Director, applications vs information systems director

The differences between directors, applications and information systems directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a director, applications and an information systems director. Additionally, a director, applications has an average salary of $155,871, which is higher than the $130,822 average annual salary of an information systems director.

The top three skills for a director, applications include cloud, project management and customer service. The most important skills for an information systems director are customer service, project management, and network infrastructure.

Director, applications vs information systems director overview

	Director, Applications	Information Systems Director
Yearly salary	$155,871	$130,822
Hourly rate	$74.94	$62.90
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	75,822	128,575
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	8	8

What does a director, applications do?

An application director is responsible for designing and reviewing software applications to support business requirements and network solutions. Applications directors strategize efficient techniques in developing systems, assist the design teams, and conduct quality checks to the outputs to ensure its accuracy and adherence to guidelines and project procedures. They review applications request, manage and allocate budget and resources, and determine the timetable of deliverables. An application director must have excellent technical skills to support the team in resolving application discrepancy and analyzing technology standards.

What does an information systems director do?

An Information Systems Director spearheads and oversees a business establishment's information systems, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. They set goals and guidelines, establish protocols and timelines, liaise with external business partners such as vendors and suppliers, manage staff, and develop strategies to optimize operations. As an Information Systems Director, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to reach performance and service goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Director, applications vs information systems director salary

Directors, applications and information systems directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director, Applications	Information Systems Director
Average salary	$155,871	$130,822
Salary range	Between $120,000 And $200,000	Between $86,000 And $198,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	Okta	Outbrain
Best paying industry	Technology	Manufacturing

Differences between director, applications and information systems director education

There are a few differences between a director, applications and an information systems director in terms of educational background:

	Director, Applications	Information Systems Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	Carnegie Mellon University

Director, applications vs information systems director demographics

Here are the differences between directors, applications' and information systems directors' demographics:

	Director, Applications	Information Systems Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 77.6% Female, 22.4%	Male, 81.3% Female, 18.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between director, applications and information systems director duties and responsibilities

Director, applications example responsibilities.

Manage SAN and iSCSI channel storage infrastructure.
Lead HIPAA compliance initiative for all clinical applications.
Manage end-user systems using Hyperion OLAP tool and design modeling techniques.
Lead a team of Java developers to improve cross-browser compliance of all web-base applications.
Execute & manage various data security and compliance initiatives including SSAE16, and PCI.
Manage end-to-end product development cycles including requirements definition, project plan, scrum leadership, QA and release coordination.

Information systems director example responsibilities.

Lead a technology expansion to deliver an internal portal using Microsoft .NET and SharePoint platforms.
Manage SDLC of custom application and relate web and data services, consultants and support contracts.
Establish team of security /compliance experts to effectively manage PCI and SOX compliance and formal change control processes.
Manage multiple large scale projects including infrastructure installations of wire and wireless networks and replace PBX system creating efficiencies and savings.
Lead the implementation of several SharePoint initiatives.
Implement custom build ERP system which manage inventory, laboratory testing and patient demographics.

Director, applications vs information systems director skills

Common director, applications skills

Cloud, 13%
Project Management, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Architecture, 5%
Infrastructure, 5%
ERP, 4%

Common information systems director skills

Customer Service, 8%
Project Management, 8%
Network Infrastructure, 7%
Windows Server, 4%
SQL Server, 4%
Data Warehouse, 4%

Director, Applications vs. similar jobs

Director, Applications related careers

Director, Applications related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Director, Applications
Director, Applications vs Information Systems Director

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs