Whether you are old school or modern, if you fail to change with the world, you might not be in business for long. As you see, technologies are developing so fast that they can render businesses obsolete if they don’t match the tunes of disruption. | Crafting Tech Vision for Companies.
Take the example of Uber, Ola and Rapido, they changed the face of transportation, so much so that traditional taxis are almost extinct. The same is true with Motels and Hotels after OYO and AirBnb entered the market.
The common denominator in all of this is that customers in this day and age of technology prefer effortless routes. Technology is an ‘enabler of effortlessness’. Time is money and technology saves that money. So a business’ major focus is to identify the new and emerging tech and figure out how they can use it to benefit their business while also mitigating risks.
McKinsey’s research even shows that companies who keep abreast of new technologies and include them in their strategies have more chances of being successful.
Chief Technology Officers - People of the Hour
Staying up to date with tech trends isn’t enough. Anticipating disruptive trends and prepping the company for them, so that you can make the best of them when the time comes, is extremely important. Even after being aware of this, many companies complain that they are not even prepared for the technological shifts underway – let alone prepared to spot new trends as they emerge.
In circumstances like these, having a C-suite executive like the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) who is responsible for spotting these new emerging trends that will impact the industry is significant. Startups whose de-facto chief technology officer is the CEO understand the importance of this role and the opportunities it brings. Even traditional businesses are trying their hands on tech.
In this digital age, many argue that “understanding technology is now a core skill required for every leader”. This is not to say that each leader needs to understand technology like a tech expert, but enough to understand how important it is to focus on. Based on this, the CTO needs to come up with a strategic plan to stay ahead of the curve.
The role of a Chief Technology Officer
The chief technology officer (CTO) often has been used interchangeably with CIO, CDO which stands for Chief Information Technology Officer and Chief Digital Officer, respectively. However, there are a few differences between the two. The Chief Information officer deals with the technology that supports and facilitates information and knowledge management within the organization. While a Chief Digital Officer deals with digital products and business models. Both of these roles are internally focused roles.
On the other hand, the role of the CTO is externally focussed where they examine the market conditions, so they can better prepare their company if any tech disruption occurs. The role of the Chief Technology Officer is much more defined in Conglomerates because they are always on the lookout to transform their business and use new technologies to drive down their manufacturing costs.
CTOs at par with CFOs | Crafting Tech Vision for Companies.
India INC, Aviva India, BharatPe, Arya.Ag, Tata AIG General Insurance, Telerad Group, Medikabazaar, and ElectraEV are among those that have hired Chief Technology Officers. A CTO role has become at par with the role of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) due to the critical role it plays in almost every aspect of the business.
The board is also now becoming more open to technology as cyber risk and security issues take center stage just as the technology. It is safe to say that as much as finance is the blood cell of the business, innovation is the heart of business and technology is the heartbeat of this innovation.
(Author: Karishma is a content writer at TechDoQuest. She gives fresh and youthful perspectives on whatever she writes about.)