So I think, in those time the skillset of a CIO is less demanded than the skillset of a CDO. Chief data officersoversee the data in their organizations, but just what that means varies from one company to another. Since IT’s role in the organization is evolving so quickly, it should come as no surprise that IT jobs are also changing. Thank you for the clarifying post. A CTO sits between the CIO and the IT director and generally acts as a right-hand man to the CIO. However, as you said in your article, each company may describe different responsibilities to the different titles. Home » Digital Transformation » CTO, CDO, CIO Jobs Compared – Is There Really a Difference? With respect to the question you raised. Cyber security has been catapulted into the boardroom. The CIO owns the corporate IT strategy. >See also: 5 cyber security best practices for 2018: From culture to coping with BYOD Traditionally, CISOs have been brou… Top CIO Quotes: Covering Digital Transformation and Leadership, Integration Priorities for the CIO: Organization vs. What is the difference between CIO jobs and other IT-related jobs such as CTO and CDO positions? CIO vs CDO: There can be only one. Next to both roles, which have been around for a while now, the role of a CDO, a chief digital officer, has emerged recently. What is a CIO? This means that he or she is responsible for ensuring that the … Just today the focus of a CIO is much more on actually increasing profits with the use of IT. Or, as Gartner puts it, IT professionals, CIOs in particular, must also become responsible for business outcomes, as well as service delivery, maintenance, and optimization. A CTO will be involved in a lot of conversations about strategies and planning, but they are also going to be the direct link to the IT staff, help desk, and lead engineers. I had a sense of what it would entail, but your blog has definitely cleared the definitions. The CTO or Chief Technology Officer is an executive role typically report to the CIO.The CTO focuses their efforts on more long-term issues and new technology integration. the CIO shift to the role of digital leader, simultaneously offloading the operational IT responsibilities to a Chief Technology Officer (the COO of IT)? The CTO partners with other executives such as the CIO and the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) to ensure that security executives such as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) or Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) requirements and business needs are being met and the technology strategy is well understood and aligned with these other stakeholders’ projects and initiatives. CIO: focus on actually increasing profits with the use of IT, rather internally faced and is mostly responsible for processes that happen within the organization, tries to solve organizational problems with existing IT solutions. However, they operate in different organizational functions, with other daily responsibilities and goals. The Chief Technology Officer oversees the development and correct operation of information systems from the point of view of execution. The ‘Third Unbundling’ – Are We Losing Control? John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1981. http://www.computerwoche.de/a/der-cio-totgesagt-und-alle-haende-voll-zu-tun,2528153, http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2014/03/03/why-your-company-should-consider-adding-a-cio-to-the-board/#4791a363e2f6, http://www.uniforum.org/publications/ufm/nov96/cio.html, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-tapscott/do-companies-still-need-a-cio_b_6214482.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_digital_officer#cite_note-8, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_technology_officer, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_information_officer, http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tech-sanity-check/sanity-check-whats-the-difference-between-cio-and-cto/. You’ll also need to make sure they’re clearly outlined in your application process. The article... High Paying Management Jobs In businesses where there is only one IT executive, that position is considered the most-senior IT chief, and they report directly to the CEO. Some people confuse these job titles as they both manage technology in business. Organizations that can more fully utilize their technology stand a better chance of leading or even dominating their markets, Businesses that fail to effectively exploit technology, on the other hand, will find it harder to participate in a world that is becoming more digital by the day. Generally responsible for the technical teams and to implement new strategies to improve the final product. Außerdem sollten sie das Rollenverständnis Rollenverständnis und die Klischees, die den unterschiedlichen C-Jobs anhaften, überwinden, möchte man hinzufügen. In this post, we look at some of the most inspiring CIO quotes from the world’s top digital leaders – we’ll learn about digital transformation. Penrod, James I. Connected to that, another difference of both roles is that the CTO is usually responsible for the development of new technologies in a company, whereas the CIO has its focus more on organizational problems and tries to solve these with existing … Many newer roles tend to focus on digital innovation and disruption, and can focus on activities such as: Clearly, the IT field is changing rapidly and it will continue to do so for some time