A fractional chief information officer differs from a traditional chief information officer in that they serve as a working member of a company's executive management team as a contractor and may or may not serve on the company's board of directors. A fractional CIO, also known as a part-time CIO, parachute CIO, or CIO on-demand, is an experienced, multi-faceted professional who serves as the part-time chief information officer of a small or medium-sized business that otherwise could not afford or would not need a full-time executive to hold the position of chief information officer. A virtual CIO or vCIO may have a similar role, but the term virtual suggests that the individual is not present in the organisation on the same basis as an employed executive. An interim CIO is generally retained for a limited time period, often to oversee a specific project or to cover an interregnum. As with traditional CIOs, a fractional CIO often helps with technology roadmaps, business process improvements, and business technology strategy.
The key business benefit of retaining a fractional CIO is that they provide the same expertise and capability of a full-time CIO without the associated level of overhead and benefits associated with adding another top-level executive. Care, however, must be taken to ensure the skills of the fractional CIO align primarily with the needs of the business, and not weighted with technical expertise in order to achieve the best results.
Fractional CIOs typically serve several companies and may or may not engage in the day-to-day management of a company's IT staff or other resources.
Corporate titles or business titles are given to corporate officers to show what duties and responsibilities they have in the organization. Such titles are used by publicly and privately held for-profit corporations, cooperatives, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, partnerships, and sole proprietorships that also confer corporate titles.
A chief financial officer (CFO), also known as a treasurer, is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances . The CFO thus has ultimate authority over the finance unit and is the chief financial spokesperson for the organization.
Chief information officer (CIO), chief digital information officer (CDIO) or information technology (IT) director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise who works with information technology and computer systems, in order to support enterprise goals.
A management information system (MIS) is an information system used for decision-making, and for the coordination, control, analysis, and visualization of information in an organization. The study of the management information systems involves people, processes and technology in an organizational context. In other words, it serves, as the functions of controlling, planning, decision making in the management level setting.
A chief operating officer (COO) is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization. COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the CEO, and reports directly to them and acts on their behalf in their absence.
A chief technology officer (CTO) is an officer tasked with managing technical operations of an organization. They oversee and supervise research and development and serve as a technical advisor to a higher executive such as a chief executive officer.
A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a global marketing officer or marketing director, or chief brand officer, is a corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. Whilst historically these titles may have signified a legal responsibility, for example at Companies House in the UK, the titles are less strict/formal in the 21st Century and allow companies to acknowledge the evolving and increasingly significant role that marketers can play in an organisation, not least because of the inherent character of successful marketers. The CMO leads brand management, marketing communications, market research, product marketing, distribution channel management, pricing, customer success, and customer service.
A chief visionary officer or chief vision officer (CVO) is an executive function in a company like a CEO or COO. The title is sometimes used to formalize a high-level advisory position and other times used to define a higher-ranking position than that held by the CEO. In some cases, the CVO is added to the CEO-title, much in the same way that people with multiple university degrees list them after their names.
A Chief Data Officer (CDO) is a corporate officer responsible for enterprise-wide governance and utilization of information as an asset, via data processing, analysis, data mining, information trading and other means. CDOs usually report to the chief executive officer (CEO), although depending on the area of expertise this can vary. The CDO is a member of the executive management team and manager of enterprise-wide data processing and data mining.
The Center for Information Technology (CIT) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that compose the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a cabinet-level department of the Executive Branch of the United States Federal Government. Originating in 1954 as a central processing facility in the NIH Office of the Director, the Division of Computer Research and Technology was established in 1964, merging in 1998 with the NIH Office of the CIO and the NIH Office of Research Services Telecommunications Branch to form a new organization, the CIT.
A chief information security officer (CISO) is a senior-level executive within an organization responsible for establishing and maintaining the enterprise vision, strategy, and program to ensure information assets and technologies are adequately protected. The CISO directs staff in identifying, developing, implementing, and maintaining processes across the enterprise to reduce information and information technology (IT) risks. They respond to incidents, establish appropriate standards and controls, manage security technologies, and direct the establishment and implementation of policies and procedures. The CISO is also usually responsible for information-related compliance. The CISO is also responsible for protecting proprietary information and assets of the company, including the data of clients and consumers. CISO works with other executives to make sure the company is growing in a responsible and ethical manner.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to business management:
Chief business officer (CBO) is the position of the top operating executive of growing commercial companies or an academic/research institution. In the commercial space, CBO shows leadership in deal-making experience with a clear record of results and ultimate transactional responsibility. In higher education, the titles of vice president, associate dean, assistant dean, and director are also used for the role of the chief business officer.
The chief investment officer (CIO) is a job title for the board level head of investments within an organization. The CIO's purpose is to understand, manage, and monitor their organization's portfolio of assets, devise strategies for growth, act as the liaison with investors, and recognize and avoid serious risks, including those never before encountered.
A chief innovation officer (CINO) or chief technology innovation officer (CTIO) is a person in a company who is primarily responsible for managing the process of innovation and change management in an organization, as well as being in some cases the person who "originates new ideas but also recognizes innovative ideas generated by other people". The CINO also manages technological change.
A chief information officer in higher education is the senior executive who is responsible for information and communications technology in the university, college or other higher education institution. The position may not necessarily be called a CIO in some institutions. The CIO title is often coupled with Vice President/Vice Chancellor of information technology, is primarily used at doctoral/research institutions, while the titles of Director or Dean are more common at the other five types of Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education; MA I, MA II, BA Liberal Arts, BA General, and AA. In addition, the CIO title used at different institutions may represent unique positions with differing roles and responsibilities. Ultimately, there is no one definition for a CIO; it has a variety of meanings, functions, areas of purview, reporting structures, and required qualifications. Some traditional executive and administrative positions in higher education, such as a chief financial officer position or chief academic officer/provost have been in existence for a long time and typically have a definite career path. In contrast, the position of CIO in higher education, which has only been around for about 35 years, has no single career path nor single model to explain what can be expected of CIOs in higher education, which makes it a challenge and an opportunity for those interested in preparing for such a role. Brian L. Hawkins (2004), former president of Educause concluded:
A chief digital officer (CDO) or a chief digital information officer (CDIO) is an individual who helps a company, a government organization or a city drive growth by converting traditional "analog" businesses to digital ones using the potential of modern online technologies and data, and at times oversees operations in the rapidly changing digital sectors like mobile applications, social media and related applications, virtual goods, as well as web-based information management and marketing.
Fractional executives are professionals who offer their management services to organizations on a for-hire, part-time basis, also known as fractional work. These executives typically have extensive experience in a business environment in roles such as chairperson, owner, CxO, senior vice president, vice president, or director. Their skills can be focused in one discipline or be more broad-based, depending on their experience.
Fractional work refers to a work arrangement where an individual provides specialized skills or management services to multiple organizations on a part-time or project basis. This work model has gained popularity in recent years due to the increasing demand for flexible and cost-effective solutions for businesses to access specific expertise.