Are you looking for a CIO or CTO? Excellent! Here’s how we can help with that.

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
• Disorganized department

Key Challenges/Issues for Interim

• Projects were behind schedule and over budget

Implementation

• Established project management and governance
• Established standards within IT including architecture
• Organization management realigned teams
• Reduced costs to overall budget
• Projects adjusted and moving forward with clearer direction
• Brought strong leadership with both IT and business background

Results

• Reduced IT budget by $7 million
• Put in motion plans for additional $1.5-2 million of reductions
• Projects have turned from red to green – on time and under budget
• IT and business units are working as a team

Though no two companies and situations are the same, we find there are often common themes within organizations and at Cerius, we know how to find the right expertise to address the need and provide results. If you have more questions about interim executives and management consultants click here some of the most commonly asked questions and answers.