Industry Insights

Companies these days frequently add new roles to improve business. Roles like CIO, CISO, CTO, CDO, and who knows how many others often come up. Keeping track of them as an employee or a C-executive can be difficult.

It’s also common that people confuse the differences between CIO vs CTO, which is why we will delve deeper into these roles to explain how they differ.

Keep reading to learn how and why CIOs and CTOs are distinct from each other to ensure this is the right job position for you or to find the right person for your company.

Let’s have a look!

CIO and CTO Overview

Before we explain the difference between the two roles, let’s first review their responsibilities and salaries.

What is a CIO?

The main responsibility of the chief information officer, or CIO, is to form a long-term vision to streamline the company’s future and success. CIOs achieve this by coordinating strategic plans with the company’s projects and goals.

Responsibilities

• Creating and implementing IT strategies - CIOs need to uphold that “bigger picture” for the company, so they create IT strategies using new technologies to streamline the business process. They also ensure these new technologies are scalable and secure.
• Cybersecurity - Data security is essential for any modern company, especially with so many different technological implementations. Data is a constant target, so CIOs have to ensure cybersecurity to protect their customers’ data and the company’s data as well. Leaking customer data can lead to various legal problems.
• Overseeing IT operations - CIOs manage the IT budget, making sure that all operations are as cost-effective as possible. They also oversee the maintenance and potential need for hardware (or software) updates to the latest and greatest. Up-to-date and well-maintained hardware/software will improve work efficiency.

Salary: $240,000 to $445,000+ per Year

The median salary for a chief information officer in the US is $331,682. It is one of the higher-paid roles out there. However, the salary is justified considering their expertise, such as their understanding of IT infrastructure, budgeting/financial planning, big-picture predictions, understanding of data analytics, and cybersecurity skills.

What is a CTO?

Chief technology officers, or CTOs, unlike CIOs, focus on finding new technologies that can elevate a company’s growth, and operation handling, and aim to build a mindset that focuses on technological advancements.

Responsibilities

• Overseeing technological development - A CTO’s main role is to ensure an organization continuously develops new in-house technologies that boost productivity. And also oversee product and software R&D, new hardware tech integration, and more.
• Drive growth through technology - in the ever-changing digital era, keeping up with new technological advancements is necessary for companies to thrive. To help with this, CTOs leverage any new technologies to drive an organization’s growth.
• Talent acquisition and training - compared to CIOs, CTOs can have a more hands-on approach to projects which includes overseeing talent acquisition, training, and development. They often utilize their expertise to assess the technical skills and knowledge of potential talents. But, they also simplify this process with talent-hiring tech/services like we offer at Burtch Works.

Salary: $230,000 to $390,000 per Year

The median salary for a chief technology officer in the US is around $300,000. Generally, the two roles have similar salary medians as both are C-executives and have a large-scale viewpoint for the organization.

What’s the Difference Between a CTO and a CIO?

We went through both roles’ main responsibilities, but to further distinguish between the two, let’s look at their differences.

CIOs Influence Broader Company Goals; CTOs Utilize Technologies To Fulfill These Goals

The biggest difference between CIOs and CTOs is how they achieve their goals in an organization.

CIOs directly contribute/create the company’s strategic technology plans to maintain company standards on the same or a higher level than industry standards. CIOs also control cybersecurity, budget plans, and other broader responsibilities.

On the other hand, CTOs focus solely on any technological breakthroughs and on software solutions and hardware solutions to help the company achieve its objectives on time and with utmost efficiency.

CIOs Work On Internal Technology Strategies; CIOs Focus On External Technology Strategies

One way to differentiate between the two roles is if we look at the final impact of their influence.

A CIO will work with multiple departments to ensure that the tech will work efficiently to achieve an organization’s goals. They ensure that all internal departments are operating efficiently and that business goals are completed within an acceptable time frame.

A CTO will not only oversee R&D and follow tech trends, but will also work closely with the sales, marketing, and product teams to promote new technologies emerging from R&D.

CTOs Push For Innovation; CIOs Aim For Optimization, Cost Reduction, And Security

Another clear distinction between the two roles is that a CIO’s primary goals is to focus on reducing costs, ensuring current technologies are safe, reliable, and operating efficiently.

A CTO is constantly chasing innovation, pushing for newer and better technology, integrating new technologies, and developing new products without focusing too much on budget restrictions and security.

How to Choose Between a CIO and a CTO

Even though we’ve explained the differences and responsibilities of the two roles, they might still look too similar. So, to help you choose the best for your company, here are some factors you should consider!

Choose a CIO If:

Your company needs a long-term strategic direction - A CIO will provide you with the necessary strategic plan to ensure your IT department follows your business goals. This will ensure long-term growth.

Your company needs to implement new technologies - New technologies can be a game-changer for a company’s success. CIOs are experts at finding technology implementation that can boost productivity and efficiency.

Second opinion for executive decisions - CIOs can work closely with CEOs or others in the executive leadership to help create company-wide goals. If you need a second opinion to make your decision-making process easier, you should hire a CIO.

Choose a CTO If:

You want to focus on product development - If you want to turn the focus of your company towards product development, a CTO can heavily influence the development time of the product.

You want to stay competitive - if you already have a successful long-term strategy and consistently reach your goals, consider hiring a CTO to give you that competitive advantage with efficient R&D and integration of new technologies.

Future-proofing - one common mistake with many organizations is failing to prepare for future emerging technologies. A CTO has a clear vision of any new breakthrough and emerging bleeding-edge tech that they can implement in your infrastructure with scalability and future-proofing in mind.

FAQs

What qualifications and skills are necessary for a CIO versus a CTO?

A bachelor’s degree is necessary for both roles. CTOs usually need a BD in Computer Science and Information Technology, while CIOs need a BD in IT or business administration. Companies also prefer CIOs with a Master’s in business or IT.

Furthermore, both CIOs and CTOs need more than 10 years of experience in the field.

How do the roles of CIO and CTO differ in smaller versus larger organizations?

In smaller organizations, the CIO can create broad strategic goals for the company but might also have hands-on experience with the IT department. The CTO will focus on technology integration, innovation, and product development.

In larger organizations, the CIO solely focuses on long-term strategic planning with no hands-on management, while a CTO will build a company’s technological vision to keep it ahead of the curve.

Can a company have both a CIO and a CTO and how do they collaborate?

Yes, a company can have both a CIO and a CTO. In fact, it’s very beneficial to have both roles, as the CTO and CIO can closely collaborate.

The CIO and CTO can work together to ensure product development is aligned with the company’s large-scale goals. The CTO also ensures that any new technologies will see a seamless integration into the current technology infrastructure managed by the CIO.

Conclusion

With a clear picture of the distinction between a CIO and a CTO, we hope you can easily choose between the two roles for your organization.

And, if you’ve already decided which role you’re going with, consider using our talent hiring service to reduce your talent pool and make the hiring process a little bit less taxing.