Free technology roadmap template examples for CIOs

Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? You may not be able to forecast your personal life, but it should be a different story for your organization, and that's where a technology roadmap comes into play. Technology roadmaps are designed to align an organization's technologies and business functions with a strategic vision. By fine-tuning the small details and long-term goals, organizations employing a technology roadmap should strive to clearly describe the direction in which the company is moving -- and an organized IT strategy to make that happen.

SearchCIO-Midmarket has compiled some free technology roadmap templates and examples intended to make the CIO's job a little bit easier. Take advantage of these Web resources and see how business, governments and universities are harnessing the power of a well-formatted technology roadmap. Keep calm and roadmap on.

Source: International SEPT Program
This detailed technology roadmap handbook takes into account organizational capabilities, strategies, long-term forecasts and market trends to better assist CIOs in identifying business opportunities. This handbook also provides advice on analyzing competitors' technology and innovations.

Source: The Albright Strategy Group
This technology roadmap template delineates the steps to forming a full IT vision and plan for achieving results. Each model demonstrates the relationship over time of markets, products and technologies to the goals of the company, whether they're "existing, planned [or] unplanned."

Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
We can only imagine how a traditional technology roadmap from NASA would read to the average human. Obviously, NASA took this into consideration and has released a colorful, cartoon-inspired example to show where investments will be made to best empower its human and robotic explorers.

Source: University of Cambridge
If you're still confused over what exactly a technology roadmap is or what it should accomplish, this PowerPoint download from the University of Cambridge can get you started. This workshop takeaway describes an introduction to the theory and practice of technology roadmapping, discusses the benefits and guides readers through the creation of a flexible roadmap.

Source: City of Ottawa, Canada
This technology roadmap, designed to guide the city of Ottawa from 2013 to 2016, provides a clear example of transparency with citizens. According to the city's CIO in the foreword, the roadmap "responds to the challenge of sustaining and transforming the way municipal government operates." In doing so, it illuminates both the city's long-term goals and the smaller details needed to make all of these ideas possible.

Got a favorite technology roadmap template or example? Email us at [email protected].