what is a cto as a service cto as a service caas stands for the business advisory and technical implementation services provided by a 
chief technology officer for a startup a cto is an executive that meets a startup s technical needs and also 
coordinates its research and development he or she assesses 
both the short and long-term requirements of your business and 
leverages investment to enable your startup to achieve its objective the cto 
reports to the chief information officer cio and in some cases the chief executive officer ceo or the founder companies that don t have a cto or lack 
the knowledge of how to hire one can outsource the 
advisory and responsibilities of a cto to an external expert 
while the concept of cto as a service might still be 
new it is fast gaining momentum what are the benefits of cto as a service one of the notable benefits of cto 
as a service is that you only pay for the services you enjoy this is more like software as a service saas or platform as a service paas where you pay 
for cloud facilities you use your startup might not have the financial capability to 
bear the cost of hiring a full-time cto even if you do it 
makes a whole lot of sense to minimize cost and maximize your profitability by outsourcing your cto roles 
cto as a service what are the types of cto services cto types 
depend on the functions and the collaboration you expect from a 
cto complex and technical functions will require a full-time in-house cto while consulting and advisory services 
can necessitate hiring a part-time external cto nevertheless we can break cto services into five types full-time internal cto services 
one-time cto services full-time internal services a full-time internal cto services 
include technical and business support a full-time cto 
also offers full-time support in the aspects 
of business development planning and soft-skills management however you should know that going for this option will attract extra expenses for your startup for instance office rent hr expenses and miscellaneous expenses will be borne by you full-time 
offshore services outsourcing to a full-time offshore cto affords you the privilege of a full-time collaboration while you still pay 
the budget cto salaries in this case a specialist becomes an in-house expert with about 
40 hours worked per week remotely part-time offshore or fractional cto services the cto in this category works the expected and agreed hours in the 
contract this option helps you evaluate what services are 
needed and the time it will take to complete them since it is cost-saving this option is the best when it comes to collaborating with an external cto 
one-time cto services this option is suitable for 
projectized companies the cto focuses on specific duties and 
processes specialists in the category are employed to troubleshoot technical areas or perform an audit 
interim cto services an interim cto is a technical expert hired to temporarily collaborate with a full-time internal cto and other c-level executives on some technical and business responsibilities the main aim of employing an interim 
cto is to help you invigorate your technology and processes 
and to assist your team in driving digital transformation cto 
services by startup growth stage every startup 
needs a cto to manage the technical aspect of the business it is therefore important to define 
the roles and functions they perform by startup growth stages 
prototype the prototype stage or the proof of concept poc is a phase in your startup s 
growth where you conduct a test to validate your 
idea or product to know how feasible it is for 
commercialization the role of a cto includes conducting feasibility studies prepare a document presentation or 
demo explaining the idea or product discovery phase most startups have brilliant ideas 
but lack execution if you fall into this category you 
only need to hire a cto to assist you with the discovery phase of your idea or product 
some of the responsibilities expected from a cto in this phase 
include architecture development save cost several startups need the services of a 
cto since they cannot employ a full-time it is cost-efficient to hire a part-time cto you will enjoy all the services 
you need at a budget price pay-per-use you don t incur additional expenses when collaborating with an external 
cto you only pay for the service rendered this is not so in the case of an in-house cto where 
you bear all expenses access a large talent pool outsourcing 
exposes you to a global talent pool an external cto also saves you development expenses independency improved agility while you can build your 
business using a trial-and-error approach to run your business you might be signing up for a 
long trip the input of a cto counts as you get to clarify and resolve technical and business issues which can create a lag in your business processes and startup growth conclusion cto as 
a service enables startups to harness the skills and experience of a full-time cto but at a more manageable cost with on-demand cto you are paying only for the technical leadership 
effort you need it can be a great and cost-effective solution for your immediate needs and long-term challenges