The top tech people at midmarket companies have
more duties than their counterparts at larger businesses, but get paid less.Just because a CIO works at a midmarket
company doesn't mean he or she is less qualified or experienced than a CIO
at a large enterprise—but it probably means that he or she doesn't earn as
much.
In general, midmarket CIOs wear more hats than enterprise CIOs, requiring
them to be nimble enough to multitask, and midmarket CIOs focus more on
technology—whatever it takes to keep IT running—and less on strategy.
"The smaller the shop, the more the CIO
tends to be involved in day-to-day operations, so CIOs in midsized companies are
closer to the technology at a more detailed level," said Mark Polansky,
managing director of the IT practice at Korn/Ferry International, an executive
IT search firm based in Washington. "As companies grow larger, the CIO
tends to back off of the technology and move more toward leadership, politics,
business strategy and alignment skills, and interpersonal relationships."
That has certainly been the trajectory of Peter Kretzman, a career CIO
who has worked for every type of company, from an Internet startup to a solid
midsize company to a larger enterprise.
"At the enterprise level, the CIO is
more focused on execution and throughput, and much less focused on bits and
bytes. It's all about relationships at that point: vendors and suppliers and
how to leverage others," Kretzman said. "The larger the company, the
more focus there is on strategy, establishing IT value, risk management, IT
governance [and] establishing IT metrics."
According to a March study by CIO
Insight, a sister publication to eWEEK, 64 percent of midmarket CIOs are
responsible for ensuring the reliability of the IT environment, compared with half
of enterprise CIOs. Conversely, 69 percent of enterprise CIOs contribute to the
company's business strategy, versus 56 percent of midmarket CIOs. Only 39
percent of midmarket CIOs are involved in improving the company's business
processes, versus half of enterprise CIOs.
The top five roles for midmarket CIOs are functioning as an adviser on improving
business processes companywide, being a technology visionary, making sure the
technology works, scouting new technology out and enabling business strategy, according
to CIO Insight.
At companies with revenues of less than $500 million, 92 percent of CIOs
choose the company's top IT vendors, compared with 86 percent at larger companies.
Similarly, 90 percent of midmarket CIOs make other IT spending decisions or
contracts, versus 85 percent at larger companies. The report also notes that
the median amount a midmarket CIO can spend
without requiring approval from other executives is about $50,000.
In companies with less than $500 million in revenue, 59 percent are more
likely to report to the CEO, versus 48 percent
at companies of $500 million or more. CIOs at larger companies are more likely
to have an MBA—43 percent versus 26 percent at smaller companies.
Salaries also are lower for CIOs of smaller companies.
At midmarket businesses, average annual base compensation is $150,078 and average
total compensation is $181,652. At companies of $500 million or more, base is
$223,904 and total compensation is $289,529.
