Fractional and deputy CIOs both fill the need for IT leadership, but they have unique roles. A fractional CIO provides strategic guidance and vision, while deputy CIOs provide operational support. Considering your needs, understanding the differences, and knowing which to engage when will help you make the best decision.
In brief:
- Fractional and deputy CIOs both help fill IT talent gaps. However, fractional CIOs are senior leaders, while deputy CIOs amplify your current CIO’s capacity.
- Fractional CIOs provide strategic leadership, while deputy CIOs are operational and tactical.
- Both fractional and deputy CIOs help optimize your IT organization’s value. A fractional CIO helps you reach your goals if you lack IT leadership or need a clear technology vision, while a deputy CIO helps your CIO extend their capacity or close gaps.
- Overall, once you know the kind of CIO you need, look for deep experience, diverse skill sets, and leaders with access to other expertise.
With gaping information technology (IT) leadership talent shortages and ever-changing expectations for chief information officers (CIOs), how do you implement flexible, effective tech leadership? It’s not just about technical management. You need a combination of vision and the ability to manage people and execute impactful projects.
The answer often comes down to two paths: choosing a fractional CIO or a deputy CIO. Either choice gives you a leader with seasoned expertise. But which one do you need and when?
In this blog post, I’ll answer those questions. However, before going further, note that both are more appropriate if you’re facing short-lived challenges rather than long-term, systemic issues.
As executive search firm Authentic Bridge puts it: “Hiring a permanent leader to fix a temporary crisis is often a mismatch. It’s like marrying a mechanic because your car broke down.”
Let’s start by considering the fractional CIO role.
What Is a Fractional CIO?
A fractional CIO is a senior leader who provides ongoing strategic guidance and vision, as well as tech road maps, transformation support, and innovation — all without losing sight of your budget and key performance indicators (KPIs).
In addition, this leader brings a unique outside perspective and best practices across all aspects of the tech landscape, including emerging technologies, regulations, security threats, and cyber resilience, which 35 percent of companies feel is inadequate. A fractional CIO can often bring a broader perspective and experience level, complementing a company’s internal capabilities.
What Does Your Engagement With a Fractional CIO Look Like?
The typical engagement for a fractional CIO can be part-time, project-based, or advisory. In most cases, you work with a fractional CIO service for between one and two years, but that can vary based on your needs.
In some cases, a fractional CIO serves as a bridge while you train a tech manager to take on the CIO role full time. If that’s the case, a fractional CIO can also help prepare their successor.
When Is a Fractional CIO the Right Fit?
How you use a fractional CIO depends on what you need from your IT department and the people you currently have in place.
When You Need a Visionary IT Leader
A fractional CIO is a good fit when you lack IT leadership or someone to develop and execute a clear direction. For instance, you may have people handling IT maintenance and helpdesk functions very well but lack a person who can set an IT vision and drive it. A fractional CIO would fill the gap.
When You Have a Growth Opportunity
If leadership needs to get more out of IT to support the business’s growth, that’s a clear signal for bringing on a fractional CIO.
In some cases, the growth opportunity lies solely in IT. In other words, anytime you’re asking, “How can we do more with IT?” hiring a fractional CIO may be a good decision.
A common example is artificial intelligence (AI). Many ask, “How can we do more with AI?” A fractional CIO might ask, “Where can AI add value?” Then, after identifying its potential for your organization, the CIO would create and lead an AI implementation strategy.
When You Need an IT Strategy
A fractional CIO can come in, build a technology strategy, and develop the internal talent to execute it. For instance, they might train or mentor a current IT director to be your next CIO and then stay on for a year or so to guide the transition.
When You Need an Unbiased Perspective
It’s natural for internal folks to get married to their ideas and oppose ideas that don’t align with their vision, so a fractional CIO introduces a much-needed unbiased perspective. They have a laser focus on the organization’s success without regard for how each decision may affect their future with the company.
When Budget Constraints Make It Hard to Hire Someone Full Time
A fractional CIO typically costs less than hiring a full-time tech executive, making them a great fit when you need innovative leadership but don’t have much headroom in your budget.
Let’s say a growth initiative will generate enough revenue to hire a full-time CIO down the road. In that case, bringing in a fractional CIO in the near term can power the growth phase, and then you can use some of the additional revenue to hire a full-time CIO.
Now, we can look at deputy CIOs.
What Is a Deputy CIO?
A deputy CIO is a leader who is second-in-command to your CIO. They oversee operations, staff, and technology procurement, and a deputy CIO supports ongoing client communications and projects.
A deputy CIO’s role is tactical and operational. They amplify your CIO’s capacity.
When Is a Deputy CIO the Right Fit?
