What a CTO as a service is
CTO stands for chief technology officer. In a large company it is a full-time position. In an SME it often doesn’t exist, and technical decisions end up being made by whoever can: the managing director, the ERP provider or the outside IT technician, each from their own corner.
A CTO as a service—also called a fractional or part-time CTO—is that role hired as a service: someone from outside, with technical experience, who gives the company the time it needs each month and reports to management.
Which companies it is for
- Companies that already have systems: an ERP, a CRM, an online shop or spreadsheets that act as software.
- With nobody inside who leads technology: management decides, but has neither the time nor the technical judgment to compare proposals.
- With several providers who don’t talk to each other: one for the ERP, one for the website and another for IT.
- That want to digitalize, automate or use AI, and don’t know where to start or whom to believe.
It doesn’t have to be a manufacturer or a large company. What matters is that technology already carries weight in the business and that nobody is leading it.
What they do
- Technology decisions. What to buy, what not to buy and from which provider, with the reasons in writing.
- Providers. They talk to them on your behalf (the ERP provider, the IT provider, the web provider), review their quotes and follow up.
- The digitalization plan. What to automate and in what order, in a phased plan that is kept up to date as the business changes.
- Projects. They keep an eye on them, whoever builds them: that they get delivered, that they work and that they do what was asked for.
- AI. What genuinely helps you and what doesn’t, before you pay for licenses or projects that don’t save hours.
- Security and continuity. Backups, access, who holds the keys to each system and what happens if a provider closes down.
- A report and a meeting. A short report every month and a monthly meeting with management to decide the next steps.
CTO as a service or a CTO on the payroll
Hiring a full-time chief technology officer makes sense when technology is the product, or when there is an in-house development team that needs leading. In a company that uses technology but doesn’t sell it, the work doesn’t fill a working day: what is needed is judgment, not hours.
Nor is it the same as your IT provider. The IT provider fixes incidents and maintains the equipment; the CTO as a service decides what needs doing and makes sure it is done well, including that provider’s work. The two complement each other.
- In-house CTO. A full-time person inside the company, on an employment contract. They lead technology and the development team. It makes sense when technology is the product or there is an in-house development team.
- CTO as a service. Someone from outside who gives the hours needed each month, hired as a service, often with a monthly fee. They decide with management and oversee providers and projects. It makes sense when technology carries weight in the business but doesn’t fill a working day.
- IT provider. They are there when there is an incident or maintenance is due, on a maintenance contract or per incident. They fix incidents and maintain equipment and systems. They complement either of the other two.
Before you hire one
- Which technology decisions you have pending right now, and who makes them.
- How many providers there are and whether anyone reviews their quotes and their work.
- Whether there is a plan for what to automate and in what order, and who keeps it up to date.
- Who holds the keys to each system and what would happen if a provider closed down.
If the answers are “nobody” or “the managing director, when they can”, the role may suit you. If what you need is for your team to use AI well, you may not need a CTO.