A CTO is very similar to a CIO (Chief Information Officer). Chief Technology Officers will make decisions for the overarching technology infrastructure that closely align with the organisation’s goals, while CIO’s work along side the organisation’s IT staff members to perform everyday operations.
A Chief Technology Officer should be aware of new and existing technologies to guide the company’s future endeavors. The attributes of the role of a Chief Technology Officer varies from one company to the next, mainly depending on their organisational structure.
CTOs work with the CEO on strategy and anticipate business decisions that could influence the technical direction of a company. The Chief Technology Officer can advise a CEO on technical direction, provide technical options and outline how those options will help the organisation’s overall direction.
The success of an organisation is increasingly reliant on the effectiveness of their IT systems, infrastructure and digital footprint and presence in the marketplace. The role of CTO, amongst others, is becoming more strategic to the effectiveness of business operations fostering the digital transformation of companies with technology & innovation at their core. This keeps businesses at the forefront of their markets by providing market intelligence & data analytics.