Who's more responsible for outsourcing technology? The CTO or CIO?
CIO73%
CTO26%
778 PARTICIPANTS
Assistant Director IT Auditor in Education, 10,001+ employees
Yes, absolutely agree. Been through a couple in my career.CIO in Finance (non-banking), 1,001 - 5,000 employees
Outsourcing can have multiple reasons one of which is pure labor arbitrage but there are several strategic reasons in this labor market. Regardless, CIO usually owns the decision and should lean on their CTO for advice as they think through implications and sometimes unintended consequences. A decision like is is usually never unilateral with multiple executive team members in play. CEO in Software, 11 - 50 employees
The reasons for outsourcing are mostly well known. How to outsource successfully is still a bit of magic (people) with some science. Specifically to the question of CIO vs CTO, the CTO doesn't own functions or service delivery (in the vast majority of businesses), so it doesn't make sense for them to do any outsourcing, where they lead. However, for certain technology focused outsource efforts, the CTO being involved as a second set of eyes and strategy considerations for the CIO is a great option.
Director of Technology Strategy in Services (non-Government), 2 - 10 employees
It depends on what you are outsourcing, the CTO doesn't have full remit across technology, while the CIO isn't always responsible for the CTOs world Either way, a very clear strategy should be in place first.
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CTO in Software, 201 - 500 employees
Without a doubt - Technical Debt! It's a ball and chain that creates an ever increasing drag on any organization, stifles innovation, and prevents transformation.Equal access to opportunity14%
Remote work; with enhanced infrastructure and technology to support48%
Better flexibility, mental health, and work/life balance28%
Humans + machines working together or intersecting further8%
Other (comment)0%
667 PARTICIPANTS
Human Factors (fears, mental health, physical spacing)84%
Technical / IT Factors (on-premise tools, pivoting back away from remote)15%
710 PARTICIPANTS
Cost cutting is an objective and can sometimes be achieved through Outsourcing. Sometimes outsourcing also stems from time to market, scaling, extended coverage or other needs. CIOs generally carry the baton on vendor choices, execution and overall accountability.