Most small businesses have one person at the top running things, usually the CEO/business owner. This person is often in charge of its many executive functions, ranging from Finance to Human Resources, Sales, and Technology.
Although, there comes a size that your business hits that it gets challenging to execute these roles while still in charge of running the business. At this point, most companies will hire specialists at these roles to help with the workload, but not on a full-time basis.
This is where you need a fractional CIO. In this fractional role, the senior executive works for several companies for a small number of hours weekly. These roles are the fractional CIO (Chief Information Officer) leading, directing, and managing these organizations’ IT. Each of these companies will pay for a fraction of the time and only incur a fraction of the cost.
Be that as it may, smaller organizations do not see sense in paying for CIOs on a full-time basis in most cases. However, with the digital wave transforming how the market operates, business owners now see the need to hire someone to help them stay competitive and profitable.
The best approach to getting the job done in this case will be hiring a fractional CIO. They are experts in driving significant change.
WHY SHOULD YOU HIRE A FRACTIONAL CIO?
If you need reasons to hire a fractional CIO for your business, here are five good ones for you…
THEY OFFER FLEXIBILITY
The role of the CIO tends to vary per time. Some weeks, you need a CIO for three days, while you need them for four days in another week. Fractional CIOs offer you such a level of flexibility depending on your plan. The fractional CIO can even help you predict how often you need him.
Remote working is another approach that will help the business grow. In a social distancing time, this will allow the employees to work effectively from home with less worry about their health.
THEY HELP PAY YOUR TECHNOLOGICAL DEBT
IT gets pressured to cut costs in most organizations and achieve more with less. Some organizations view IT as only a cost point. However, if you continue to cut IT investment, there will be a point that what you have wouldn’t meet the market needs. A fractional CIO will give you a strategic plan to bring an effective solution. As well as timely guidance for your team.
THEY HELP YOU STRING TOGETHER AN EFFECTIVE PLAN
A business that grows as it should find it challenging to keep up with administration, sales, finance without an adequate plan. When you hire a fractional CIO, you get IT systems that match your growth level and don’t draw you back.
THEY SAVE YOU COST
According to International Business Machine statistics, the average cost for a stolen record on a global scale is about $150. Data breaches incur more expense than imagined. Therefore, if you get multiple violations on your accounts, it might cripple you. A fractional CIO will build a system that will protect you against such breaches, and you would have saved potential expenses on violations.
THEY GIVE YOU A MARKET ADVANTAGE
Fractional CIOs come with much-needed experience from working in different companies. They also stay updated with the latest trends in the digital space. Hiring a fractional CIO will help you bet on IT strategies that give you an advantage over competitors. It will set you up as a leader in your industry and increase revenue.
CONCLUSION
The bottom line is; hiring a fractional CIO can bring the change that your business needs.
Researched by Statista, a statistics company – on what CEO’s top three priorities are for CIOs to help business preserve through the current disruption. The research showed that the first three priorities are digital transformation activities and remote work experiences on top of the list (37% of the respondents choose these two.) Remote working (29%) as the third due to the current social distancing.
That’s not all, the list is long.
You see why it’s good to hire one. All of the above and more are bound to transform the business. CIOs will help you to the best strategies, save you from potential disasters, and reduce stress for you.
Your business should not be left behind in this information technology era.