There are several C-Suite job titles used in technology based roles and it can get quite confusing on first sight to know the difference between them, as they all appear to do the same thing. There are differences though and although they all work with technology in some way or other, the business differences are quite broad.
What’s the difference?
Technology used in business these days, is extremely varied. It can be used to generate sales (such as an e-commerce web site) or could be something that aids business efficiencies such as a piece of accounting software. It could deal with “Large Data” gathering, AI, Communications, Machine Automation, the list is endless! Each of these things can be a big area to be expert in and usually deserves a specialist with dedicated knowledge in that area.
The personalities required for these roles are often different too. A CTO is more of a sales or marketing oriented person and is often the external face of IT, whereas the CIO is more process driven and focuses on efficiencies and is seen as the internal face of IT.
Although our Directors at iTech Knowhow like to be known by the specialism they work in, such as CIO, CTO etc., we actually prefer to use the term IT Director when talking to small and mid-sized businesses and to provide the appropriate leaders for your requirements, rather than you trying to figure out if you need a CTO or CIO.
Some of the most popular C-Suite level technology centric Job titles used today.
CIO – Chief Information Officer – Traditionally, this was one of the earlier adopted titles by board-level technology directors and this role typically focuses on delivering technology to assist with efficiencies and would normally report to the CFO.
CTO – Chief Technology Officer – With the onset of the internet, technology became a revenue generator, so a different kind of personality was required. These Directors are often innovative thinkers and tend to focus on using technology to increase revenue. This Director would normally control Research and Development within a organisation and report to the CEO.
CDO or CDIO Chief Digital Officer (Chief Digital Information Officer) – Quite recently, this title came around to focus on technologies relating to Mobile applications, web based information management and on-line marketing.
CISO – Chief Information Security Officer is responsible for protecting your data and intellectual property.
