Technology evolves at an astounding speed. Startups and growing businesses need visionary leadership and insights of a CTO to develop a future-proof tech strategy. Yet engaging a CTO or availing their consulting services often turns out to be an expensive proposition. This is why most growing businesses refrain from considering it as an option. A fractional CTO leads the way in these situations and establishes a robust and resilient technological backbone for startups.
Onboard a fractional CTO today, and build your business on a sustainable tech foundation.
Who Exactly Is a Fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO charts and leads the technological roadmap for a company. However, the person works on a part-time or project-by-project basis. The terms – fractional CTO and virtual CTO are often used interchangeably.
The fractional CTO:
- Develops a technological roadmap that aligns with the goals of the particular business.
- Fills the gap in technical expertise
- Leads the technical team
- Optimises and improves the technological infrastructure
- Guides the technical team in the business
Which kind of businesses should onboard a fractional CTO? Both startups and established businesses can take the help of a fractional CTO. However, it is true that startups would benefit more from the expertise of C-level tech leads. Established businesses need a fractional CTO to fill a specific technological gap or to complete a specific project.
Reap Tangible Benefits Out of the Expertise of a Fractional CTO
A fractional CTO is more than just a fancy term for a technical lead. When you choose the right fractional CTO for your business, the person can establish a solid technological posture. If you already have an established business, a vCTO can provide you with the much needed objective opinion and guidance.
- Leverage C-Level Technical Expertise in a Cost Effective Way:
Startups and growing businesses might feel that onboarding a full-time CTO is overwhelming both in terms of finances and processes. A fractional CTO provides the same level of technical expertise without overwhelming the companies. The only difference is that the fractional CTO might work for more than one company. But nonetheless, this is a win-win situation for both.
- Fill the Gap in Technical Expertise:
Technology changes almost daily. It’s not humanly possible for a company to onboard a full-time CTO taking these changes into consideration. After all, how many times can you replace your CTO? A fractional CTO can add immense value in these situations. You can engage a fractional CTO to solve a specific problem. There is no need to engage them forever!
- Faster Time-to-Market:
One of the most valuable benefits of engaging a fractional CTO is the fact that the expert speeds up the technology adoption and optimization process. The end result? Faster time-to-market for whatever product or service the company aims to sell.
- Guidance and Mentorship
Every C-level executive works as a mentor and a guide. The same is true for fractional CTOs. A fractional CTO guides the in-house technical team and inspires the professionals to innovate, learn and unlearn.
What Exactly Are the Responsibilities of a Fractional CTO?
Contrary to the generic belief, the role of a fractional CTO is much more than just a technical lead. It encompasses team management and mentoring as well.
- Tech Audit:
Technologies used by a business are functionally dependent on each other. For example, if your database is poor, your ERP can’t function properly. A fractional CTO audits the entire technological posture of the company and comes up with a detailed tech report and takes a step-by-step approach to solving the bottlenecks at each step.
- Guiding the Company Through Specific Projects:
Many businesses engage CTOs for specific projects. For example, a company can onboard a CTO when they decide to overhaul their entire ERP system. The expertise of a CTO helps businesses navigate through such projects with little hiccups or disruption.
- Guiding the Non-Technical CEOs or Board Members
Not all CEOs of startups have a technical background. They need an objective assessment of the technological posture of their company. A fractional CTO performs technical assessment and provides an objective opinion on what’s good and bad in terms of technology.
- Playing the Role of a CIO
A fractional CTO often has to act like a CIO. This is because many startups need help in learning how to use newer technologies to actually optimize internal processes. As such, the fractional CTO acts like a CIO and guides the company in optimizing its processes using innovative technologies.
- Cost Management and Helping the Company Turn Profitable
Adoption of newer technologies comes with added costs. And this adoption has only one aim – to increase the revenue and profitability of the company. The fractional CTO uses their decades-long expertise in making sure that company adopts and optimizes technologies keeping practicality and profitability in mind.
- Cybersecurity
Establishing a robust and resilient cybersecurity posture is a primary responsibility of all modern fractional CTOs. As regulatory compliance and cyber attacks increase, more and more companies need a solid mechanism to keep customer and enterprise data safe.
How to Select the Right Fractional CTO for Your Business
A fractional CTO can only be useful if the person’s expertise and business outlook aligns with your vision. As a CEO or a startup owner, you must take special care in selecting the right CTO.
- Say Yes to the Paid Audit
Most fractional CTOs tend to perform an audit of the entire IT posture of the company. This is necessary because even if the CTO is there to solve a specific problem, he or she must be aware of the technologies used by the business. A technical audit goes a long way in helping you understand whether the prospective fractional CTO is a good fit or not.
- Make Sure That the Fractional CTO Has Expertise in the Tech Domains Used by Your Business
Suppose your business uses NoSQL, but your chosen fractional CTO has expertise in SQL. In this scenario, they might not be able to guide your business. Always verify whether the fractional CTO of your choice has expertise in tech paradigms used by your business.
- Be Open to Hearing Criticisms
Part of the job of the fractional CTO is to point out the wrong things in your business as far as technology is concerned. If you want to select the right fractional CTO, you have to be open to hearing criticisms.
- Be Clear About Your Expectations
“Improve our company’s IT posture and help us be profitable” – this is not a good example of the kind of expectations that you should have from a fractional CTO. What exactly are you trying to achieve? What are the problems that you are facing right now? How exactly do you want to leverage the expertise of a CTO? As a CEO or the owner of a startup, you must have clear answers to these questions.
COHIRE – The Best Place to Onboard a Fractional CTO From
Selecting the right fractional CTO isn’t an easy task. The success of your business depends heavily on how good your selection is. COHIRE offers a proven platform from which you can engage a fractional CTO who will be a perfect fit for your business.
Select a Fractional CTO in Just 3 Steps:
At COHIRE, we do the heavy-lifting and find the best fractional CTO for your business!
- Tell us you requirement as clearly as you can
- Meet the perfect fractional CTO based on your requirement.
- Have an initial discussion. And that’s it! Your business is ready for growth!
COHIRE has a proven expertise in helping companies find the right fractional CXOs. Come, join our platform and take the IT infrastructure of your business to the next level.
Every business is a tech business today. Hence, the fate of your business depends heavily on the expertise of the fractional CTO. Choose wisely.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does the job description of a fractional CTO look like?
Ans. The job description for the position of a fractional CTO differs based on the requirement of the company. A generic job description would look like this:
“We are looking for a fractional CTO who will serve as a visionary leader. The candidate will steer the company to the path of success through strategic use of technology and particularly, the adoption of SAP ERP. The ideal candidate should have proven expertise in leading SAP implementation in fortune 500 companies…”
As you can see, this job description is specifically targeted to fractional CTOs having an expertise in SAP ERP.
- How much is the salary of a fractional CTO?
Ans. The salary of a fractional CTO depends on the person’s expertise and experience, the requirements of the business and the scope of work. Headover to COHIRE and get an idea about the salary of a fractional CTO based on accurate data.
- Why is fractional CTO necessary for startups
Ans. Startups often need strategic guidance in terms of the technology they should be using or the technology that their products should have. Investing in a technology only to see it become obsolete in a few years can be quite a costly affair. The expertise of a C-level technical head can go a long way in making sure that these startups take the right decisions as far as technology and the overall IT infrastructure are concerned. But onboarding a full-time CTO can be prohibitively costly. A fractional CTO can provide the same level expertise and guidance at a fraction of the cost of a full-time CTO.
- How much experience does a fractional CTO typically have?
Ans. Most fractional CTOs have already worked as C-level executives. They typically bring with them at least 15 years of experience.
