What's the difference between CIO and CTO?

Câu hỏi:
- What's the difference between CIO and CTO?
-

​What they have in common:

1. ​In both jobs, a key role is helping technologists understand what the business needs and helping the business understand what the technology can do for them.
2. Both roles require a strong technologist with a strong grasp of business (kind of a corollary to the last point, but slightly different).
3. Both should be strategic thinkers.
4. Both should be excellent leaders.

How they are different:

1. I see a CTO as primarily focused on the top line while the CIO is primarily focused on the bottom line.  There's some cross over, but I think this is a valid distinction.
2. A CTO is primarily concerned with external products and customers while a CIO is primarily concerned with running the business (internal products and customers).
3. In an ideal world, the CTO runs the product development organization while the CIO runs the IT organization.
4. If you have to choose, being a strong technologist is more important for the CTO, while being a good manager is more important for the CIO.
5. A CIO has to be operational and understand how to build repeatable processes, reliable systems, and the organization to run them.  A CTO doesn't necessarily have to have these skill if backed up by a strong operational person in the role of CIO. 

RACI and characteristics the the two roles:

Chief Information Officer

1. Serves as the company's top technology infrastructure manager
2. Runs the organization's internal IT operations
3. Works to streamline business processes with technology
4. Focuses on internal customers (users and business units)
5. Collaborates and manages vendors that supply infrastructure solutions
6. Aligns the company's IT infrastructure with business priorities
7. Developers strategies to increase the company's bottom line (profitability)
8. Has to be a skilled and organized manager to be successful

Chief Technology Officer

1. Serves as the company's top technology architect
2. Runs the organization's engineering group
3. Uses technology to enhance the company's product offerings
4. Focuses on external customers (buyers)
5. Collaborates and manages vendors that supply solutions to enhance the company's product(s)
6. Aligns the company's product architecture with business priorities
7. Develops strategies to increase the company's top line (revenue)
8. Has to be a creative and innovative technologist to be successful

​ref.
http://www.windley.com/archives/2002/12/cio_vs_cto.shtml
​http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tech-sanity-check/sanity-check-whats-the-difference-between-cio-and-cto/

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Best Regards,
Nguyen Hung Vu [aka: NVH] (in Vietnamese: Nguyễn Vũ Hưng, グェン　ヒュン　ウー, 阮武興)
vuhung16plus{remove}@gmail.dot.com , YIM: vuhung16 , Skype: vuhung16plus, twitter: vuhung, MSN: vuhung16.
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Disclaimer: When posted to social networking groups include, but not limited to Linux Users' Groups, Free and Open Sources forums, mailing lists, the above is my personal opinion and is *not* the opinion of my employer(s), associations and/or groups I join.