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What's The Difference Between A CIO And A CTO?
an anonymous coward asks: "I'm a general manager at a software company assigned the task to set up a proposal for a more scalable management structure. I've been researching how several other companies did the restructuring when they became too large for the traditional model but I ran into one strange bit: CIOs and CTOs. Some companies have neither, some have one of these and some companies have both. I can't find a pattern regarding size or focus of the companies, since very similar companies sometimes have different structures. It gets stranger when you figure out what they do: at some companies the CIO doesn't have much to do with actual technology but at other companies the CTO even reports to the CIO! So my questions: what are the 'traditional' roles for the chief information officer and the chief technology officer? And to who do they report, the COO or directly to the president/CEO?"
CIO - Understands the _business_ information needs of the company, customers, suppliers, management (at all levels), and stockholders. These are the _stakeholders_ of the corporation's operations - and might be extended to also include government (local, state, national) and even the public. Directs the (re-) architecting of company information domains and business processes (sales, operations, supply chain, financial, human resources, etc...). Deals with information needs and business processes, but not information technology architectures, per se. Works with the CEO/President on business models and vision issues, and collaborates with business VPs to learn their needs and develop new concepts. Works with the CTO to design appropriate systems. The CIO is a _business_ person with IT experience.
CTO - Understands current technology alternatives and capabilities, including strengths/weaknesses and tradeoffs of various choices in the hierarchy of applications, databases, transactional systems, operating systems, networking, platforms... other hardware. Takes direction on business needs from the CIO (or CEO/President, if there isn't a CIO), and plans for technology evolution of the company systems. The CTO is a _technology_ person having some familiarity with the company business model.
It's a division of responsibilities proceeding from CIO overloads in the early '90s. (CIOs came first, recently supplemented by CTO positions.)
I've worked for lots of Fortune 500 companies, so I think I have a good handle on what a CIO does in traditional organizations that understand what the role of a CIO is.
A CIO, who ideally reports to the CEO, is responsible for all information technology that runs the company, all of the technology infrastructure. That means networks, servers, databases, third-party applications, programming staff, project managers, specialized consultants, etc.
A CIO spends much of her time managing a portfolio of projects, each one dedicated to a particular goal, whether it's upgrading the corporate desktops, installing new network equipment, or developing (in conjunction with consultants) a sexy new e-commerce application.
Typically, a CIO has 2 key direct reports: a Vice President of Operations, and a Vice President of Applications. The former maintains the network, the hardware, the data center, and other "static" portions of the CIO's domains, often reporting key metrics such as uptime, throughput, cycles used, etc. The latter oversees the design, development, deployment, and support of all applications throughout the enterprise. The latter emphasizes metrics for estimated time to completion, FTEs, etc.
For the last 10 to 15 years, CIOs have spent a lot of time fighting their way into the executive boardroom and getting the ear of the CEO. They have had to justify why they should report to a CEO rather than the CFO, as happens in some places, and why they can help the business strategically rather than provide mere operational support. Not an easy task, but CIOs appear to be getting their message out. And the longevity of the average CIO appears to be lengthening!
ask your chief acronym officer.