Understanding How Technology Impacts C-Level Business Roles

We’ve all heard the title CEO before, business shorthand for Chief Executive Officer. In fact, it may be a title that you hold yourself. While the CEO of a company is undoubtedly important, it is crucial to consider what other c-level roles should also be filled. As a technology-centric company, we often consider roles like the CIO, the CTO, and soon enough, the CDO to be just as important. 

Let’s consider these positions, and why they are only becoming more important for a company to fill – officially, or unofficially.

How Technology is Represented in the C-Suite

CIO

Chief Information Officer
When a company selects someone to be the CIO, that person is then responsible for everything IT within the company. From maintenance, to policy making, to every other consideration, the CIO will probably have their hands in it; and, as technology has grown in importance and impact in the workplace, so has the importance of having someone serve as a CIO.

This importance is only exacerbated by the prevalence of cyberattacks and other threats today. Companies have had their eyes opened to the importance of comprehensive defenses, and therefore want to have an informed person somewhere near the top to help prioritize these defenses.

As an executive, the CIO is more focused inwards, toward the company itself. Their job is to work amongst the departments, vendors, and service providers to make sure that all goes smoothly and that their organization’s needs are met.

CTO

Chief Technology Officer
On the other side of the coin, the CTO focuses outward, focusing on how technology can be used to improve what they offer (rather than how their offering is delivered), boosting the top line rather than the bottom. With remote data storage and cloud computing rising in popularity, CTOs have seen a similar upswing.

To effectively fulfill their responsibilities, a CTO will need both the background with the technical side of technology solutions as well as the creative spin to take these solutions to new areas in unique applications. As such, a CTO also needs the ability to cultivate relationships with their engineers and developers to better work together to visualize and achieve their goals. On a related note, vendor relationships are also a huge component of the CTO’s wheelhouse, as these relationships are key to ensuring the supply is there to accomplish the goals that the CTO has envisioned.

CDO

Chief Data Officer
Finally, you have the CDO, whose role has developed as data’s importance has increased. The CDO is effectively the gatekeeper over your data, ensuring that it is up-to-date and protected, while still accessible to your employees. This data can be used to add value to their offering, gain insight into their ecosystem, and to better measure quality through more in-depth analytics.

Admittedly, this c-level position is a controversial one, as many businesses feel that their tasks aren’t the kind that require an additional c-level position to be “created,” so to speak. 

Nevertheless, more organizations are leveraging a CDO to help them better lock down their use of their data, as well as its security.

What Does This All Mean?

In so many words, the fact that these c-level positions are popping up so often is indicative of the clearly apparent shift toward technology and its true importance to modern businesses. This shift is permeating businesses at all levels, from small shops to global enterprises.

However, it is also important to acknowledge that adopting technology is often simpler for larger businesses, with their larger resources and much larger budgets. Small businesses can have a tougher time adopting these more-and-more-needed solutions, which is where the services of a managed service provider can be beneficial.

With the budgetable services that an MSP can provide, these solutions become accessible to small businesses – which results in greater potential for these businesses. From security, to productivity, to profitability… there are few ways that an MSP can’t benefit a business.

Furthermore, we can help to assist your business as a stand-in for a member of the c-suite in the form of a Virtual CIO service. This service gives a business access to the same benefits that the CIO can bring, without needing to hire a specialized resource. 

To learn how Directive can assist your business with its technology needs, reach out to our team by calling 607.433.2200.