to come. Does every company need to have all three roles on their board? Also, if you are curious how people actually became CTOs, CIOs or CDOs and what jobs they did prior to that, I recommend you to just use the LinkedIn advanced search and search for these positions in the country of your choice. CTO, CDO, CIO Jobs Compared – Is There Really a Difference? The term CIO, Chief Information Officer, was first defined by Synnott and Gruber in 1981 as a senior executive of the organization responsible for information policy, management, control, and standards. In this post, we’ll cover the key duties of these jobs, the key differences between them, and we’ll also explore how the role of IT and IT-related jobs are evolving. Facebook is winning the blocking battle, for now, How the internet is helping us to trust strangers, information diffusion and social influence. Highlighting from your article, this is how I clarified the roles for myself: COO/CTO are arbitrary job roles that each organization may define as they see fit. Die Aufgaben und Kompetenzen von CIO und CTO überschneiden sich teilweise. CIO vs. CTO: Their key differences. The clash between the CDO and CIO The unclear scope of CDO responsibility is one of the reasons why CIO and IT see the Chief Data Officer as one more encroachment on their territory. In light of the importance of leadership capabilities for the digital transformation of an organization, chances are high that you stumble upon abbreviations like CTO, CIO or CDO. The more that technology changes, the easier it is to collect and exploit that data. They further added that the five primary functions of a CIO include participation in corporate strategic planning, responsibility for information systems planning, leading the development of corporate or institutional information policy, management of the organization’s information resources, and development of new information systems capabilities. A CTO is a Chief Technology Officer. Here is a closer look at the major differences between the CIO and CTO: Strategic focus. CTO: a more customer facing role, mostly responsible for enhancing the company’s product offerings, usually responsible for the development of new technologies in a company. Having a, For the CIO, KPIs are a crucial tool for measuring the performance of IT services and operations. Today, For today’s transformational CIO, objectives should focus not only on IT operations, but on IT strategy – that is, leveraging IT to drive digital transformation, For the transformational CIO, organization structure and digital transformation go hand-in-hand – as companies digitalize, their structures must also change. While it was once considered a back-office, technical function, today it has morphed into something far more central to business strategy and organizational performance. The mid-sized firm can probably suffice with just one information/technology chief that shifts its activities based on what the firm needs at that moment. Dann sitzen CMO, CIO und CDO am Ende hoffentlich gemeinsam in der Kneipe beim Bier, statt sich einzeln den Launen des Barkeepers auszusetzen. Nanne, thank you for your comment. Top analyst @danielnewmanUV covers this topic in a recent article. Despite the common belief that there is very little difference between CTO and CIO, these are in fact two different positions which have two different job descriptions. A similar role to the CIO position, since in some companies they share tasks. CDO. However, in addition to these “traditional” IT roles, we are also seeing the rise of completely new IT leadership positions. Yet many CIOs are also tasked with leading. Referring back to the ‘Leading Digital’ book, I do believe that adding a CDO will increase the chances of transforming a company towards a ‘Digital Master’. CTO stands for Chief Technology Officer and is generally an executive position for technology companies. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window). “The Chief Information Officer in Higher Education. Explore the differences between three upper management positions found in a company: the CIO, CTO and COO. In comparison to a CIO however, the CTO has a more customer facing role and is mostly responsible for enhancing the company’s product offerings. In some, the chief data officer mainly manages data, making sure that it’s high-quality and meaningful, and creating the infrastructure to store and deal with it appropriately. In the past many boards have overlooked cyber security responsibilities, preferring to leave them to the ‘experts’ within the business; however, that is no longer an option. Just as Nanne above, I stumbled across the term CDO in the ‘Leading Digital’ book and had I vague idea of the differences between a CTO, CIO or CDO. IT department, employees vs. technology – how can business leaders bridge the gap between the business and digital technology? IT Department, The Transformational CIO: Objectives for a Successful IT Strategy, A Guide for the CIO: Organization Structure and Digital Change. Today’s changing world presents new and exciting opportunities for IT professionals who want to expand their horizons and take on new types of work. Dear Hendrik, thank you for your interesting post. CTO . I don’t necessarily think that the CDO is an evolution of the CIO that will replace it in the long-term since they have a different focus. In other words, the IT Director is responsible for keeping systems up and running according to the