CTO- Strategic Planning and Direction

Development of a Technological Strategic Plan

A technological strategy, paraphrasing Betz [6], Martino [108] and Mintzberg [109] among others, can be stated as: A formal set of technological enterprise intentions that allocates available resources and sets priorities based on clearly stated technology, enterprise objectives and a perceived environment.

The dimension of a technological strategy expands these essential elements and adds several other important considerations. In formal technological objectives, which are nested within and support the enterprise's system of objectives and mission, no formalized technological strategy will succeed. The CTO interfaces with senior and technology enterprise leadership to develop technology objectives, goals and programs for the enterprise. The position should guide the development of a technological strategic plan for the enterprise. The CTO recommends to the other members of the leadership team the steps necessary to implement the strategic plan both in the short and long term.

This section deals with enormous implications of strategic planning towards CTO responsibilities. The rate of change of technology guarantees that knowledge and expertise will not stay constant. In fact, this creates a big demand on the CTO that serves as a value added advisor to senior executives during strategic decision-making.

Infoworld has recently noted that CTOs courageously view their newly gained power and influence which is deeply rooted in a clear understanding of technology's potential to transform every part of the corporate model as we know. This deep strategy is an evolution of value-based organizations and the path of CTOs to transform the organization. (75)

With the Internet revolution, the CTO role has stepped up into a deep strategic position. We have seen that in companies that earn their living by producing and selling technological products or services, or those that are leveraging the Internet to gain a strategic advantage, the CTO will report directly to the top executive and have a value based strategic role on the whole organization with a cross-organizational authority. (49)

The CTO has to carry a strategic hat. The CTO should identify how the organization can use technology to improve the bottom line. The CTO will bring a unique perspective to corporate strategic planning and product strategy. We have already observed that the technology innovation has become essential to running a business. Nowadays, the CTO will ensure that technology is taken into account during all aspects of business planning. This unique individual needs to be able to review corporate current business processes and customer interactions and then identify and prioritize the technology tasks that will make an impact on the business's success or organization. We will discuss further how the CTO contributes significant value to the investment community. The stockholders, investors, and customers clearly need to understand that the CTO represents the important value of technology. (7)

In today's market, companies are looking for a way to remain competitive to establish a base of innovation. It is important to move to new areas as quickly as possible.

Someone who can see how small pieces fit into strategic vision can also impose some level of structure and regime in often chaotic IT infrastructures of very large companies.

Computerworld conducted an interview with several CTOs like Paul Borrill, the CTO at Veritas Software Inc., who said the CTO "is not important for things that must be delivered next quarter." For him this position is evolving into an important one for promoting corporate growth through the use of technology. It's about forming the relationship with the business side, where it then becomes ownership. (59)

The leader in a CTO technology entrepreneurship space, Mario Cardullo, has laboredly indicated the CTO changes in strategic planning during a recent March 2003 Technology Leadership Council meeting. Mr. Cardullo has outlined the strategic plan which becomes the important component of the CTO's position. The strategic plan is defined as a formal set of technological enterprise intentions that allocates available resources and sets priorities based on clearly stated technology, enterprise objectives and a perceived environment in which the process is to be embedded. (16)

Mr. Cardullo outlined the monitoring system as a formal system for collection and analysis of internal and external technology data in the area of developments, markets, competitors and legislation. The monitoring system has to be aligned with the identification and support of advanced and enabling technologies. (16)

The CTO must drive clear value and commitment to safeguarding and maintaining the competitive position of the company. The acceptance of the CTO as a business strategist is an important step of the value-based economy with deep strategic implications for the organization.

In fact, the CTO has to be capable of translating a complex technology theory and capabilities into strategic business decisions for the organization. The CTO's key tasks can be associated with research and development but of technology business savvy individuals who are recognized for the value and deeply involved in shaping and implementing overall corporate strategy." (58)

The economy expects specific measurements for any job. This deep strategic work undertaken by a CTO has to provide business decisions and advice, but at the same time find a way to measure the quality of the strategic advice. The CTO's performance has to be measured against a plan worked out with senior management. This plan may include achieving milestones, introducing new products, reducing costs, reducing uncertainty, and selecting the right research projects to fund. Some concrete work includes mentoring and teaching technology within the organization, measuring the speed at which technology is brought into the organization, the rate at which the CTO turns technology into a product, and the CTO's effectiveness of research and development projects.

The CTO has to act and portray an image as a strategic thought leader that spends his/her time evaluating how technology can be used internally by the business to 1) enable new business models and business lines, 2) increase revenues, and 3) preempt a competitor's attempts to use technology to disrupt or dislodge his/her company's market position. The CTO's responsibilities often include advanced technology, competitive analysis, technology assessment, prototyping lab, partnering, planning, and architecture standards. (5)