In Praise of a Virtual CIO
Running a business well takes specialized knowledge. Not only in the core service and marketplace of your business but increasingly in law, human resources, technology and more.
Most businesses don’t have the need to maintain a full-time lawyer, HR administrator or CIO. Typically these roles have either been outsourced or simply neglected.
In the last few years, this approach has changed, moving from “outsourcing” law or technology advice to retaining “virtual” advisors.
The change in wording is more than mere semantics; it reflects a change in focus. Outsourcing work focuses on the vendor. Your legal questions, HR needs or technology plans go into the queue of a company that performs the exact same actions for a hundred other businesses just like yours. Virtual assistance focuses on you and provides unique, on-demand assistance. A virtual advisor gets to know you and your business, providing expertise as an informed, long-term trusted advisor.
At Highland, we believe in the virtual model. While most small to medium size companies invest in IT-either full time staff or an outsourced firm-very few have the need or resources for high level technology planning in a full time CIO. As specialists in business technology, we provide the benefits of strategic technical thinking in a virtual role.
The benefits of long-term planning, disaster preparedness, and aligning technology with your business goals are immense. A virtual CIO gives business leaders confidence that IT is driven by business thinking and frees them to focus on other core tasks.
I don’t praise the value of a virtual CIO because it’s one of our services. Virtual arrangements are the smartest way I know for businesses to fill out their expertise. Highland retains a virtual HR department and a virtual lawyer. We practice what we preach.
Are there other specialized roles you’ve seen work well as virtual advisors? Have you experienced key benefits or drawbacks from this model? Share your comments below.
