What is CTO as a Service?

CTO as a service, or CTOaaS, stands for part-time tech and business advisory of the Chief Technology Officer to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The core benefit of a startup fractional CTO compared to an in-house CTO is the price effectiveness of such a service, as a company only pays for the services needed.

Types of CTO services

CTO types depend on the technical chief technical officer’s duties and the form of cooperation with a CTO.

For example, if you only need a CTO consulting, you can hire a part-time external CTO. he complex tech and business support will require full-time in-house employment.

There are 5 key CTO types:

1- Full-time internal.
2- Full-time offshore.
3- art-time offshore, or fractional.
4- One-time services.
5-Interim services.

Interim services

An interim CTO is a technical specialist hired to temporarily assist with technical and business responsibilities while the company searches for a full-time internal CTO. When a company is looking for a new Chief Technical Officer, there is a risk your technological processes and decisions will grind to a halt. To avoid such risks and remain active and supported, it is possible to rent a CTO.  

Moreover, such a technical consultant may not only temporarily replace your team member. He/she will also help with hiring the new CTO.

Full-Time Internal

A full-time internal CTO can provide your company or project with thorough technical and business support. Chief technical officer responsibilities comprise full-time support in developing, planning, and even soft skills management in real-time. 

However, hiring a CTO as a full-time team member will create additional expenses for your company, such as HR expenses, office rent, and different labor taxes.

Part-Time Offshore or Fractional

Part-time CTOs work the required and agreed number of hours. This way, a company can evaluate the needed services and time for them and pay only for that time. 

A fractional CTO is naturally the most cost-effective cooperation model with an external CTO.

One-time services

This kind of CTO will focus only on the required spheres of responsibilities and processes. Such specialists are usually hired for CTO duties like troubleshooting in particular technical areas or conducting an audit.

Full-Time Offshore

Hiring a full-time offshore CTO allows you to get all the advantages of full-time collaboration while still paying budget CTO salaries.
 

Thus, a specialist becomes literally an in-house expert. But still, a remote expert works 40 hours a week for the company.

When Do You Need an External CTO?

Whether you are just starting your business or have lots of large working products, a CTO can assist businesses with many tasks.
While the role of the CTO is often related to technical consultations, you can also hire a CTO when you:

  • Have an idea of a product but don’t have enough technical expertise to choose the right technologies and a team.
  • Are not sure whether particular technologies are suitable for your business.
  • Need an audit for your product
  • Have an MVP and want to represent it to investors.
  • Are a mature startup that requires a smart solution to outperform and stand out from the competitors.
  • When your business is ready to scale and needs the right tech or business decisions to do this.
  • When your business is already big enough, but you face some issues with internal infrastructure or industry-specific regulations.
  • See that your current organizational and technical tools are outdated and need to be upgraded.
  • Need a temporary CTO to provide the balance inside your company while you looking for a permanent replacement.
  • Want to branch your business or integrate new technology and need more details and planning.
  • Don’t need or can’t afford a full-time CTO.
  • Require an unbiased consultation.
  • Get advice on an MVP tech stack.
  • Your team needs some senior guidance.