What is a vCIO? The Benefits of Hiring a Virtual CIO
The role of a Chief Information Officer (or CIO) in a business has become more critical than ever. A few years back, they were only responsible for resolving IT support issues. However, as technology continues to evolve and the threat landscape becomes more dynamic, the modern CIO is responsible for more than ever. A CIO must be able to manage complex software, develop strategic initiatives, and implement measures to combat cyberattacks—all within an organization’s IT budgeting framework.
For any business or organization today, a high-caliber CIO is a must. However, small businesses often do not have enough funds to meet the salary demands of top talent. Hiring a virtual CIO (vCIO) is an affordable option that can help protect your business and maintain effective operations. This article will explain the basics and detail some of the benefits of hiring a virtual CIO.
What is a CIO?
A CIO is an executive who oversees and manages the IT operations of a business or organization. A well-qualified CIO will understand the budgeting, development, and hiring aspects of a business or organization.
Hiring an in-house IT department team member can be costly, but hiring an in-house CIO can be especially cost-prohibitive. The average salary range of a CIO is $90,430 to $208,000. Many smaller businesses and organizations lack the budget for a traditional CIO, which leaves them more vulnerable to cyberattacks and less equipped to efficiently manage their IT operations. As a result, an increasing number of businesses and organizations are choosing to partner with a virtual CIO.
Start the Conversation
We're big believers in culture fit. Contact Tier 3 Technology Solutions for a commitment-free conversation about your business's IT Support needs.
What is a vCIO?
A virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) is an individual or company that creates and oversees an effective IT plan or strategy for your organization. Managed Service Providers provide virtual CIO services as part of their managed IT support offerings to help organizations feel confident that they are using the right technology, in the right way, for the right reasons.
A qualified MSP features a diversely skilled staff and will tailor their vCIO services to your organization’s needs and budget. A vCIO will improve the performance and efficiency of your IT operations while minimizing unnecessary IT budget expenditures.
Having a vCIO means that the employees of a business don’t have to cater to fundamental IT problems anymore. Instead, they’ll have enough time to look after the company’s primary functions while the vCIO manages technical issues.
In-house CIO vs vCIO
Here are some major differences between an in-house CIO and a vCIO.
Cost
When a company hires a CIO, they have to pay for their salary, equipment, benefits, and office space. A large organization or company can easily justify such expenses; however, a small enterprise may struggle to manage them properly.
In contrast, a vCIO has their own office space and equipment and charges a fixed monthly fee for their services. A good vCIO will add just as much value to a business as an in-house CIO, but at a fraction of the cost.
Perspective
In-house CIOs can sometimes carry with them a rigid mindset. If an in-house CIO is responsible for setting up a system and then, over time, that system becomes unsustainable, they might hesitate to complete the necessary overhaul. “That’s the way we’ve always done it” isn’t an effective attitude in business—especially where technology is concerned.
A vCIO, however, is highly adaptable and has no personal attachment to an individual idea; they are heavily invested, instead, in the sustained success of your organization. This partnership incentivizes a proactive, innovative, and flexible mindset from your vCIO.
Flexibility
In-house CIOs are typically salaried employees with fixed working hours. Their workload is variable, but their pay is not. For long stretches of time, the higher-level services they provide (and which justify their salary) may not be necessary. Many CIOs are also accustomed to static hours and aren’t always available outside of their regular hours. It’s easy to resolve these flexibility issues by outsourcing your CIO to a managed service provider, who can provide more budget flexibility, as well as twenty-four-hour availability.
Start the Conversation
We're big believers in culture fit. Contact Tier 3 Technology Solutions for a commitment-free conversation about your business's IT Support needs.
The benefits of hiring a vCIO
Here are a few of the major benefits of hiring a vCIO.
Support for disaster planning
A good disaster plan works like insurance. You pay a little upfront to avoid major expenses in the future.
Many businesses are not protected against disaster. If something as simple as a Wi-Fi network fails, a whole day of work can be lost to troubleshooting. Scaling that up, server failures and natural disasters regularly sink entire businesses.
A vCIO can curate operational protocols and quick responses to minimize revenue loss and damage caused by a natural disaster or an outage.
Security planning
Many small enterprises believe they aren’t prone to cyberattacks because they have smaller data sets. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Threat actors consider small businesses low-hanging fruit and actively target them. A small organization that doesn’t invest in cybersecurity is significantly more vulnerable to cyberattacks, and a vCIO is critical to the success of an organization’s cybersecurity efforts.
From data security to system stability, a vCIO can help modernize, optimize, and protect any network affordably.
Data migration
The IT consulting expertise of a vCIO can also help an organization migrate its data efficiently. Many companies don’t realize quite how much data they have on their hands until it’s time to migrate it to a new system. Mismanaging data migration can lead to security breaches or loss of information, and managing data migration properly can be costly and time-intensive. As cloud computing becomes more complex, for example, a vCIO can provide valuable insight and advice as your organization considers all of its available data management options.
A vCIO can design a system that’s easily migratable, form a proper storage plan, eliminate redundancy, and reduce the risk of losing crucial information. This won’t just make any current data migration easier, but will also smooth and accelerate any future data migration projects.
Next steps
Now that you know the benefits of hiring a vCIO, it may be time to consider getting in touch with a managed service provider for a free consultation about your current network, plans, and IT needs. The right MSP can accurately assess your current IT setup and provide more information on how their vCIO services could optimize your organization’s budget, cybersecurity, and overall effectiveness.