is a cto the same as a cio 
the cto title has been in use for over 10 years but there is still confusion about the role and how it differs from the cio the title first developed at dot com companies in the 1990s and then expanded to it departments the cto role became popular as the information technology it industry grew but it is also used in other industries such as e commerce healthcare telecommunications and government although there is overlap between the two positions since both deal with it ctos generally look outward using technology to improve the company s customer experience the use of the goods and services cios generally look inward developing and using technology to improve the company s procedures and operations 