information Officer) or CDO (Chief Digital Officer).

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The market for computer and information systems managers is expected to grow with the rise of the digital age. The number of openings in this niche will increase by 16 percent between 2021 and 2031, hinting at an exciting future for chief technology officers. Along with technical expertise, they must demonstrate leadership, decision-making, management, and business strategy skills.

They support these teams through their guidance and expertise and set standards in multiple aspects of work, be it in tools, overall product delivery, or performance criteria. On a typical day, a Chief Technology Officer starts by reviewing their email and voicemail to check for any missed messages from executives, company stakeholders or managers. They meet with executives to discuss the company’s current financial stability, business opportunities and other news. They also meet with operations personnel and IT Managers to strategize ways to implement new technology systems throughout the company. While the exact form these roles take depends on a company’s size and position in their industry, the right CTO is one of the most important hires for your business. Use this CTO job description framework to craft a customized tool for finding the best candidates for your organization.

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The average salary of a CTO in the US is $160k but don’t let this number fool you. But having certificates on project management, architect, leadership, security, and other latest and relevant technology helps. Hands on experience with latest tools and technologies is not a must have but a CTO must know detailed of a new technology before making a decision to adopt it. For example, if a CTO plans to migrate its on-premises IT infrastructure to AWS cloud, the CTO must have good understanding of AWS cloud.

• The following diagram represents the executives in a large corporation, where a CTO reports to a CIO.
• The future looks bright for Chief Technology Officers, as technology becomes more and more critical to business and enabling client propositions the CTO role will only gain in stature.
• A CTO oversees the creation of new services and products and the enhancement of existing ones via means such as optimizing production performance, training and educating workers, and introducing new methods and procedures in software development.
• A solid education in a technology-related field forms the foundation of a CTO’s professional training.
• In 2009, the White House announced the appointment of the country’s very first CTO, an official in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
• CTOs in this role must have a deep understanding of technology trends, insight into how other organizations are leveraging these technologies to innovate and knowledge of how these technologies could potentially be applied within their organization.

Their primary role is to meet the agreed delivery of IT services (such as cost, timing, functionality, and scalability) for core systems. They are often very technical and may hold the head of architecture position to guide the architecture of the IT innovations. Because a CTO needs to work with the CEO on strategy, and also advise other members of the C-Suite they should have broad business expertise, especially if they want to be credible at all levels of the company.

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For decades businesses have depended on enterprise core systems to run and operate their businesses. Organizations looking to hire a CTO should seek someone who is ambitious and bold, “someone who can https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ shake the status quo, stay resilient, and turn technology into something useful for the organization,” Aksakal says. These traits can be demonstrated by earlier career choices and accomplishments.

Regardless of the size, type, or maturity of the organisation, the CTO should be the most senior technology role in the business. In my opinion, an organisation operates better when there is a single leader who responsible for all of the technology – because there is often friction when the CTO and CIO are peers. In a world where technology is core to customer propositions, it is the CTO, who should be the most senior technology executive.

CTO (Chief Technology Officer) job description

The CTO often reported to the chief information officer (CIO), which created confusion in IT circles about who did what, exactly. A good Chief Technology Officer has excellent written and verbal communication, allowing them to communicate with other Executives or lower-level management in a clear and effective manner. They should have a background in IT and have experience working in a business development role.

Chief Technology Officers are in high demand because of the responsibilities and autonomy that come with holding such a position. If the analysis is positive, the project moves on into development; otherwise, CTOs, together with other relevant stakeholders across departments and maybe management, determine which features can be cut with the least amount of impact. As I move on from a corporate career after 44 years in the technology field, it’s interesting to look back at where CTOs came from, what’s different now and what the role might entail as time goes on. As my IT contemporaries ponder their careers and how they can be most valuable to their own organizations in the future, they may find value in reflection as well. Defining the CTO role and ensuring that it is aligned with business priorities has become increasingly important in today’s era of digital transformation. Gartner Principal Analyst Samantha Searle explains that typically CTOs can have four main personas within an organization.

Technology Leadership

The chief technology officer position is among senior executives in IT companies. A CTO oversees the creation of new services and products and the enhancement of existing ones via means such as optimizing production performance, training and educating workers, and introducing new methods and procedures in software development. They usually start in entry-level roles in technical support, development and programming, database and network administration or engineering.

They are great employees to substitute for someone with sick leaves or to cover the position for several individual tasks. Thousands of companies are ready to pay larger salaries to keep skilled employees in their ranks, so the challenge is even more significant. NTT DATA Services, Kris leads client innovation programs and the IT Strategy Consulting Practice. They include patience and the ability to embrace change, live with ambiguity and work under pressure. Success comes not only from knowing technology but from having the ability to recognize and convey its impact. Get good at pattern recognition and embrace critical and comparative thinking.

Understand the 4 Common CTO Personas

Since innovation and technology go hand-in-hand, it is crucial for a CTO to have a creative mindset and stay on top of the latest technology trends. That way, their organization will be equipped to facilitate operations and development. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the company to stay ahead of the competition. The companies that incorporate the best technology are oftentimes the most successful.