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← Module 06: The CTO’s business decisions MODULE 06 · THE CTO’S BUSINESS DECISIONS · 45 MINUTES

The CTO’s business decisions

Present slides Full screen, one slide at a time · 5 slides
THINK LIKE A CTO · MODULE 06 · COST 01

What does it cost to run?

  1. HOSTING AND DATABASEGrows with usage; managed services cost more but save people’s time
  2. THIRD-PARTY SERVICESEmail, SMS, payments, maps: often priced per use
  3. TOOLS AND LICENCESMonitoring, code hosting, design, AI tools, per seat
  4. PEOPLEUsually the biggest cost by far: building, running and on call
  5. COST PER CUSTOMERTotal running cost divided by active customers, watched monthly

Give costs as ranges with assumptions, check them against providers’ own calculators, and watch cost per customer.

THINK LIKE A CTO · MODULE 06 · TEAM 02

Hire, outsource or partner?

Keep in-house

  • Ownership of the architecture and its decisions
  • The core product that makes you different
  • Knowledge of how the system really works

Outsource or partner

  • Specialist, occasional work: security tests, data protection reviews
  • Capacity peaks with a clear, written scope
  • Operations you can’t staff around the clock

You can outsource work. You can’t outsource accountability for the architecture.

THINK LIKE A CTO · MODULE 06 · ROADMAP 03

A technical roadmap the business can fund

  1. PHASE 1 · FOUNDATIONSSmallest version that meets the top priorities: accounts, bookings, payments, backups
  2. PHASE 2 · RELIABILITYIntegrations, monitoring, alerts, the first load test
  3. PHASE 3 · SCALEReporting, performance work, repaying the debt you chose
  4. REVIEWRevisit decisions, risks and costs against what actually happened

Each phase delivers customer value and reduces a named risk. Every phase has a cost and a review.

THINK LIKE A CTO · MODULE 06 · GOVERNANCE 04

Explaining architecture to investors and boards

  1. THE DECISIONWhat you chose, in one sentence, with no jargon
  2. THE REASONWhich business priority it serves
  3. THE TRADE-OFFWhat you gave up, and what it costs
  4. THE RISKWhat could go wrong, and how you would know
  5. THE TRIGGERWhat evidence would make you change it

Investors don’t need to understand the technology. They need to trust the judgement behind it.

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