The Emergence of the Field (CTO)/Technology Evangelist Role
How does the field CTO improve business processes and customer experience?
In this article, Jaye Tillson, director of strategy at Axis Security, discusses the emergence and importance of the field CTO role and how it helps companies and customers.
Recently I happened to be on a Zoom call with a well-known industry analyst. He noted we’d recently moved from being on the customer side to being on the vendor side to become a “field CTO/technology evangelist.” He was curious as he has seen a change in solution providers’ “go to market” and wanted to learn more about the reason companies are hiring people such as ourselves. My response was, “the role is about empathy. I have sat in their chairs. I have had to make the hard decisions at 2 am. We understand, on a daily basis, what the frontline looks like. I have been in the trenches. The mud is still on my boots. I have the wounds to show it. In short, share a common bond”.
The field CTO’s role is to create a connection and provide valuable advice. It isn’t about selling, and it is not about product positioning, it is not about getting the customers to sign a PO. That is for others. To be a successful field CTO, you must be able to understand and share what is critical and important to the customer from their perspective.”
In my IT journey, I have both created and run high-performance teams. I enjoy exploring new solutions to old problems and sharing what I’ve learned in my journey through the land of IT. I’ve also been fortunate to have bosses and mentors who took that role seriously. They helped me early on in my career to understand the importance of continuous education in the IT industry. If you stand still and stop learning, you will fall behind very quickly. Whether you stay within a single domain, like networking, there are always new technologies, new uses of AI/ML, and new approaches to problem-solving.
If you want to stretch and expand your career, from networking to the cloud, or cyber security, it is also impossible to do without a focus on education, learning, and training. Nothing about the careers we have chosen is static. It is moving fast, and to keep up, or move ahead, requires continuous effort. A field CTO needs a wide view of the IT universe to help customers solve their issues. The best field CTOs I have met in my career were lifelong learners. They had a passion for it because they knew that IT is ever-changing, always moving forward.
A critical personality trait that I have found for field CTO is a low ego. What does that mean? It means that their priority is to help others change the way they approach security and networking. That is what gets us excited about every sunrise. It’s another opportunity to engage and assist the IT, networking, and security leaders and engineers in our previous roles to succeed. If they win, we win! We do this together!
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Why Did the Field CTO Role Come About?
The role of field CTO has become increasingly popular over the last few years. It has emerged as a strategic position that bridges the gap between an organization’s technical and business aspects. The origins of the role were a response to a growing need within the technology industry. As technology vendors began to sell more complex solutions, customers started to demand more technical expertise and support. At the same time, vendors were struggling to differentiate themselves in a very crowded market. So what was the answer? Hire someone who intimately knows the customer and the technology and who is not directly tied to sales. Use a “trusted advisor” vs. someone who is in either marketing or sales and lacks direct frontline experience. Put them in a position to do what they know best. Help the customer succeed with a given technology.
The role is more than outward facing. It is also internal. The Field CTO acts as a technical advisor to both internal and external stakeholders. They work closely with customers to understand their technical requirements, provide guidance on solving technical challenges, and help them make informed decisions about their technology investments. Additionally, they take the information learned to work closely with internal teams to provide technical insight into product development and support the sales team with technical knowledge. In the right situation, the field CTO can act as the “voice of the customer.” This helps improve product development and focus R&D on what matters most, delighting the customer.
How the Field CTO Role Helps Companies and Customers
There are several benefits to both technology vendors and their customers. For vendors, as stated, having a senior technical executive in the field helps build stronger customer relationships, differentiate their solutions in a crowded market, and drive sales. The field CTO provides valuable technical insight into product development, helping vendors ensure that their products meet the needs of their customers.
For customers, the role provides access to technical expertise and guidance that they may need but do not have in-house. It helps customers make informed decisions about their technology investments, ensure that their solutions are configured and deployed correctly, and provide ongoing technical support. Valuablily, the point of view is from the customer’s perspective, not a vendor looking to make a quick sale. The long-term outcome is fundamental here.
Additionally, a Field CTO helps bridge the gap between technical and business teams, ensuring that both groups are aligned and working towards the same goals. By providing technical insight into the sales process, the role can help sales teams better understand their customers’ technical requirements, build stronger relationships, and close deals more effectively.
Bridging the Technical-business Gap
The field CTO role has emerged as a strategic position that bridges the gap between an organization’s technical and business aspects. As technology vendors continue to sell more complex solutions and customers demand more technical expertise and support, the field CTO role has become increasingly important.
Providing technical insight into product development, supporting the sales process, and serving as a technical advisor to internal and external stakeholders helps both the customer and the company achieve their goals and differentiate themselves in a crowded market.
What skills are you looking for in your field CTO? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We’d love to know!
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