Virtual CIO? What is One? Why Do I Need One?

A virtual CIO is a Virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) who collaborates with and advises the IT department of your business and performs the same functions as a conventional CIO. Those duties include formulating strategic IT goals, planning the IT budget, analyzing and reworking business processes, and facilitating technology changes.

Regardless of what your business does, you use technology to run it. However, technology is complex, and it changes fast. The fact is that most companies have a hard time keeping up with their core business challenges, let alone managing their technology properly. Even companies with small IT teams are often overwhelmed simply trying to keep internal systems and operations up and running, let alone do any strategic planning. Catapult Tech Solutions can help your business with our VCIO services

There are many benefits to using a virtual CIO:

Help set strategic priorities and key initiatives for your company

You need to focus your attention on running and managing your business, not on your IT. Your IT team spends most of its time managing and keeping your current technology running properly. Neither of you have the time to dedicate to keeping up to date on the newest technology and how it could impact your business. A vCIO, on the other hand, has time and expertise to do just that for the present, and importantly, for the future, too.

A virtual CIO brings experience

Experience with several companies gives a vCIO a broader view of how technology is evolving and being used best in your industry. They know other companies similar to yours and how they may be using technology. They keep up to date on the newest technology initiatives happening in your industry. It is time to stop being your own IT expert and let the real expert step in.

Evaluate current team skills and alignment and provide methods and processes to drive change

A virtual CIO is an objective outsider that can look at your business with a fresh perspective. They have no emotional ties to current processes and procedures. They are able to look at how your company is using its technology and recommend the changes necessary to increase your productivity and efficiency.

A virtual CIO offers input on regulatory and compliance matters

Just as technology is constantly changing, the regulations for technology and data is also ever changing. A vCIO has the experience to keep up with these regulations and help you ensure that your company is in compliance with them.

Manage your long-term technology direction

A vCIO can help your business development a long-term strategic plan for the future of your technology. They will help create a clear picture of where your technology is going and how to get there. You know where your business needs to be in the future. A vCIO can work with you to make that vision reality with the right mix of technology so that your business never outgrows your IT infrastructure.

Support strategic vendor relationships

Let’s face it, we all want the best deal possible. A vCIO has relationships with vendors and can help your company find the best deal to get the most value from your technology. Just as you have a business network of people in your industry, the vCIO has a network of people ion the technology industry.

With a virtual CIO you save the cost of hiring and retaining hard-to-find, expensive talent

A virtual CIO is someone who is on call as needed. It does not require you to hire another full-time, high experience, high talent employee. You can optimize the costs of your current IT environment.

Keep your business secure

There’s no doubt that security is an issue for every company (and individual for that matter) today. A vCIO will work to ensure a secure network. Part of a secure network is to create a disaster and backup plan for your data and operations. Working with a vCIO gives you peace-of-mind that your business will be as secure and disaster-proof as a business can be.

As you can see, a vCIO is a terrific resource for your business. Contact Catapult Tech Systems today and let us help you optimize your company’s technology systems. Call us at (317) 350-8928. 

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