Whether you are a new business owner or the leader of a well-established enterprise, having a resource on hand for managing the tech department is essential in modern times. At the same time, aligning your technological needs with your business goals is also important. As your business strives to catch up with the constantly evolving technological landscape, any decisions you take should be in the best interest of your organisation. In most companies, particularly startups, the resource that handles this pivotal job is often called the CTO (Chief Technology Officer or Chief Technical Officer) and is responsible for several high-stakes activities. CTO roles and responsibilities in any organisation can vary depending on the business’s size or niche.
In this article, we will answer in detail the question ‘What are the roles and responsibilities of a CTO?’ and also talk about how this role can change over time as the business expands. However, let us start by establishing a basic understanding of exactly what a CTO is.
Who Is a CTO and What Do They Do?
As the title of the role suggests, a Chief Technology Officer or CTO is the person who is responsible for making some of the most critical decisions for a business concerning its technological process and progress. This role is often overlooked by business managers due to the lack of awareness about its importance and relevance.
The roles and responsibilities of a CTO can be summarised in two words: tech leader. The CTO of an organisation ensures that the technology department and all other business operations go hand-in-hand. They help a company choose the most worthwhile technological investments for the short and long runs. Therefore, the tasks that a CTO performs can have a direct impact on every aspect of the business. Their duties include a wide range of activities, from heading digital transformation ventures and managing IT teams to budgeting for and scheduling certain projects or operations.
There are two primary categories that CTOs can be classified into: operational and technical. A CTO can be operational, technical, or both, depending on what the organisation needs from them. Thus, there might be an overlap in the role regardless of title. Therefore, in the next section, we will discuss some primary CTO roles and responsibilities for both operations and technology, so that you can find the right fit for your organisation’s unique goals.
What Are the Roles and Responsibilities of a CTO?
While there is a wide range of tasks that fall under CTO roles and responsibilities, this section will give you an in-depth look into what a CTO does. This will help give you a clear understanding of why you might need a CTO for your company.
1. Technical Strategy and Advisory
For someone whose entire job can be summarised as ‘technology leader’, technical strategy and advisory is perhaps the most fundamental responsibility that rests on their shoulders.
It does not matter whether the business in question is a tech-based startup, large enterprise looking to undergo digital transformation or anything else in between. The CTO is the person tasked with the job of developing and designing the best plan of action for the adoption of viable technologies and tools that would make business operations smoother and more efficient while keeping budgetary restrictions in mind. They must collaborate with other executives to solidify the vision that the business owners have in mind, and then work on a strategy for the business’s technological evolution.
CTO roles and responsibilities can also include the setting up of a tech team composed of talented individuals who are equipped to deal with the growing tech needs of the company. Where the development and implementation of a new software product are involved, the CTO would be the go-to person for matters such as software design and architecture, choice of technology stack and development platform, budgeting, and resource management. They may also be required to intelligently predict future tech trends and how they might affect your business in particular. To be considered fit for this holistic role, they must be equipped with both technical and management skills.
For businesses that are just starting in the tech world, it is common to get in touch with a software company for virtual CTOs. Such a company can provide you with an external part-time professional who can take over these responsibilities and help your business grow over time, both in the technology department and otherwise.
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2. Innovation and R&D
One of the biggest challenges that businesses face these days is to be different from their competitors and incorporate something unique into their operations or offerings. They need innovation and creativity if they wish to make a dent in the saturated market. Thus, innovative thinking and detailed research of viable options are two major CTO roles and responsibilities that can greatly transform your business, especially if you are just starting out.
CTOs must not only be capable of thinking out of the box but should also be quick on their feet. A great idea that is not implemented rapidly would be of no use to a business in this competitive landscape. Businesses need to implement modern technology swiftly and efficiently so that they can see results in as short a time period as possible. A CTO should also be open to change and prepared to adapt to the volatile environment that most businesses operate in. They should be able to catch up with the rapid advancements in technology and be ready to propose technical solutions that can help the business stay abreast of the constant changes in the tech sector.
3. Critical Analysis
To figure out the best route for your technological evolution, you need a professional who can assess all possible risks and conduct thorough research and analysis. An experienced CTO will carefully study your business and industry so that they can predict whether or not your upcoming tech ventures will yield favourable outcomes for the business. On its own, a handful of creative ideas does not hold much value. These proposals need to be analysed in order to decide which ones are worth moving forward with.
To make these informed decisions objectively, a CTO needs to study not only the tech side of the organisation but also the business side. This ability to come up with feasible solutions and choose the best trajectory for any problem is important to have during the product development process as well.
4. Project Pitches
Startups and small businesses often struggle with communicating effectively with potential investors such as venture capitalists or accelerators. Often, there is a communication gap. Some business owners are well-versed in business lingo but may not be able to understand the tech aspects. Similarly, entrepreneurs who themselves come from a tech background may not be very good at figuring out the business part of their startup. This gap can also be observed within large organisations where the tech department struggles to see eye-to-eye with… practically the rest of the organisation!
A CTO is a bridge that unifies tech and business and closes this gap by exhaustively studying both perspectives. They closely and objectively analyse each project that they lead and decide which ideas are worth going through with. Since they know every aspect of the business and its projects, they can confidently present their arguments to anyone, be they a potential investor, shareholder, or even a customer. Thus, having a CTO lead your venture can have a significant impact on the success rate of your project pitches.
5. Building and Managing Tech Teams
A lot of businesses, no matter what their size or niche, do not have a proper IT department.