company’s needs. CIO salary - $206,849 CTO salary - $161,579 CDO salary - $188,571 Some 35% of CIOs in the UK saw a salary increase in compared to the previous year, … A CIOs role is to ensure that business processes are in compliance and are running efficiently, which … CIO stands for Chief Investment Officer or Chief Information Officer; the role depends on the industry. In comparison to a CIO however, the CTO has a more customer facing role and is mostly responsible for enhancing the company’s product offerings. CIO, CTO, CDO o CSO, son los nuevos cargos que ha traído consigo la economía digital pero ¿qué es un CIO exactamente? Synnott, William R., and William H. Gruber. So it is helpful to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of each. Information resource management: opportunities and strategies for the 1980s. In some cases, CIOs and CTOs may work side-by-side, while in others the CTO may report to the CIO. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. In other companies, the chief data officer is r… Both positions need to have a strong business understanding in order to bring added value to the organization and to align their respective responsibilities with organizational goals. However, it all depends on the company’s demands and needs. Under the guidance of the CIO, the IT Director maintains adherence to company standard operating procedures (SOPs) and defined support processes. Examples of an IT Director’s responsibilities include oversight of support services, staff management, IT asset lifecycle ma… CEO vs. CIO, organization vs. Here are simple answers that will help settle the CIO vs CTO debate. How you split the duties is up to you but, in general, it’s best to have both roles. In order to do so, the CDO needs to determine the parts of the business where influencers are able to support the change and to empower these influencers. In turn, the CDO role becomes more and more valuable. ¿Y un CTO, CDO o CSO? The CIO of a business-services provider had little role in digital at all; the CEO asked him to focus only on legacy IT systems while a newly-hired CDO managed digital activities. Connected to that, another difference of both roles is that the CTO is usually responsible for the development of new technologies in a company, whereas the CIO has its focus more on organizational problems and tries to solve these with existing IT solution. The role of the #CIO is changing. While internal technology operations, as well as some aspects of technology innovation, will be left to the CTO, the … The … Professional Paper Series,# 4.” (1990). To start off, let’s cover the most basic concepts – what IT looks like today and how it is evolving. If you want to read further on this topic, I recommend you to check out my sources. CIO Vs. CTO Vs. COO. CTO vs CIO vs CDO vs CSO : Who Reports to Who? The CIO, or the Chief Information Officer, is responsible for the top level of management when it comes to a company’s technological infrastructure. The IT Director is the head of the IT department where their primary role is to oversee the daily tasks and operations. This works fine even if you are not a Premium user. As a result, questions over who has ultimate responsibility for cyber security are abound. The CDO market ballooned after 2002 as the securitization of asset backed loans grew and issuers advanced their purchases of the riskier CMO tranches. The CIO and CTO job roles are frequently confused, but there are clear distinctions between the two positions in most large enterprises. The role of a CTO, a Chief Technology Officer, shares some common attributes with the role of a CIO. That’s why, it is especially important that the person that fills in this role is not only a digital expert but also familiar with all parts of the organization. I agree with you that it depends on the size of the company, but maybe for a small to medium sized company it would be better if the CIO evolves to the CDO. In short, IT must no longer focus solely on IT services delivery, it must also focus on delivering strategic value through technology. Earlier on the CIO needed to take care of an exchange mail server, a file server, etc. For the purposes of this discussion, description will center on the engagement between the CTO (Chief Technology Officer), the CIO (Chief Information Officer), the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), the CDO (Chief Digital Officer), and the other variety of CDO (Chief Data Officer). A CTO will deliver technology, and the CIO will apply it in the company’s processes. I didn’t really know what the exact difference is, so I started to do conduct a little research and I would like to share the results with you. His major responsibility lies in digitally transforming traditional businesses to digital ones. ♟As organizations ramp up their investments in enterprise technology, the CIO’s role is expanding. Princeton notes that the differences between CTO, CIO, CEO and COO revolve around sector-specific roles. As other posters have answers, there’s no absolute answer. A Guide to CIO KPIs: Digital Transformation Edition, The 6 Biggest CIO Issues and How to Overcome Them, A Guide for the CIO: Goals that Will Drive Digital Growth, A CIO Checklist: How to Lead Digital Change After COVID-19, 3 CIO Challenges that Must Be Overcome in 2021. By reading your overview of the three, a more structured idea of the similarities and the differences has emerged. IT is a staple in the modern organization, but this business function has evolved quite a bit over the years. Traditional roles such as these will undoubtedly continue to evolve in the years ahead, so it is important for IT professionals to understand and plan for these trends. