Technology Strategy: Build It Like a Product

Alexander Kiverin is Director of IT Development for Sber's B2C retail division. He previously led engineering maturity at Gazprom Neft and was CTO of Ak Bars Digital Technologies. The CTO Conf episode connects desired business outcomes with technology, people, and execution.

A technical leader entering a new role starts with business strategy, CEO, CPO, and CIO expectations, team capabilities, and internal pain points. If no strategy exists, the CTO helps shape it. Working Backwards keeps the target visible, while treating strategy as a product exposes stakeholders, resources, constraints, and impact.

Goals become OKRs and initiatives, with teams contributing to key results rather than merely receiving targets. Trend watching and R&D test emerging technologies against company needs. Metrics for outcomes, speed, quality, cost, and satisfaction indicate whether to focus on delivery, reliability, platforms, organization design, or people.

Strategy becomes executable through owners, quarterly reviews, and hypothesis checks. The balance between delivery and engineering investment depends on scale and evidence, while architecture evolves against fitness functions. A long horizon sets direction and an annual cycle connects it to budgets, but the working document must adapt quickly.