Startups especially struggle with the setup of an internal tech team. Since in-house hiring is expensive (plus startups are always operating on a time crunch!), it is ideal for new businesses to outsource their development activities. Larger organisations struggle with the same. The nature of their business may not require them to hire in-house development teams every time they feel the need to catch up with the latest digital trends. They would not want to bother with the expensive and time-consuming recruitment process. To tackle this problem, you can ask your software company for a virtual CTO.
A part of CTO roles and responsibilities involves handpicking a competent development team that possesses the right skillset required for your particular project. Sometimes, CTOs also act as project managers and help oversee this outsourced team. You also need someone who can help you communicate your business’s vision as well as project requirements to the developers. Where team members require guidance at any point throughout the development process, a CTO would need to have ample technical knowledge to be able to provide mentorship.
6. Improving Development Processes
A business can never grow if it does not achieve efficiency in terms of production, no matter what industry it operates in. To make the product development process as streamlined as possible, you need someone to supervise, and a CTO is perfectly suited for the task.
Since a CTO excels at both business and tech functions, they would know the development process inside out. In a typical situation, they would be the one to come up with the most efficient production process in the first place. However, like most things, business processes are prone to becoming outdated and inefficient too. The CTO should be able to identify weaknesses and areas of improvement in future. If you already have certain processes in place, you can also have a CTO scrutinise and suggest improvements to them. It is important to do this so your business can employ the latest development methodologies, tools, and technologies to gain an advantage over competitor organisations.
The roles and responsibilities of a CTO include the ability to cultivate a tech-friendly culture within the organisation by constantly monitoring the production team’s progress and ensuring that the methods they follow are adding value to the company.
7. Budgeting and Scheduling
Whenever a business undergoes digital transformation or takes on a new technical project, it is very easy to get carried away with certain overambitious goals. The top-level executives might have their eyes set on a prize that is beyond their reach. Maybe they are thinking of attaining a level of efficiency that cannot be achieved without investing a large sum of money that the business cannot part with at the moment. Perhaps the technologies they would like to see implemented as part of the improved development process require additional resources, time, or money, none of which the company can afford right now.
A CTO stays in close contact with all stakeholders within the organisation and keeps their pipe dreams in check. Is the cost of introducing a new production tool something that your business can bear? How many more developers will you need if you want a certain project to be completed a month earlier than the pre-decided deadline? These are all difficult conversations to have, but a CTO can help you understand better what your course of action should be in such cases.
Your CTO can assess whether spending money on a certain technological decision would be feasible. Since they possess industry expertise and experience, they are also in a better position to negotiate costs with potential vendors or technology partners. As managers, they also know how to set realistic deadlines for all projects that are in the pipeline, and manage resource assignments accordingly. They can thus help upper management figure out realistic goals for the short and long terms by taking into account all the factors that affect such decisions but may have been disregarded in the heat of the moment.
How Do CTO Roles and Responsibilities Evolve Over Time?
Depending on the size of your business and the scope of products or services you provide, your CTO’s roles and responsibilities may differ. As your business grows, so will the part that a CTO plays within your organisation. The seven key responsibilities that we discussed may not all apply to your particular case. However, at multiple points throughout your business’s journey, you may have to change up the responsibilities that fall upon your CTO.
In a newly conceived startup, it is common for the CTO to be responsible for all things technology-related. You can expect the CTO to help you figure out the technical feasibility of your business idea and how you can achieve it with limited financial capital.
Once the idea is finalised, the CTO plays a significant part throughout the MVP development process. They are in charge of hiring the best possible resources for the development team. The CTO would have to be extremely tech-savvy, even possessing hands-on programming experience. They would have to take on other tasks, including making decisions about:
- Design and development tools and technologies to be used
- Development methodologies and process flow
- Software and information architecture to be implemented
- Tentative schedules
- Budgeting
You can also task them with testing the software themselves and proposing the best possible fix to erroneous source code. Concurrently, they should also be capable of suggesting to you how you should invest your finite resources into rewarding undertakings.
When an initial release of the product has been completed, you can start thinking about expanding the product according to its feature set and design complexity. The CTO can then start working on scaling up development teams by hiring supplementary resources who can carry the business towards expansion. At this point, you can assign more management-level decisions to your CTO, who can then delegate lower-level tasks to the specialists.
As the product grows, the CTO must also continuously monitor the feedback that it receives and look for ways to improve it. As the development needs grow, so can the size of the company’s IT and development department. They also need to stay updated on the latest technology trends and keep the development team informed so that they can keep improving the product with time. This is key to not only keeping customers satisfied but also maintaining the edge you have over competitors. Eventually, they can start looking into more advanced and secure technology which can now yield higher ROI for the business.
Closing Comments: What to Look For in a CTO
Due to the intensely technical nature of most CTO roles and responsibilities, your chosen expert must be highly experienced in hands-on development activities. However, while being in touch with the technical side of things, they should also be able to perceive the product from the end users’ perspective.
Additionally, CTOs should be open to learning and staying informed about progress in the tech sector since the digital world is in flux. They should be able to adapt to change and work in evolving environments without letting any uncertainties affect their ability to accomplish their preset targets.
The comprehensive nature of their role requires CTOs to possess managerial skills as well. They must be equipped to seamlessly lead teams of varying sizes for multiple projects. In case their team encounters any unforeseen hurdles, they should be able to quickly think of a solution and also maintain control of the team and keep them motivated, exhibiting impeccable leadership.
Their expertise and negotiation skills are put to test when it comes to moderating communication between all stakeholders in the organisation and successfully getting their point across.
While there is no fixed formula that makes the perfect CTO, you can always work around this list of required skills keeping your business’s requirements in mind and look for the best possible fit. The process to find the right person to fulfil these challenging CTO roles and responsibilities may take some time, but the returns it will yield for you, in the long run, will make the effort worth it.