How A Virtual Chief Information Officer (CIO) Can Help Your Business Grow

What Is A Virtual CIO (vCIO)

High growth, competition, and an age of digital transformation have made the world of work more challenging than ever before. This forces many roles to become digital and virtualized, with many jobs being done remotely.

This new job role is gaining traction as a cost-effective way for small companies to provide employees with the senior experience of an executive position, including CEO, CTO, or CIO.

Why You Need a Virtual CIO

Whatever your company does, you use technology to run it. Without your technology, your company would not be able to function.

Your technology is crucial for everything, including remote collaboration, collecting payments, making appointment schedules, paying personnel, managing content, and even sending emails.

Every organization leverages some form of IT support. These forms can include:

• Figuring it out yourself
• Finding a resource as needed
• Maintaining your own internal IT team
• Professional managed services

While technical guidance is valuable for any circumstance, vCIO services are truly valuable for organizations that support an IT infrastructure large enough to require daily operational support.

A Virtual CIO = Strategic Advantage

Technology is highly complex and rapidly advancing.

Most companies struggle to stay abreast of their core business issues, let alone manage their technology correctly. Even small IT teams are frequently overwhelmed just trying to maintain internal systems and operations – let alone do any strategic planning.

Many companies are stuck in an outdated technology rut, failing to upgrade and modernize. The ultimate aim should be to use technology for increased revenue and reduced expenses.

But if you’re not using the right technology to help meet those objectives, a large portion of your budget could be wasted.

When was the last time you took an objective look at which applications you use and which are just taking up space because no one else uses them?

Your in-house IT team may do an excellent job keeping your infrastructure up and running, but sometimes it takes outside help to gain a fresh perspective.

An objective “hired gun” can more quickly identify issues that may have been overlooked and recommend improving or replacing legacy systems and practices.

Many people ask, “what is managed IT services” and the answer is that it’s an effective way to reduce expenses while gaining access to Expertise and technology you may not have enough budget for in-house. This could include vCIO services as well.

Most Managed IT Service Providers offer virtual CIO services as part of their portfolio, so it’s worth exploring your options to find the most suitable choice for your company.

A vCIO brings Expertise that will form your technology strategy 

Crafting a strategic technology plan can be intricate and time-consuming, and not everyone can do it successfully.

A knowledgeable vCIO can draw upon their extensive experience working with hundreds of other companies facing similar difficulties and know which technologies are most suitable to address specific problems.

Beyond technical proficiency and being up to date on industry developments, a vCIO must possess an in-depth comprehension of business management principles.

This skill set is essential for understanding your business objectives and translating them into a clear long-term strategic technology plan that aligns with your company’s requirements and vision.

Six ways a vCIO brings value:

• Assist in identifying ROI, critical activities, and strategic priorities
• Give techniques and procedures to promote transformation.
• Speculate on matters of compliance and regulation
• Analyze the talents and alignment of the present team
• Take control of your daily technology direction.
• Encourage strategic vendor partnerships

Infrastructure CyberSecurity with a vCISO

Security is one of the essential responsibilities a virtual CIO (vCIO) has within their company.

There is now a special designation for virtual CIOs with extensive cybersecurity expertise – the virtual CISO (Chief Information Security Officer).

Similar to a virtual CIO, a vCISO is an offering designed to make top-tier security experts available to organizations that require security guidance and advice.

Cyber risk has now become the top priority for executives.

The sophistication of attacks, the technologies developed to defend against them, and global regulations creating regulations to address them are evolving at an incredible speed – making it increasingly difficult to keep up.

If you don’t already have an internal cyber security expert or it makes financial sense to hire one full-time, vCISO (virtual Chief Information Security Officer) services may be beneficial.

Starting with a risk assessment, your virtual CSO will create an integrated strategic security plan that covers your entire organization. This may include security policies, training programs, business continuity planning, disaster recovery procedures, reporting requirements, and regulatory adherence. There’s much more to consider here!

Larger organizations may employ both a CIO and CISO, with tasks and responsibilities divided as necessary.

Remember, these titles represent only what a virtual CIO should possess: all the technical Expertise and certifications necessary to keep your company secure!

Virtual CIO Costs

Small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) often can’t justify the expense of a full-time CIO, and here’s why:

At large companies, CIO compensation packages typically range from $500k to around $150k; smaller organizations may pay as little as $150k. Of course, there is often additional overhead in benefits, bonuses, and profit-sharing programs.

Pricing structures differ, but generally speaking vCIOs charge either an hourly rate or a flat fee; the latter works as a subscription model where clients pay monthly.

The hourly rate can vary considerably based on your location and other factors but generally starts at $200 an hour and increases from there.

Calculating a subscription service (monthly recurring) can be more complex. On average, you might pay anywhere from $2k to $10k per month, depending on your organization’s size, desired services, and other factors.

If your business is expanding rapidly, you’ll need extensive technology planning to guarantee that your IT infrastructure and security protection remain on track.

Most small to midsize businesses (SMBs) have at least one person who is knowledgeable about their company’s IT systems. Still, few know where to begin when creating a long-term technology strategy.

How a vCIO saves you money

By saving the cost of recruiting and retaining hard-to-find, expensive talent, you can optimize the efficiency of your current IT environment and ensure your business remains secure – most SMBs significantly underestimate the impact of a data breach on their operations.

If you want to explore further, check out our case study, which outlines how our virtual CIO services assisted an architecture and design firm with their global expansion plans, ensuring they had the appropriate technology for future expansion.