Is now the right time to consider a Virtual CIO / IT Director?

To help answer this question it’s important to clarify what actually is the role of a Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Information Technology (IT) Director.

The CIO or IT Director is usually the most senior IT member of a business responsible for the management, implementation, and usability of information and computer technologies.  In recent times this role has evolved not only to be responsible for the current state IT systems but also to define and lead the IT strategy of a business.  It is important that the IT strategy aligns to deliver the business goals, ensuring that IT systems are fit for the present but also ready to support the future state of the business. Therefore, this individual will be the executive interface for IT into the business and be responsible for identifying IT trends that should be adopted by the business.

Many businesses are not of a sufficient size or do not have the requirement for a full time CIO or IT Director.  Though they still can realise the benefits of this role by appointing a Virtual CIO / IT Director.

A Virtual CIO / IT Director will typically become the most senior IT member of a business, fulfilling the role that would traditionally be delivered by a CIO / IT Director but on a part time basis, sometimes only a couple of days a month.

Some of the benefits of using a Virtual CIO / IT Director service are :

• The ability to utilise the knowledge and experience of a CIO / IT Director without the cost of a full time position.
• “On-Tap” resource, with the ability to flex usage up and down dependant on requirements and budget.
• Access to a CIO / IT Director with real life experience of developing IT strategy, building business cases, delivering IT transformation programmes / projects and managing 3rd party IT and software vendors.

Some of the services that a Virtual CIO / IT Director can help deliver are :

• Production or maintenance of an IT Strategy
• IT representation at a board level / facilitated board discussions.
• IT, data, software and disaster recovery strategies.
• Creation or assistance with IT business cases.
• IT Risk management and mitigation.
• External compliance.
• Managing 3rd party IT suppliers and software vendors.
• Leadership mentoring.
• Organisational design and recruitment assistance.

For more information on our Virtual CIO / IT Director service please contact Sean Devlin on sean.devlin@ballardsllp.com or call 01905 794 504