Learn about the essential roles and responsibilities of a Chief Technology Officer and how they drive innovation and success within an organization.
Chief Technology Officer Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Technology Officer or CTO is one of the positions in a company that is responsible for making decisions related to the entire technology infrastructure. Therefore, CTO can be said to be the highest position for technology matters in a company. No wonder, if CTO needs someone with high responsibility and qualifications.
In today’s era, the need for someone who understands technology is one of the important elements of a company, especially business. This is the reason for a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure the alignment of technology strategy with company goals. So, what exactly does CTO mean and what is its role in the company?
List of contents
- Definition of CTO
- CTO Duties
- The role and types of CTO in a company
- Types of CTO
- Infrastructure
- Planner
- Consumer Focused
- Thinker
- Differences between CEO, CFO, CTO, and COO
- CTO
- CEO
- COO
- CFO
- 8 Skills a CTO Must Have
- Leadership
- Communication
- Decision Making
- Business Understanding
- Organization
- Technological Capabilities
- Keep up with the latest technology trends
- Knowing the Recruitment Candidates
- CTO Career Path
- Closing
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- Economics Category
- Related Materials
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Chief Technology Officer or CTO can be said to be an executive in a company who has responsibility for the needs, research, and development of technology. The work done by the CTO will be directly reported to the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Discussing executives in the technology field, a company usually does not stop at the CTO. The company will also need a Chief Information Officer (CIO) executive to maximize the company’s goals. Although many are confused about the difference between CTO and CIO, these two positions are basically very closely related to technology management in a company. However, both are very different executive positions.
Chief Information Officer usually has the task of managing the infrastructure and operations of the company’s information technology (IT). This section is responsible for implementing technology systems and products to simplify internal business processes. In addition, the role of CTO is specifically designed to build technology products or services so that they can meet the needs of the company’s customers.
Initially, the CIO position could play two roles in the company, starting from the CIO itself to the CTO. However, as the world of technology developed, the CTO was separated considering that both positions have vital roles. The separation was carried out with the aim of maximizing the contribution of technology to the company’s productivity.
However, some companies now may only have a CTO or CIO. However, there are also some companies that still fill both positions. In general, large-scale companies will need both roles. Meanwhile, for small-scale companies, they only have one.
CTO Duties
In an article on Investopedia , a person who serves as a CTO usually leads a technology or engineering department in a company. CTOs are tasked with developing policies and procedures. Not only that, they are also required to maximize technology so that they are able to improve the company’s products and services to customers or clients.
For a company, a CTO is expected to have the ability to develop various strategies to increase revenue. CTOs will generally determine all decisions through cost-benefit analysis and return on investment analysis.
The tasks carried out are certainly very different from the CIO position. CIOs are known to have a greater role in the operational and internal parts of the company. Meanwhile, a CTO has more tasks regarding strategy and insight outside the company. Simply put, a CTO has a task regarding external business growth by utilizing services and products that serve the company’s clients or customers.
In the digital era like today, CTO is actually the party behind various application integrations and digitalization processes of product transactions with consumers. In addition, CTO is also required to manage helpdesk professionals as well as make various decisions about the right tools or technologies to be used by the company.
Basically, a CTO is someone who serves as a “facing out” technology representative. As such a representative, the CTO is required to always ensure that the company’s technological developments have a place in the market and related company conferences.
The role and types of CTO in a company
As explained above, a CTO has a comprehensive role for all company technology matters to consumers or external clients. Not only that, a CTO also automatically gets a role as a position that develops revenue strategies and performs cost benefit analysis and Return of Investment (ROI) analysis .
Therefore, the responsibilities carried out by a CTO in each company are greatly influenced by several factors, namely the size of the company, industry, business model, and number of employees. In general, the following are the roles of a CTO, including:
- Develop technical aspects to ensure alignment with business objectives of corporate strategy.
- Creating and implementing new technologies that generate competitive advantage
- Supporting each department to use technology to its full potential.
- Controlling infrastructure systems to maintain functionality and efficiency.
- Establish a quality assurance and data protection process.
- Leverage impressions or feedback from stakeholders for necessary improvements and adjustments in terms of technology.
- Communicating the right technology strategy to partners and investors.
Types of CTO
However, each company gives a quite different role to its CTOs. When viewed based on their main tasks, a CTO can be distinguished into four types, including the following:
1. Infrastructure
CTOs of this type are tasked with overseeing company data, security, maintenance, and the company’s network. As the person in charge of infrastructure, a CTO is required to be able to implement the company’s technical strategy while managing the company’s technology roadmap .
2. Planner
As a position tasked with making plans, this type of CTO has the task of creating a vision of how technology can be used in the company, thus producing a technical strategy for the company. This makes the CTO ensure success regarding how new technology is implemented in the company.
3. Consumer Focused
As someone who is a representative of technology that is “facing outward”, a CTO in this type gets a role as a liaison between customers and the company. This task is often referred to as customer relations . In addition, customer relations are also required to understand the target market and help deliver various information technology projects to the market.
