A CIO, or Chief Information Officer, manages a company’s IT department. The CIO leads everything from people management and IT strategy to developing workflows and overseeing the IT budget. Most large organizations deem this position essential. Yet, many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don’t have someone fulfilling this role. That’s where Virtual CIOs come in.

What is a Virtual CIO?

Virtual CIOs (vCIOs) partner with you to understand your business and support your long and short-term IT needs. A virtual CIO’s responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Developing an IT strategy and budget for your company
  • Auditing and optimizing your current IT infrastructure
  • Offering advice on which tools and technologies to invest in
  • Management of large and complicated IT projects
  • Guidance on IT compliance as well as software and hardware maintenance and updates

The Benefits of Working with a vCIO:

Small business owners should consider the following benefits when hiring for this role. Partnering with a vCIO means you gain:

  • A technology expert: A vCIO helps optimizes IT infrastructure while reducing potential risks and the resulting costs.
  • Unbiased advice and planning:  vCIOs are not swayed by internal politics. Instead, they offer valuable and objective insights based on expertise and data.
  • Costs savings:  Leveraging consultants enables you to skip the logistics, costs, and time involved in the onboarding and management of full-time employees.
  • A trusted business partner and advisor: Some vCIOs will be able to provide both a technology and business perspective. At Smooth-IT, we serve SMBs, but we are an SMB. So we are uniquely poised to understand and respond to your challenges.

In short, hiring a vCIO gives you the benefits of a CIO for a fraction of the investment. At Smooth-IT, we combine years of experience with knowledge of a client’s needs to provide strategic guidance on all things IT. Learn more about Smooth-IT’s vCIO services here.