A deputy CIO is a boots-on-the-ground worker who manages what your CIO may lack the time to handle. They are most helpful:
When Your CIO Is at or Over Capacity
You need a deputy CIO when you already have a CIO who’s stretched too thin. If they can’t give enough attention to executing IT projects, a deputy CIO can fill that gap.
Organizations also hire deputy CIOs to anticipate future needs. If there’s an important project on the horizon, and the CIO knows they can’t personally manage it, you can hire a deputy CIO to do the heavy lifting.
The question is rarely whether technology leadership is needed. Instead, it’s usually how quickly the organization can get it when it’s required the most.
“Boards are no longer debating if they need senior technology leadership, only which model delivers it fastest,” says Brett Raven, fractional CIO and AI expert.
When There Are Clear Operational Gaps
At times, an organization needs an operational IT leader to manage specific programs or projects, even if it’s just for a short time.
For instance, one of Centric Consulting’s clients needed to implement an Agile sprint cycle approach while developing a project. They introduced a deputy CIO to specifically manage that one process, giving the dev team the direction and structure they needed to build successfully.
When You Need to Drive Cultural Change
A deputy CIO can help lead an organization through a critical IT cultural shift, leaving the CIO free to manage day-to-day operations.
For example, an IT helpdesk team may have a “waiting for directions” culture instead of one focused on personally owning outcomes.
Some common cultural shifts a deputy CIO can help with include:
- Moving from reactive to proactive
- Seeing IT as a value driver rather than a cost escalator
- Shifting from siloed to partner-focused interactions between IT and other departments
- Moving from seeing security as an afterthought to a security-first mindset
- Transitioning from making decisions based on gut feelings to using data and metrics
As we have seen, fractional and deputy CIOs are similar but different — and the differences are important to explore in more detail by way of an example.
How the Fractional CIO and Deputy CIO Roles Differ (and Why It Matters)
In short, here’s how the roles of fractional and deputy CIOs differ:
- Fractional CIO = strategic direction
- Deputy CIO = operational leadership
A deputy CIO is unique because they support your existing CIO, enhancing their capacity, while a fractional CIO completely fills the CIO role.
For instance, Company A is merging with another organization and needs to determine how to maximize the effectiveness of each company’s IT personnel, systems, and resources.
Company A needs a fractional CIO.
Company B has a different challenge. Its IT support team has been receiving numerous complaints about a customer-facing web app. They’re doing a decent job of addressing each concern, but it’s clear the dev team would benefit from regular collaboration and feedback from the support team. The CIO is already stretched to the max.
Company B needs a deputy CIO to facilitate a cultural shift toward ongoing collaboration between IT support and the dev team — and probably other departments in the organization.
How to Decide Which Role Your Organization Needs
The decision between a fractional and deputy CIO is often very clear.
Choose a Fractional CIO If You Need To
- Establish a technology strategy or road map. You may have capable IT teams but no clear vision for the future.
- Evaluate digital maturity or investment priorities. Your IT systems may not be supporting growth, or you may need to restructure IT spending.
- Address risk, compliance, or transformation challenges. A fractional CIO can develop a strategy that integrates IT with broader operational concerns related to transformation and governance.
- Hire an executive while avoiding the cost of bringing on a full-time leader. If you need a leader but can’t afford it now, a fractional CIO can fill that gap.
Choose a Deputy CIO If You Need To
- Scale execution or operational capacity. You may not have the in-house personnel to manage business-critical initiatives, and a deputy CIO is an ideal solution.
- Support an overloaded CIO. If your CIO is juggling too many balls, a deputy can take on some of their workload.
- Drive continuous improvement and culture shifts. Your vision may be tight, but there could be cultural roadblocks or stagnant improvement.
- Build succession planning and leadership continuity. If you have a leadership shift or retirement coming up, a deputy CIO can smooth the transition.
Your organization’s current needs and future plans determine which is the best fit so you can make the most of your fractional or deputy CIO investment.
Use a Fractional or Deputy CIO to Optimize IT Value
If your organization lacks IT leadership or needs a clear technology vision, a fractional CIO helps you reach your goals. If you already have a CIO but need to extend their capacity or close gaps, a deputy CIO is the right move.
When you engage with Centric Consulting for fractional CIO services, you get someone who has already been doing CIO work for years. They also have the support of the entire Centric team, which can include experts with specific skills in target disciplines.
For example, suppose you need a fractional CIO to lead a broad, diverse digital transformation. The CIO you get with Centric can also tap into Centric’s pool of digital transformation talent. So with the right fractional CIO solution, you get more than a thought leader — you also get the human power needed to execute your vision.
Connect with us if a fractional or deputy CIO is the best choice for your organization.
