Transforming information technology from a cost center to a profit center to a competitive advantage should be a key imitative of any company with an IT spend. An accomplished CTO or CIO is the key to success.

There’s a number of reasons a company of any size would need a CIO or CTO for additional expertise. Whether you are looking to have your current IT structure assessed, needing a technology road map and plan, considering implementation of an ERP or needing to fill a vacant position, technology executives have a select expertise that often is not available or duplicated elsewhere within the organization. Bringing in an interim executive or management consultant can be a great way to quickly address the need and keep the focus on results without committing to long term overhead costs. At Cerius, we have seen the strategic use of an Interim Technology Executive include:

Enterprise Architecture

ERP selection, implementation, or fine-tuning

Business Process, Information, Technology and Planning

Information Technology Improvement

Data Centers, Cloud Computing, Technology and Help Desk

Program, Project and Portfolio Management

System Evaluation and Selection Process

IT / Technology and Business Alignment

Global Outsourcing

Interim technology executives have an in-depth understanding of business process improvement and technology along with the hands-on experience to drive your IT organization to become a strategic and competitive asset.

Interim CIO’s fill a gap between the departures of a senior IT executive and the start date of the new hire. Part-time CIOs work for a designated period of time to build and lead the IT organization in a SMB, or to lead a key IT initiative within larger organizations.

We are often asked the difference between a CIO and CTO. In its simplest form, a CIO is responsible for the technology the company depends on to operate and the CTO is responsible for the technology the company depends on for its revenues. The CIO focuses on the internal technologies the company needs to operate and deliver its services or products. This role can have an impact on bottom line profits through increased productivity, product delivery and company communications. The CTO is more of a customer facing role involved in product development and the end product the customer is using. The impact of the CTO role is more focused on revenues and delivery a top level product to the end customer. Whichever technology expertise you need, the benefits and results for bringing in outside expertise can be limitless. Here’s a few of the most common ones we see from clients at Cerius, how they were addressed and the types of results the client experienced:

Professional services and banking industry

Interim CIO: 5 days/week, 11 months

Situation

Independent review and assessment needed

Obsolete systems in place

Significant system outage occurred

Large project 6 months overdue

Technology and business unit not working together

Implementation

Restoration, recovery and remedial actions created and executed for system outage

Hired Director of IT Operations – department not functioning in part due to key role missing

Completed large project within one month of start

Established back-up systems

Hired Director of IT Operations – department not functioning in part due to key role missing

Created SOP, increased discipline and predictability of IT operations

Established annual budget

Set up performance testing program

Initiated change management program

Initiated business intelligence and reporting

Results

Brought strategic product to market within one month delivering 3% increase in revenue

Bridged cultural divide resulting in ability of business units to continue plan execution together

Full recovery within 6 months of system outage

Large Healthcare provider

CIO: 4-5 days/week, 6 months

Situation

Company lost prior CIO and needed immediate leadership

Broken relationship between business and IT existed

Need for strategy and standards

Dis