While trying to think of ways to improve your business, have you ever asked yourself the question “What is a “Fractional CTO?”
It is no secret that running a successful business often times requires finding and hiring the right people. In fact, most prominent businesses dedicate lots of time and resources to this process. Many of them hire a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) who is able to find and implement new tech innovations to help with this process.
With this being said, hiring a full-time CTO can be very expensive, and many small to medium businesses cannot afford it. However, this doesn’t mean that they cannot have access to such a key resource. This is where a fractional CTO comes in.
What Exactly Is A CTO?
A fractional CTO is much like a full-time CTO, but instead of being a full-time member of your team, a fractional CTO works on call for a fraction of the cost.
This means that fractional CTOs can have many clients, catering specific needs to each. As long as there is tech that benefits businesses, fractional CTOs will not struggle to find work.
What Does A Fractional CTO Do?
On a high level, a fractional CTO must determine the needs and objectives of a company and implement technological solutions to fulfill them. When a business has the right technology, it can minimize costs while maximizing its ROI and profits.
In order to achieve this result, a CTO must have expert knowledge in almost all areas of management and have access to a very large bank of applicable technical solutions. They must understand metrics, strategy, technical governance, risk, scalability of products, as well as excellent communication and problem-solving skills to name a few.
Do You Need A Fractional CTO?
In general, you should consider hiring a fractional CTO if:
- You do not have a technology expert on your team
- The software developers you may have are lacking in knowledge of or access to the proper IT solutions for your business goals
- Your business often struggles to meet goals or grow despite your best efforts
- The project you are currently working on could benefit from or be in need of new technological insight
- The work you have may not justify the time and salary of a full-time CTO
- You are in between full-time CTOs and need expertise fast
What Are The Benefits of Hiring A Fractional CTO?
There are many benefits to hiring a fractional CTO. Not only do you get the technical expertise of a full-time CTO, but you get it at a fraction of the price while still being able to cater to your business goals.
However, there are many more benefits than this. All of which build up and help grow your business. These benefits can be seen below.
A Specific In-Depth Strategy
A CTO does a lot more than offer advice about what technology to use for your business. They fully handle the process of designing and implementing a technology package and strategy for your needs. The CTO is the single point of contact between you and your new strategic infrastructure. They work with you to understand your business goals and create the perfect strategy to achieve them.
A Plethora Of Information
Hiring a CTO is like hiring a business technology library. A CTO’s vast resources make it possible to cater to any business need technology can help with. With these resources, a CTO can help you to:
- Find and implement the best tech strategy for your company
- Create and navigate an in-depth technology infrastructure
- Teach you how to utilize and be confident in your new technology solutions
- Give new vision and insight into your business goals and how to achieve them
Interdepartmental Communication
A CTO must have excellent communication skills and be able to work between departments. A CTO can help your technology department to work with and share ideas with the rest of your business. They can put complex technology terms into easily understandable ideas. This allows your various departments to be on the same page when it comes to effectively implementing and using your new tech solutions.
Guaranteed ROI
A CTO will work with you to ensure that any technology spending aligns with your business’s objectives. They will not implement a solution that is more expensive than its expected savings. CTOs achieve this through various methods including:
- Creating Budgets
- Determining Return On Investment baselines
- Running cost/benefit analysis on possible tech solutions
- Communicating what solutions might work for your business and their applicable ROIs
Lower Labor Costs
With the wide area of technological expertise that comes with a CTO, you do not need to provide as many resources for training employees in different areas of technology. These savings, particularly with a fractional CTO can be substantial for your business.
With a fractional CTO, you can gain information and solution on an as-needed basis, rather than paying for it full time.
What Should You Look For Before Hiring A Fractional CTO?
Even with all of these benefits, not all businesses may actually need a Fraction CTO. Below are a couple of things to consider before you hire.
The Size Of Your Company
A medium-sized company is ideal for hiring a fractional CTO. If your company is too small, the cost of a fractional CTO may not outway the benefits, and hiring one can negatively affect profits. On the other hand, if your company is large enough, it may make more sense to hire a full time CTO to handle your business needs.
Your In-House Skills
It is important to understand the skills your team members already possess. If your team is already skilled and capable to handle your business needs, hiring a fractional CTO may be redundant. On top of this, your team may start to feel undervalued if you do not trust their solutions.
Your Technological Needs
Depending on the size of your business, you may not have or need an extensive tech infrastructure. If you do have an extensive tech infrastructure that is continually meeting your goals and expectations, a fractional CTO may not be needed.
If your infrastructure shows room for improvement, is causing problems or is not offering the right solutions you need, a fractional CTO may be exactly what you need.
Your Businesses Short and Long-Term Goals
The more you understand the goals of your business and the better you are at communicating them, the more a fractional CTO can benefit you. When it comes to working with a technological expert, communication is key. Being able to communicate your ideas allows a CTO to better cater solutions to benefit them.