That doesn’t always mean a CTO oversees the IT department or help desks. Instead, they blend knowledge of existing and emerging technology to provide a business with the best solutions possible for the future. A chief technology officer (CTO) is responsible for overseeing the planning and development what is the role of a cto of technology for a company’s customers, vendors, and internal employees. The goal is to improve productivity and business output and reduce the cost and time. Originally a chief information officer (CIO) previously performed dual roles as CIO and chief technology officer (CTO).

“It’s difficult to say what the perfect CTO looks like because it will be led by what sector you’re in, how big the organisation is and what the ultimate product or service is.” When it comes to a CTO’s base pay, data from the company review website Glassdoor estimates the average at around £93,901 a year. This pay can range anywhere between £46,000 to £193,000 depending on experience.

The CTO’s role in GenAI adoption

They may also deal with internal IT operations if a company is small and doesn’t have a chief information officer. The CTO job role has expanded to include producing individualized customer experiences that would previously have been handled by marketing or product development teams. When CTOs assist in developing business plans, they guarantee that consumers receive actual benefits from a product or service. They are entirely familiar with the product, the market, and consumers and may turn this data to their advantage. This category of CTOs has a vision, being excellent at conveying it to the rest of the team. They should keep track of the latest technology trends in the industry and be ready to implement the relevant ones in their software products.

They might, for example, have started their career as a software engineer and will always understand the nuances of technology. In many ways, the rise of these new C-suite positions has heaped more pressure on the CIO than the CTO. While the CIO focuses on internal applications of technology, the CTO is very much externally focused. In these companies, the CTO – as well as being an expert technologist – becomes the external face of the vendor’s technology offering. Some businesses only have one or the other – and in these organisations, the person holding the title, whether CIO or CTO, is the most senior tech chief in the enterprise.

The Next-Gen Chief Technology Officer

The independent professional can mentor and upskill the internal team members, enhancing their capabilities and empowering them to take on more significant responsibilities in the long run. CTO as a service for startups brings a plethora of experience and expertise from working with various companies across different industries. Their diverse background allows them to offer fresh insights and solutions to technology challenges. It can be time-consuming and expensive to hire a perfect Chief Technology Officer these days.

• Most of the software development, technology choice and adoption, and building new products usually falls under a CTO.
• This depends on a number of factors, including the company’s location, how big it is, and how much experience the CTO has.
• The practices and culture found in a startup are quite different from larger companies.
• “CTOs sit at the intersection of business, leadership, and technology; communicating business needs to the tech teams or explaining technical requirements to the business side.
• While hiring developers in Ukraine or Eastern Europe may also yield cost savings, the time zone difference may present challenges depending on the team’s availability for collaboration.

Despite the titles, the CTO has more of an outward-looking, strategic planning role, while the CIO has more of a technology-focused, operational role. Generally, a CIO is responsible for technologies that run the company’s internal operations and business procedures. The CTO is responsible for technologies that grow the business externally, implementing services and products that serve clients and customers. And conversely, these specialists have a solid background in providing software development services and leading an engineering team. They are, in fact, senior developers that can solve problems faster and find the best solutions. While positions in the following categories may only require a few years of experience, people seeking managing or directorial positions should have about 10 years of experience and more.

The evolving definition of the CTO

Top performers can work their way up and gain leadership experience through roles like engineering manager and information security manager. Chief technology officers are executive leaders who design and oversee technology strategies, procedures and practices. They ensure an organization has the technological resources to deliver top-performing products and services and meet business goals. They need to ensure that all instruments – in this case, applications, software and services – are in harmony.

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Latest Development and Engineering Jobs

New technologies are emerging all the time, and companies need to adopt them quickly to stay ahead of their competitors. A company that fails to keep up with advances in technology is likely to go broke and withdraw from the market. In this guide, we’ll explore some best practices for engineering managers hosting one-on-ones with team members. While hiring developers in Ukraine or Eastern Europe may also yield cost savings, the time zone difference may present challenges depending on the team’s availability for collaboration.

Lexical scoping refers to the semantic scope of variable names in a function or program. In other words, lexical variable scope answers the questions of whether a given variable has meaning outside of the function it is written in – and this is determined by the surrounding code. Structured programming is a programming paradigm that favors one, singular structure per program. Understanding and being able to navigate the startup world is definitely a quality to look for in a CTO. From being able to secure funding for a venture to leveraging its network to grow the company, it definitely pays off to have somebody familiar with the startup scene. Representing the startup extends to engaging in speaking opportunities, conferences, and even appearing in written publications to showcase the company and its work.

Learn about technology

The CTO position often overlaps with other jobs, in particular, that of the chief information officer (CIO)  or chief science officer. Depending on the company’s size and focus, it may have some or all of these positions. In some environments, the CTO might oversee infrastructure or act as a strategic planner or customer relations liaison.

Startups demand a different approach, where the survival of the company rests on their ability to adapt and roll out new ideas quickly. Those who love all things IT will likely already have the knowledge needed to land a position with a company. You’ll also need to start small, learn the ropes and work your way up into a management position. “A CIO who’s only focused on enterprise systems and transformation might find that they are usurped by an exciting R&D-focused CTO who’s going to really change the game for the company,” he says. The average CTO salary in the United States is $244,907, according to Salary.com. Glassdoor reports that a recently placed CTO snared a £200,000 annual salary, plus a £50,000 annual bonus.

Customer engagement

Founders gather round to brainstorm, develop their ideas, and draft a viable business plan. Having lots of technical expertise, a CTO (who is often a co-founder) validates the technical feasibility of the business idea and suggests potential technical solutions to implement a software product. Chief technology officers oversee technology or engineering departments and often report to the CEO.