What Is CTO-as-a-Service and Is It Worth Trying?

Ever reached a deadlock when creating a digital product and couldn't break it? Or maybe, inspired by the tremendous success of unicorns, you dreamed of launching your own startup and didn't know how to get started? In both cases, CTO-as-a-service would become a lifesaver. Don't know what it is? Well, below you'll find the ultimate guide to CTO-as-a-service.

In this article, we reveal key models of cooperation with a CTO, describe how this solution works in practice, share the hiring tips, and much more. So, read on!

CTO-as-a-Service in Brief

First, let's find out who a CTO is. A CTO a.k.a. a Chief Technology Officer is an experienced specialist, ready to provide thorough technical support to any business (healthcare, edtech, fintech, foodtech, etc.). So, when an enterprise hires a CTO on a temporary basis to get advisory services or technical assistance, it means we’re witnessing CTO-as-a-service (CTOaaS) in operation.

The latest research by STXnext shows that, as a rule, a person needs 5–16 years of working in the tech realm to become a high-level Chief Technical Officer. Such figures indicate that hiring a full-time CTO may be cost-ineffective (experienced specialists require high salary). So, if you seek help in laying the foundation for a new project or if you get stuck at a certain development stage, CTOaaS will likely become a perfect solution.

Why Employ CTO Services?

Having an experienced CTO on the team will bring tangible benefits both to recently born startups and well-established companies that plan to scale up. So, let's shortlist the opportunities opened up by a Chief Technology Officer.

Mitigate Operational Risks

Data leakage, frauds, and employee errors disrupt business efficiency and cause operational risks. But a CTO can help you avoid these challenges and establish resilience through enhanced crisis management, reliable security measures, and the best-fit tools.

Stay Budget-Friendly

During the development process, your team may face numerous technical issues and unexpected problems. Overcoming them in the hit-or-miss way will result in wasted time and money. On the contrary, with the help of a technical expert, it becomes possible to save resources and effectively surmount the challenges.

Anticipate Market Trends

As a rule, a CTO is a specialist with time-tested technical skills and years of hands-on experience in the field. What's more, quite frequently high-level CTOs are former advisors or investors, so they do know the market in and out and can outline tech strategies in compliance with upcoming trends.

Stand Out among Competitors

An experienced CTO is the one who effectively manages technical infrastructure, tools, and teams, stays up-to-date with next-generation digital solutions and has excellent communication skills. So, having such a specialist on your team will help you create upscale products and stand out among the competitors.

Build Dedicated Teams

A well-knit development team ensures half of the product's success. So, a CTO also comes in handy for choosing the right technical specialists for the required project. Thus, by focusing on must-have qualities and tech stack, a Chief Technology Officer can build talented teams capable of developing the best-in-the-breed software.

Chief Technology Officer: In-house or Outsourced?

Now, when you know that a Chief Technical Officer is a total lifesaver, all that is left to do is to decide whether you need an in-house specialist or an outsourced one. To simplify your choice, we've compared both options below.

In-house CTO

Having an in-house expert will bring your company certain benefits, like

• total control over the processes where a specialist is involved;
• the opportunity to skip multiple onboarding procedures and quickly start new projects.

At the same time, there are certain disadvantages to in-house CTO:

• a full-time expert requires great hiring costs;
• finding a CTO who will suit your business needs and standards takes a lot of time.

Outsourced CTO

Have you heard that IT outsource spending is predicted to reach $1.3 trillion by the end of 2023? These figures reveal the high demand for digital transformation experts. So, here are the pros and cons of CTOaaS.

Pros:

• You can easily replace the specialist in case you are dissatisfied with your current CTO’s quality of work.
• There is no need to conduct multiple interviews, which means fewer operational costs.
• No long-term contracts, just the agreed-upon fees.
• You can delegate some of your functions and focus on more essential issues.

Cons:

• In the case of CTOaaS, you can't monitor all the processes, which may cause certain management problems.

CTO-as-a-Service: Cooperation Models

In general, there are three ways you may cooperate with a CTO to translate your business goals into action. So, let's have a closer look at them.

One-Time Consulting

If your development team has faced unexpected challenges during the design/deployment (or any other) stage, you may turn to a CTO to get a one-time advisory service. This approach will save time and money and help you fill technical gaps. Startup founders may also take advantage of the CTO's knowledge and experience and, in this way, avoid trial and error learning.

Ongoing Services

Let's say your company has decided to take another step towards digital transformation by launching a completely new software product. Then, you may hire a CTO just for estimated time to support your team during the entire development process and avoid pitfalls (this hiring model works as a monthly subscription). In this way, an expert will take technical leadership over the team and help you fulfill business needs.

On an Hourly Basis

To implement complex long-term projects, you'd better choose this cooperation model. Since product development is a multistep process that requires constant control even after the launch, it can be difficult to calculate in advance the exact working period of a CTO. So, if you want a cost-effective solution, hire an expert on an hourly basis.

How CTOaaS Works in Real Life

As it was already mentioned, a Chief Technical Officer may either join a new project from the start or give your team a helping hand at a certain stage of product development. So, let's take a look at how it works in practice.

If you have an idea and require deep-level technical expertise to implement it, you should hire a CTO before the project starts. In this case, the expert will conduct market analysis, compile a team, draw a detailed plan, provide technical support during all development stages, and even help you prepare a pitch.

In case your team has faced certain obstacles in the middle of the development process, you may also turn to a CTO. The specialist will conduct an audit and detect weak points, extend the team, if necessary, provide project quality assurance, and share valuable technical insights.

Hiring Tips Before You Go

So, how to find a perfect Chief Technical Officer and not overpay? Well, first, choose an expert who works in a reliable company like Qulix Systems. Secondly, scrutinize the career path of the candidates. They should have 10+ years of experience in diverse fields. Thirdly, pay attention to the tech stack — a CTO should have several programming languages up the sleeve. And last but not least — compare hourly rates. By the way, specialists from Eastern Europe offer quality service at a favorable price ($80–150/hr). Good luck!

Feeling curious about the idea? Please, contact our specialists to get more valuable insights on CTO-as-a-service. Qulix Systems is an expert in the ever-changing software development industry, ready to bring your ideas to fruition.