Is a Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) Necessary for Your Company?
Uber drivers and freelance writers are no longer the only people who work in the gig economy. In the shape of gig CIOs, fractional CIOs, contract CIOs, or virtual CIOs, it has now reached the function of CIO as well (vCIOs).
What Is a Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO)?
A virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) is an experienced IT executive recruited from the outside to act as the client company’s chief information officer. The vCIO performs many of the same tasks as a traditional CIO. The sole difference between them is the wording of their employment contracts.
What Does a Virtual Chief Information Officer Do?
Within a business, virtual CIOs perform a number of tasks. They can be recruited as an interim CIO while the organisation looks for a permanent replacement. They may also consult on a specific circumstance when their knowledge is only required for a short period of time or for a specific effort.
A virtual CIO often consults at the highest levels of the organisation to ensure that IT and business goals are aligned. Working with the client’s IT team to set strategic IT goals, decide IT budgets, implement new technology-related improvements, and provide technology, infrastructure, and other advice are examples of such tasks.
Some virtual CIOs provide managed service provider (MSP) services to handle the technical parts of a company’s IT operations.
The following is a list of a virtual CIO’s major responsibilities:
- Provide guidance on IT regulations, trends, and best practises
- Make a technological strategy
- Meet with management on a frequent basis
- Propose technological solutions to help the organisation reach its objectives
Is Your Company in Need of a vCIO?
The simple answer is perhaps. It is determined by the size, needs, and general strategy of your firm. Enterprises, for example, may engage vCIOs to assist current in-house IT staff in strategic planning and decision making.
Small and medium-sized organisations, on the other hand, may benefit greatly from an experienced IT executive providing strategic assistance without having to pay the salary of a full-time executive. Hiring a vCIO offers both pros and cons from an objective standpoint.
The following are some of the advantages of employing a virtual CIO:
- Keeping command of your company’s IT infrastructure
- Introducing fresh insights and propelling innovation
- The cost of a complete benefits package can be saved
- By skipping the long-term hiring and onboarding processes, you save time.
Quickly gaining a return on investment from low-cost skills - Making knowledge more financially available to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)
- Making more objective decisions
The Downsides of Having a Virtual CIO
Your company may be nothing more than a number.
Because virtual CIOs frequently work with several clients, your organisation may not be their main focus. This might be an issue if your firm is dealing with a sophisticated IT issue that needs specialist help and guidance.
Inadequate Understanding of Your Unique Company
While a temporary CIO can provide new insights to your organisation, a virtual CIO may be unfamiliar with your company’s history, internal politics, and other particular aspects. A lack of information of your company’s institutional past may prevent the vCIO from completing their job properly.
Grooming and upskilling an existing employee from your firm’s IT ranks who is already familiar with the organisation may be a better option.
Long-Term Consequences of a Temporary Fix
Given that vCIOs are employed to temporarily affect high-level IT operations, the mix of temporariness and high-level effect makes employing a vCIO a potentially dangerous endeavour. Their work may have ramifications for the company even after their contract expires. Depending on the present state of your company’s IT operations and the specific difficulties it confronts, it may not be prudent to hire a vCIO as a temporary remedy.
The vCIO of the Future
The post of virtual CIO allows experienced IT experts to become self-employed consultants, taking on whatever assignments they wish. On the surface, it appears that the post of vCIO is more profitable, but this is not the case.
The average yearly compensation for an in-house CIO continuously surpasses that of a vCIO, according to job recruiting websites. In the United States, the average annual income for a virtual CIO is roughly $185,000, with San Mateo, CA, Richmond, CA, and Stamford, CT being the highest-paying localities for this post. In contrast, the average yearly income for an in-house CIO in the United States is closer to $207,000.
So, why would a CIO want to be a virtual CIO? For greater variety, flexibility, and control over how many contracts they can or want to handle at once.
The trend of vCIOs will be one to monitor as the Great Resignation continues and the IT employment market experiences a hiring crisis. In an ever-changing tech world, how will experienced CIOs respond to organisations’ rising need for high-level expertise? Will they choose contract employment as vCIOs, or will they prefer full-time work at a single company?