4. Thinker
As the name implies, this type of CTO has a role to support and control the company’s strategy. One form of support that will be provided by the CTO is of course the technology infrastructure for the company. In addition, the position of CTO as a thinker is responsible for analyzing the target market as well as creating a business model for the company for clients or customers.
Differences between CEO, CFO, CTO, and COO
The CTO position is generally one of the executive or C-Level positions in a company. Although they both lead the company to achieve its goals, each executive position such as CEO, COO, CFO, and CTO has its own characteristics in the company’s business processes. Well, here are some differences between the four executive positions, including:
CTO
- Holds the position of company technology leader.
- Responsible for monitoring company data, from network maintenance to company security.
- Responsible for the technical strategy for the company and its implementation for market penetration.
- Holds the position of senior vice president with a technology orientation focused on consumers.
CEO
- Holding the position of the company’s highest leader.
- In charge of making decisions and general strategies for the company.
- Responsible in general for the company by analyzing the company’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Having a primary position as president or managing director in a company.
COO
- Holding the position of operational leader of the company.
- Responsible for managing and making decisions regarding company operations.
- Responsible for solving various company problems through operational areas (communication, collaboration, improvisation, recruitment, operational analysis, and strategy implementation).
- Holds the position of senior vice president in the company.
CFO
- Holding the position of head of the company’s finance department.
- Responsible for managing planning and various financial administration of the company.
- Responsible for finance and accounting functions, supervision of staff related to finance, and understanding applicable tax regulations.
- Holds a position as senior vice president in the company.
8 Skills a CTO Must Have
With the various tasks and responsibilities carried out by a CTO. There are 8 skills that must be possessed to become a good CTO. The following is an explanation of the eight important skills for a CTO, including:
1. Leadership
Chief Technology Officer or often known as CTO is one of the positions at the company’s executive level. As one of the leaders in the company, a CTO will be tasked with controlling managers and teams, so that various technical matters in the company can run smoothly. Of course, this task requires a CTO to have competent leadership skills, such as delegating tasks or providing guidance to each level. .
2. Communication
After leadership skills, a CTO must also have good communication skills both verbally and in writing. This communication skill will enable a CTO to build cooperation with the ranks below him. In addition, the CTO is also required to be skilled in communicating the company’s technology needs and implementing a more appropriate system than the existing technical system. In addition, a CTO must be able to compile reports on the company’s technology performance and feedback when needed.
3. Decision Making
The next ability that a CTO must have is of course the right decision making. As one of the people who holds the highest position in a company. CTO is required to always be responsible for all important decisions, especially those related to technology. Some things that are the CTO’s business in decision making, namely internal technology, production affairs to marketing.
4. Business Understanding
Almost most business companies today need a CTO to increase productivity. Therefore, a CTO is generally also required to have a good understanding. A CTO must understand the needs of the company, so that they can develop strategies and monitor the results.
5. Organization
A CTO may manage several departments, from infrastructure, data security, to helpdesk support . Therefore, CTOs are also expected to have good organizational skills, so they can ensure that each department can work with each other.
6. Technological Capabilities
As the name implies, CTO is a leader in the technology department. A CTO is expected to have excellent technological skills. This is because a CTO is required to have a strong technical background, such as being able to operate Agile , JavaScript , and machine learning . Not only that, some companies also often add other requirements, such as Java , Net , big data , project management, and artificial intelligence. A strong understanding of technology will greatly enable the company to have strategic planning and make relevant decisions.
7. Keep up with the latest technology trends
Every profession in today’s era has adapted to the needs, especially technology as one of the drivers of change. Therefore, a CTO is required to be able to follow various existing technology trends. Technology has been proven to deliver many successes for companies in any field. The use of this technology will correlate with various technological innovation offers from the company.
In addition, a CTO who always follows developments will affect the progressiveness of the technology department, one of which is the renewal of tools or software. A CTO will also be more precise in estimating the position of the business in the next few years. Technology has been proven to make companies always competitive, efficient, and measurable.
8. Knowing the Recruitment Candidates
One of the important skills that a CTO must have is knowing the recruitment candidates. A CTO can achieve the goals set if they have the right colleagues. This is one thing that must be met first because the best CTO cannot work without a team.
In addition, some companies usually look for someone with high talent rather than qualified candidates in seeking new job opportunities. Therefore, a CTO is expected to know candidates who meet the various technical requirements needed, so that they are able to build a capable business technology ecosystem.
A CTO is required to participate in the recruitment process for the team he will lead. In addition, the CTO must also have the sensitivity to determine which candidates are suitable for the company culture and skills aligned for the company.
CTO Career Path
The growth of various start-up companies in Indonesia has made the role of technology in a business ecosystem grow. Most commercial companies are known to need technology such as buying and selling applications to market their products. In fact, many companies do use technology as a basis for running their business.
This development certainly creates a career ladder for someone who is a technology expert and wants to become a CTO. For a company that wants to develop technology, it is certain that it needs a very competent CTO figure. In recent times, this executive position usually starts as a developer or developer and also a technician in a company.
According to an article from the Maryville University website , someone who can reach the position of CTO needs at least 10 to 15 years of experience with a specialization in information technology roles. Some of the things that must be mastered are network architecture, big data engineering, information security management, security engineering, and software development.