An experienced IT specialist who has an in-depth knowledge of business strategy and technology is a virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO). Could your company profit from strategic IT planning that aligns your strategy and investment in technology with your overall business objectives?
What is vCIO?
The word “vCIO” means “virtual Chief Information Officer”, which is simply an outsourced department or department head of IT. Throughout the business world, the notion of outsourced IT is becoming more viable. After all, if one can virtualize an entire administration crew if it is more effective, then why not outsource C-level workers in the same way?
Many businesses do not have the need for a full-time CIO, but almost every business profits from a digital information specialist’s expertise.
Why do You Need a vCIO?
Ensuring protections for cyber and data breaches.
This one goes to the top of the “important” list of what your business IT network can do for a vCIO. With all the cyber-attacks and security breaches occurring globally to IT networks, ensuring that you have an MSP-provided CIO protecting all your security bases ensures that you can sleep soundly knowing that it has been secured by your vCIO. It requires covering:
- Unpatched Tools
- Ransomware – like hacking and malware
- Schemes for phishing and spear – Phishing
- Theft or violation of employee data
- Detection and Avoidance of Intrusion
Leave the fuss to someone else and worry.
Because of being unaware of vCIOs or MSPs, and/or feeling that they cannot afford to let such a security-sensitive position be outsourced, many CEOs or operations officers find the role of being an IT manager increasingly falling into their laps.
Ability to prepare budgets for IT.
The vCIO has the capacity to prepare IT budgets, much like an in-house, salaried CIO, as part and parcel of IT infrastructure management. Measuring what is going to cost what, why, and how is just one of an MSP-provided CIO’s work. You will get monthly or even weekly budget reports that make recommendations on where to allocate budgetary requirements, and exactly where and what the money will be spent on to keep your IT ship running on an even keel.
A well-maintained infrastructure for IT.
IT infrastructure is now all for a business, and without it you are really flying blind without radar or sailing without GPS. It is not profitable or prudent in any way to sail into uncharted, dangerous waters. However, your business is on a tight budget and you do need an IT network and infrastructure that is properly maintained. Your highest bet? A Virtual CIO or vCIO that works for you, really.
New Technology Deployment.
How significant is an IT organization that is properly managed? The technology that your company uses must first be routed through your IT department. You have to basically run them through your IT network manager if any tech improvements are made and ensure that they suit your IT network needs and level of protection soundly and securely. Having a vCIO handling budgets, protection of the Data Centre, and threat management ensures that a new phone system, mobile devices, PCs or tablets, etc. all have to conform or be configured universally similarly to the current IT infrastructure. Doing this would ensure that productivity and profitability are improved by new technologies. Your vCIO will also study emerging innovations on an ongoing basis and prepare and schedule them when it is deemed necessary.
How does the vCIO fit into the BitSys IT service offering?
At BitSys, we work with a vCIO to supplement each of our customer offerings. For each of our customers, someone needs to have an overarching vision, and we take the responsibility for that. When it comes to day-to-day experiences with our team, this does not seem apparent. The position of vCIO, however, drives the growth of your technology team, coordinates training around current and planned technology needs, and manages your company’s overall technology spending.
There are many different points of control on transparency for your account, but the one who brings the vision for your business when it comes to technology is the vCIO.
Leave the fuss to us and think about IT protection. In the UK and US, BitSys is the pioneer in the provision of managed IT services.
