Monday, June 23, 2008

What’s the difference between the CIO and CTO positions?”

When you start talking about IT leadership roles and IT career tracks, the question that almost always comes up is “What’s the difference between the CIO and CTO positions?”


Here’s a quick breakdown of the distinguishing characteristics of those two roles.

CIO
· Serves as the company’s top technology infrastructure manager
· Runs the organization’s internal IT operations
· Works to streamline business processes with technology
· Focuses on internal customers (users and business units)
· Collaborates and manages vendors that supply infrastructure solutions
· Aligns the company’s IT infrastructure with business priorities
· Developers strategies to increase the company’s bottom line (profitability)
· Has to be a skilled and organized manager to be successful

CTO
· Serves as the company’s top technology architect
· Runs the organization’s engineering group
· Uses technology to enhance the company’s product offerings
· Focuses on external customers (buyers)
· Collaborates and manages vendors that supply solutions to enhance the company’s product(s)
· Aligns the company’s product architecture with business priorities
· Develops strategies to increase the company’s top line (revenue)
· Has to be a creative and innovative technologist to be successful