Take the path that feels right for you and, as always, you can count on our enrollment advisors if you ever have any questions. Their executive titles and positions in the company make them both high-powered jobs to pursue. Both are essential for the development of a company on both the technical and business sides. Identify new technology programs necessary for your industry, like single look complex products or enterprise research planning. According to PayScale, the average chief information officer of a company will earn around $166,771 per year.

An effective CIO is equipped with knowledge about how to improve the efficiency of internal systems. He or she is normally the figurehead for the technology chief technology officer roles and responsibilities and the tech team. Many companies, as mentioned, have hired CDOs to help their business to focus on new digital-first operating models.

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Managing client relations and ensuring that service objective expectations are met. Like the CDO, the Chief Technology Officer is a role that sits under and reports to the CIO in a typical company. In short, Chief Information Officers are often the highest-level IT leaders in an organization. Many other IT leaders, including CDOs, report directly to the CIO, who, in turn, reports to the CEO and the board. The problem is that the titles do little to illustrate the critical differences between CIOs, CDOs, and CTOs. I was curious of the difference and your link populated in my Google searches.

It is their responsibility to identify research and evaluate new tools, hardware, and technology, and ensure that the IT infrastructure and networking can cope with the long-term growth trajectory of the company. Any business seeking to implement an important IT project needs to have CIO on board to competently direct this process from within rather than relying on external consultants. A CIO manages the interplay between the commercial objectives of the company, customer needs, and the IT infrastructure of the company. CIOs must confidently straddle all these areas and have the technical knowledge to plan and implement all aspects of the organization’s information and communication technology , including the outsourcing of IT support. PwC’s Priest, on the other hand, is starting to see a role reversal at some companies, with CIOs looking outward and CTOs focused internally. He said it now is common for CIOs to hold prominent positions in the C-suite, actively engaging in business strategy and collaborating with leaders across the business on topics related to tech and beyond.

This executive is uniquely positioned and equipped to serve businesses that increasingly rely on technological innovation and data management. CIOs are valuable because there is a recognized shortage of senior IT professionals with the interpersonal, communications, and leadership skills and experience to take on this role. A lack of IT expertise at the board level can threaten the essential digital transformation of companies, so this role is extremely valued. Historically, the line between these two roles was sometimes blurry. However, many people get chief technology officers confused with chief information officers because they both happen to manage business technology. When it comes to your Master of Science in Management Information Systems , you can reach for C-suite executive positions that chart the course of your department and establish policies.

The CIO and CTO both have a deep understanding of the technical needs of your business. As such, it can be tempting to merge the two roles into one, especially for smaller companies that can’t afford to staff both positions. However, you shouldn’t substitute one for the other because both roles are vital to your company’s success. Most CTO positions are customer-facing in that they’re in charge of using technology to meet customers’ needs.

The Development of the CTO Role

CIOs, like most C-suite executives, focus on goals, rather than projects. A CIO’s primary responsibility is to identify the future IT needs of their company, and then come up with a plan of how to best implement those solutions. Still, a great convergence appears to be underway, asurveyof 415 CIOs and CTOs by Transposit finds. The data shows both positions have taken on significantly increased responsibility for business strategy. Is an industry veteran who has both business leadership and technical skills. This type of CTO pushes boundaries, finding ambitious new ways for organizations to implement technology.

Depending on the industry, or organization, these offices consist of different responsibilities. But generally a CIO is responsible for technologies that run a business internally while a CTO is responsible for technologies that grow the business externally. An article from Oracle’s ProfIT magazine explains the distinction between the two roles in larger organizations. How you approach business processes and technology strategy will largely determine which role you would be best suited to. Both roles will help improve the efficiency of the business, but your goals must outline which part of the business is your passion.

The two don’t always have to interconnect or work together all the time. Their strategies may come across as conflictive sometimes, but working together by understanding the difference between them is what helps to increase innovation in the organization. Another critical role of the CIO is to ensure that the IT infrastructure of the company is compliant with government standards. In countries like Canada, they have rules in terms of storing customer information.

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These are the CTOs who dream up new SaaS products or find other unique offerings to attract new customers and grow a business’s bottom line. The roles of both CTO and CIO require extensive technical knowledge and skills to understand what technologies are needed for a company’s technology products and infrastructure. Thus, if you really enjoy learning about new technologies and applying them to businesses, this role could be for you. However, the difference between a CTO and CIO is that the CTO position is a more customer-facing role. The goal of a CTO is to use technology to enhance the company’s offerings and external products. They must inhabit a customer’s mindset and know how to leverage technology to provide a better experience to external customers.

