What Is Virtual CIO?

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January 5, 2020

You have put your heart and soul into starting up and maintaining your business. You know your business is important, to both your customers and your employees, and you would go above and beyond to protect it.

With the rise of technology and the increasing dependence on it to achieve certain company goals, it has become crucial that your business has a strategic plan on the maintenance, advancement, and security of your technology.

A virtual CIO can help you do just that by helping you come up with a plan that allows your business to grow without being held back by outdated systems. Here is a more detailed look into the functions and benefits of a virtual CIO:

What Is a Virtual CIO?

A virtual CIO is a third-party consultant that offers to fulfill the role of a conventional CIO. (CIO stands for Chief Information Officer. A conventional CIO is a physical CIO who is on the company’s payroll. )

What Does a Virtual CIO Do?

A virtual CIO, also known as a vCIO, is responsible for helping businesses come up with IT goals and strategies to ensure that the company’s systems are meeting the company’s overall goals. This includes management strategies for all technological systems under the company’s use and budgeting out what should be spent to ensure that the systems are operating and updating as they should.

IT Management Headache

While business owners know their line of work like the back of their hands, most of them are a bit lost when it comes to the technology that helps support them. When their systems become outdated, buggy, or just begin slowing down in general, this can have a negative impact on business. A virtual CIO can help ensure that businesses are spending the funds they need to keep their systems running strong. This includes funds for ensuring that the systems get their needed updates and replacements to keep everything fine-tuned and running smoothly.

The Value of a Virtual CIO

I.T. Experience with a new perspective and an understanding of business IT management is what you can expect from a vCIO. A vCIO works closely with business owners and the business staff to ensure that everyone is on the same page concerning the business’s goals and how their technology can help them get there. They also help put long-term technology strategies into place to ensure that the business’s goals are seen all the way through, as well as achieving the following:

  • Set strategies in priorities, allowing business owners to know what needs to be done first
  • Identifies ROI (Return On Investment) on current strategies and technology in place and whether or not updating is worth it at that moment
  • Provides methods on how to improve current systems
  • Offers regular input on technological strategies to increase growth in the business
  • Evaluates your teams’ skills and trains those who are not meeting the business’s IT needs

An Emphasis on Internet Security

One of the biggest challenges businesses face today are internet hackers, malware, and viruses. Ensuring that a company’s valuable information is safe and its systems are reinforced to handle attacks from malicious outside parties is paramount in today’s world. A virtual CIO can ensure that your system is implementing the best strategies for internet protection and that your staff is taking proper care regarding sensitive information. They also set in place a disaster recovery plan, allowing your team to know how to react to the off-chance that there is a breach in your system’s security.

Integris’ Superior Virtual CIO

When it comes to helping manage your IT, Integris offers unparalleled knowledge, understanding, and support for our clients. Our virtual CIO’s continuously go through on-going training to ensure that they are up-to-date with the newest innovations and issues that are present in the ever-changing world of IT. For your business, you want to invest in the best so that you know that your investment is worth it. When it comes to putting clients first, Integris is the team to turn to. Contact us today for more information on our services!

We're Integris. We're always working to empower people through technology.

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