Workplace glossary

What is CIO (Chief Information Officer)?

Definition & practical guide1 min read

The chief information officer runs the organisation’s internal technology: business systems, infrastructure, identity, data and the ever-growing application estate. Where a CTO builds what the company sells, the CIO runs what the company runs on.

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Workplace software lands squarely in CIO territory because it touches identity (every employee logs in), data (attendance and visitor records) and integration (calendars, HRIS, badge systems). The CIO’s recurring wish is consolidation: fewer overlapping tools, centrally governed, single sign-on everywhere.

Common questions

What does CIO (Chief Information Officer) mean in simple terms?

The chief information officer runs the organisation’s internal technology: business systems, infrastructure, identity, data and the ever-growing application estate. Where a CTO builds what the company sells, the CIO runs what the company runs on.

How is CIO (Chief Information Officer) measured and reported?

Workplace software lands squarely in CIO territory because it touches identity (every employee logs in), data (attendance and visitor records) and integration (calendars, HRIS, badge systems). The CIO’s recurring wish is consolidation: fewer overlapping tools, centrally governed, single sign-on everywhere.