• For example, CIO-driven initiatives that change internal technology systems and processes will often indirectly impact customer experience or service quality.
• They manage the development and delivery of the company’s technology products and services in a manner aligned with the company’s goals and standards.
• Generally, an IT director will be given a plan with specifications for a project developed by executive leadership or the CIO and is then tasked with implementing and coordinating it.
• CIOs and CTOs develop company strategies and policies concerning their specific fields of expertise.

The CISO also works with IT but manages the security side of the business. Cybersecurity is vital to the wellbeing of a business, and the CISO role is responsible for managing data security risks. A solid risk management framework allows a business to successfully evaluate and prepare for risks involved with new deals and technology development.

Chief Information Officer (CIO) Role

Maintain at least five years in a leadership role pertaining to information technology. AI is a growing aspect of technology that is becoming harder and harder to ignore. For developers and information technology professionals, AI has helped simplify their roles as well as present new challenges and possibilities. Payscale reports that the number https://globalcloudteam.com/ of years in position massively increases CIO salary, with entry-level CIOs earning upwards of $100,760, mid-career execs earning $129,987 or more, and veteran CIOs raking in over $176,836. Both professionals have deep technical knowledge of their fields. CIOs and CTO can shape a company’s direction by implementing specific types of technology.

In the case an organization does not sell technology as a service, a CTO is the person behind developing the company’s own websites, applications, and digital customer engagement tools. In short, they hold a deep understanding of the technical needs of the business. The opportunities are truly endless as the need for more robust technology systems grows. The role of the CIO has grown tremendously since 2020 — which some say was “the year digital transformation really took off,” according to ServiceNow’s chief innovation officer, Dave Wright, in a 2020 article for Forbes. The CIO and CTO roles are very similar and probably heavily shaped by the organization they are part of.

The skills and knowledge you gain during your studies carry over long after you graduate. These skills will build on each other and, as you navigate the working world, you’ll be glad you took the time to gain graduate-level knowledge as your base. For example, a CIO would approach AI in how it relates to improving the lives of their developers, whereas a CTO would use AI to better collect data for their marketing and sales teams. ZipRecruiter noted that qualified professionals can earn more by advancing past a CIO position and providing higher value to the company by taking on additional responsibilities.

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Another 28% say ownership of managing SaaS or operating commercial off-the-shelf software in their organization is a shared responsibility. The chief information officer is an executive who strategizes technology initiatives for the company. Since the emergence of cloud computing, hybrid workspaces and big data analytics, a CIO is responsible for managing these new expectations and developing a plan for staying on top of emerging technology. However, the day-to-day management of a computer system falls to the chief operations officer of IT. Priest said PwC worked with a large U.S.-based health insurance company that underwent a significant transformation of its IT organization. The CIO took a prominent role in the C-suite, helping shape not only the data and technology strategies but also the business strategy.

Differences Between CIO and CTO

This could mean implementing automation, transitioning from in-house data to cloud data, or making other major moves that drastically affect — and improve — the way a corporation uses technology. The service leader CIO is all about making technology work for those who need it most. Then the 2010s happened along with a proliferation of innovations like wireless communications, big data analytics, and mobile devices. That’s when the CIO role began to take on a strategic planning component. With new technologies always emerging, CIOs need to develop strategies that keep their companies competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace.

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Both roles require technical, financial and organisational experience. CTOs are usually post-grads with significant industry experience in science and tech-related fields and strong technology-related management skills. Since technology advances so quickly, the CTO role spends a significant amount of time researching the latest updates. The CTO also manages the research and development team to find innovative ways to improve offerings. Once a new solution is identified, the CTO works with engineers and developers to expand product and/or service offerings.

The CIO’s role is to ensure that downstream is compliant with all these requirements by conducting trainings and regular internal audits. The CIO role focuses more on the application of information technology towards improving internal processes and services, reducing costs. There was a day when CTOs would rarely if ever have direct contact with the customer. Today, it’s business critical that they know and understand the customer. Staying close to the customer via direct contact, customer support and sales & marketing, enables the high achieving CTO to understand intimately what the market wants from their product.