A fractional CTO provides high-level guidance and expertise at a lower cost than what you’d pay for a full-time CTO. Here are three signs your company may need a fractional CTO.
1. Your tech strategy is sadly lacking.
A tech strategy defines how your company will use technology to achieve its larger business goals. That strategy should include the tools, methods, and people you’ll employ to achieve those goals, along with the metrics you’ll use to measure success.
So, why do you need a tech strategy in the first place? Because without one, you’re missing out on a key part of the formula for success. A good tech strategy can be responsible for your organization meeting its goals and gaining that competitive edge, whereas without one, you’re going to struggle.
If you don’t currently have a tech strategy in place, or if you’d like to improve your current strategy, your organization may be ripe for a fractional CTO. It’s also worth considering a fractional CTO if you have a good strategy in place but are failing to put it into practice.
2. You’re about to launch a new product.
If you’re about to launch a new digital product or service, you’re probably understandably excited. But don’t let that excitement lull you into a false sense of security: launching a new product is hard.
Development setbacks, budget constraints, market viability, and more can push back your product launch date further and further into the future until it seems like you’ll never get it out there. And if you’ve never launched a product before, you’re unprepared to deal with these challenges when they inevitably hit.
But a fractional CTO has been through this process many times—in fact, they’ve probably led it. They can help prevent mistakes, plan for challenges, and ultimately launch a successful product with strong market viability.
3. You need a full-time CTO.
OK, this one may seem counter-productive: after all, you need a full-time CTO, so why the heck would you hire a fractional one?
But one of the things many fractional CTOs specialize in is helping you hire tech professionals. In this case, hiring a full-time CTO can be a months-long process, involving a lot of work that will take you away from running and growing your company.
On top of that, chances are by the time you realize you need a CTO, you’re already way behind on the things you need that CTO for, like developing a tech strategy or launching a new product. A fractional CTO can take care of immediate priorities while simultaneously helping you recruit and interview potential candidates.
Alternatively, if you have in-house employees who might be able to take on a CTO position, a fractional CTO can help train them and get things rolling. They can also help your company transition if your current CTO is leaving and you need to hire or train a new one.
Curious what a fractional CTO can do for you? Talk to one of our CTOs at Band of Coders and find out.
