CIO vs. CTO - Who is Responsible for IT in the Organization?

Who exactly is the CIO, and who is the CTO?

Let's start by decoding these acronyms and briefly outlining the areas these roles cover:

1. 𝗖𝗜𝗢 – 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 – as the name suggests, this role is responsible for managing information within the organization. It primarily serves as a bridge between the business and the teams responsible for collecting, storing, and processing information in IT systems.
2. 𝗖𝗧𝗢 – 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 – the person responsible for the technologies used within the enterprise.

As you can see, these roles have quite well-defined areas of focus. The CIO is tasked with delivering value to the business from implemented IT systems, while the CTO is strictly responsible for the operation of these systems. Therefore, the CTO role is much more technical and closer to the IT teams, whereas the CIO is closer to the business. It is the CIO who translates business requirements into language understandable to IT and potentially sponsors IT initiatives aimed at delivering business value. The CTO, on the other hand, is responsible for the efficacy of the technical measures applied and the efficiency of executing initiatives (for example, by planning appropriate IT structures or processes) that have been launched by the CIO.

However, it is important to remember that both roles are C-level positions. This means that both the CIO and CTO are strategic roles, not necessarily tactical ones. On a tactical level, the directions set by the CTO are executed by a Head of [Development/Infrastructure/Support/Product], while CIO initiatives are usually led by a Project/Program Manager/Director.

At the same time, the CTO and CIO roles should be on the same level, as the individuals holding them act as mutual sparring partners. In this dynamic, the CIO represents the business in a specific way, while the CTO represents the strictly technological area.

Can these roles be combined?

In smaller organizations, this is probably inevitable, though not necessarily "healthy." The problem of a conflict of interest when holding both CIO and CTO roles appears precisely at the level of the previously mentioned "sparring." A CIO who is simultaneously responsible for the technological area may naturally limit business possibilities based on technology constraints. This prevents the exploration of truly innovative or unconventional approaches to solving problems posed by the business.