According to a recent MIT study, the demand for vCIO services has increased dramatically over the past 12 months. But, what is a vCIO, and why might you need one?

What Is a vCIO?

Simply stated, the term vCIO means virtual Chief Information Officer. So if you know what a CIO does, you know what a vCIO does. The only difference is that the services performed by a vCIO are outsourced. In other words, a vCIO is not on your payroll.

You can also think of it this way: a vCIO is the equivalent of a CIOaaS or CIO as a Service. Much in the same way that SaaS (Software as a Service) or IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) have transformed the way we purchase software and infrastructure. Since we are living in a XaaS (Everything as a Service) world, the popularity of vCIOs should come as no surprise.

Why Would I Need a vCIO?

In the not-so-distant past, an IT professional’s role was mainly fixing computers when they broke or figuring out why your network was slowing down and fixing that, basically break/fix. Over the last decade or two, that has changed dramatically as the IT role has become exponentially more complex as companies transitioned to the cloud and embarked on a process of complete digitalization commonly referred to as DT (Digital Transformation).

To cope with those complexities, more and more companies are outsourcing those IT functions.

Engaging the services of a vCIO can be advantageous in several ways and for a variety of reasons. Traditionally, large businesses and enterprises with an onsite CIO have had a distinct IT advantage over small and medium-sized (SMB) businesses. A CIO can devote time solely to optimizing the company’s IT systems – from infrastructure, hardware, and software to specialized solutions and sophisticated cybersecurity systems.

Although the CIO’s technical expertise is decidedly an asset, with a seat at the C-suite table, the CIO also provides an organization with the assurance that their technology decisions align with the company’s business goals.

However, instead of hiring a full-time CIO, organizations increasingly find it beneficial to outsource those responsibilities to a vCIO. Not to mention the fact that with the ongoing IT talent shortage, finding (and affording) a qualified and experienced CIO may be almost impossible.

And then came the pandemic, during which smaller companies that didn’t have an executive dedicated to information systems found that their complex IT environments could not be managed without a CIO-level person’s expertise to “mind the store,” so to speak.

Since the vCIO is not on your payroll and you are not incurring the costs of the vCIO’s benefits (such as healthcare insurance), the vCIO is more affordable. You get the benefits of a seasoned professional at a reasonable cost.

Remote work has caused a massive list of issues around workspace security. Reports have indicated that cyberattacks increased more than 600 percent in 2020. It’s almost impossible for most companies to stay on top of those threats. But CIOs keep abreast of those issues as part of their job. So when you hire a vCIO, you get a cybersecurity specialist, too.

Queue Associates Can Help

Many of the small and mid-market companies we serve are exploring the advantages of hiring a vCIO. But it’s essential to clearly define your company’s specific requirements to ensure that you and your vCIO are on the same page. Queue Associates can help.

Contact Queue Associates at (212) 269-1313 x2 or use our CONTACT FORM to learn more.

 

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