In today’s episode of IT in Plain English, Tammy Ven Dange answers, “What’s the difference between a CIO and CTO?”
I sometimes hear clients use these terms interchangeably when referring to the most senior IT person in an organisation. Generally, this person reports directly to the CEO.
A CIO is a Chief Information Officer, and a CTO is a Chief Technology Officer.
The main difference between these two roles is that a CIO usually focuses internally on supporting the rest of the organisation. While a CTO is usually externally focused on building technology and related products to increase revenue.
In reality, there are very few CIOs and even fewer CTOs in Not for Profits, mainly due to the cost of hiring these skills. That’s why they bring in external consultants like me to help with strategic decisions whenever needed.
So, there you have it in plain English.
If you have an IT question you want answered, feel free to connect with me here on my website or on LinkedIn and send me a message. I just might answer it on this show.
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Tammy Ven Dange is a former charity CEO, Not for Profit Board Member and IT Executive. Today she helps NFPs with strategic IT and data decisions.