Fractional CTOs Outside the Tech Industry
Starting and running a business is not for the faint of heart. It is a tough and time-consuming task associated with joyful and emotional events. The success of a business is solely dependent on the in-house professionals’ effective and result-oriented actions. Considering the success of tech giants like Google, Apple, etc., it was about the top management’s leadership skills to transform those small and struggling businesses into profiting and top-ranking corporations. Apart from the associated luck, hard work, and continuous innovations, those corporations’ massive gains in a short period were possible only by having the right people in leadership positions. In addition, the contemporary business context also shows that people are heading to those businesses with a higher degree of technological intervention within every functional area of the business. More precisely, a COVID-era report by Entrepreneur Media revealed that business growth and existence were only in favor of companies with forthright concerns regarding tech integration in business processes. In this way, the position of a CTO becomes handy in achieving world domination, creating a large audience, and increasing revenues. At present, the role of technology and the CTO’s position has been significantly paramount to business success. Simply put, the interventions of tech-savvy leaders are now mission-critical to the success and development of organizations.
It is crystal clear that a CTO’s role in a company’s success has never been more important than in post-COVID business endeavors. Still, the recruitment of a CTO is subject to the availability of enough tasks and capital. Many midsize and growing organizations find it inappropriate to appoint a full-time CTO, though they need someone to lead the technologically integrated areas of the business. Here, appointing a fractional CTO is the best solution. A fractional CTO does not work full-time and manages all the leadership facets. Moreover, he or she is not designated to get full-time compensation but completes tasks rapidly, tentatively, and effectively. Following this, a business must consider a fractional CTO’s position if any of the below-listed criteria is met.
- Business expansion needs investment in technological integration, but no leader with tech expertise is available to take charge.
- Appointed IT professionals can handle software development or system integration but cannot do strategic planning for tech intervention.
- The company is struggling to fit into the modern business context.
- The fulfillment of the CTO position is essential, but affordability or work quantity opposes it.
- The company is working on a particular project and is in need of seasoned tech leadership.
- The existing CTO’s work volume is huge and not a one-man job anymore.
However, the below advantages should be considered in case a business is analyzing the options but is not yet sure about appointing a fractional CTO.
- Fractional CTOs eventually work for different companies at a time. So, they are used to facing new challenges more prior than the full-time tech leadership with a single point of view.
- Fractional CTOs’ actions are more straightforward as they are not involved in office politics.
- Fractional CTOs can assist in recrafting a company’s groupthink toward pinpointing more creative solutions.
- Fractional CTOs can come up with more strategic approaches to existing technology by considering the end user and outside perspectives.
- Fractional CTOs not only create technological roadmaps but also align them with the organizational mission, vision, and code of ethics.
- Apart from the technology-related tasks, a fractional CTO can help with defining KPIs, evaluating ROI, reviewing contracts, negotiating, managing risks, managing partnerships, and many more.
In conclusion, there are no direct “yes” or “no” options as to whether to appoint a full-time CTO or a fractional CTO. To make an acceptable decision, companies should conduct in-depth research on the financial status, business requirements, short-term goals, and long-term goals.
If a business is not sure whether to appoint a CTO or a fractional CTO, Inflexion would like to share more insightful information in association with the company’s experiences with in-house fractional CTO interventions.