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. When I was reading the ‘Leading Digital’ book of Westerman, Bonnet and Andrew (2014) I came across the title CDO as well. You raise the question of whether it is necessary to have all these roles on the board. Based on Glassdoor, the average salary of a CTO is $166, 246. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) The CIO is internally faced and focused on the company’s bottom line – how to improve internal communication, PMO management, and process control. You can also argue that leading a digital transition is a full-time role, for which a new position needs to be created in the leadership team; the Chief Digital Officer (CDO). However, this rapid pace of change also requires that IT professionals continue expanding their skill set and embrace new levels of responsibility. For implementing digital transformation, a different skills set is needed than either the CIO or CTO possesses. Te lo contamos. As there is some overlap between the three, I believe most companies will not necessarily need three separate individuals for those separate roles. Eindeutig voneinander abgrenzen lassen sich die beiden Funktionen nicht. I hope this short summary helped you to get a better understanding of these particular roles in an organization. CMO, CIO und CDO gemeinsam in der Kneipe . Technology-driven organizations, after all, leverage, In this post, we’ll take a look at the factors that most influence the CIO organization chart and the structure of IT departments. Especially in small to medium sized enterprises, this will not be the case. A CTO doesn't necessarily have to have these skill if backed up by a strong operational person in the role of CIO. The CIO Organization Chart: How Are IT Units Structured? Chief Data Officers (CDOs) are responsible for the utilization and governance of data within an organization. But I think it would help them if they clearly define the role and most small to medium businesses I belive have rother old definitions of their role of a CIO. CDO: Major responsibility lies in digitally transforming traditional businesses to digital ones. Hi Hendrik. However, where two or more positions are held, most common in big businesses, hierarchical levels tend to get a … So transforming this role to a CDO would make a lot of sense to these companies. A large technology oriented company (more than a few hundred employees) should have both. A CIO has to be operational and understand how to build repeatable processes, reliable systems, and the organization to run them. Please keep in mind that these are not fixed roles and every company can interpret a role differently and the roles have been changing throughout the past. From the definition, you can also tell that a CIO is rather internally faced and is mostly responsible for processes that happen within the organization. They identify ways to streamline internal technical processes, make IT operations more efficient, and increase profit. First of all, I guess it depends on the size of the firm. I totally agree with you that small businesses are most likely not dependent on having all three roles on the board. Mehr noch als beim CIO stehen beim Chief Technology Officer technologische Aspekte im Zentrum – sowohl was die Infrastruktur im Unternehmen betrifft, als auch das Know-how und die Kenntnisse der Mitarbeiter. I believe this definition is still quite accurate to describe the role of a CIO today. A simple distinction is that the CIO typically looks inward, aiming to improve processes within the company, while the CTO looks outward, using technology to improve or innovate products that serve the customers. Even today, Google has no CTO, CDO, CIO — they have engineers and a product team. Today you sign your business up with google, dropbox, amazon aws and you don’t need to configure anything. Or do you think the CDO is just an evolution from the CIO and will make this role redundant? CTO vs CIO. A wonderful team of Digital Adoption, Digital Transformation & Change Management Experts. Take a look:https://t.co/6NRPFe9Zro#YourLegacyAwaits pic.twitter.com/0KGjuBb5i2. Allerdings betrachtet und bewertet der CTO neuste technologische Trendsimmer auch in Hinblick auf ihre strategische Bedeutung für das e… Jaimy, thank you for your answer! The Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), the latter of which is also known as a Chief Security Officer (CSO), are two very important C-level, executive roles within an organization with a focus on the strategic use, planning, management, implementation, protection and securing of an enterprise’s data and Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. A CDO is vital to evangelize digital thinking and push through change that embrace new opportunities and threats presented by digital disruption. I agree with Nanne that I don’t think that the CDO is an evolution of the CIO, as the focus of both titles is different. They also need to have a technical background, so that they can understand and evaluate the underlying technologies in a business. This type of chief data officer leaves data analytics to a chief analytics officer or another function. I agree the skills needed are different for both, but also the tasks are.