Fractional CIO: what it actually does
The term gets used loosely and covers very different realities, from a consultant writing a strategy document to a provider actually steering your operations. Here is the useful version.
A 50 to 500 person company regularly reaches the same point: the systems work, but nobody steers them. Providers have accumulated, each with its own contract and contact. Budgets are committed without global arbitration. Incidents repeat without the cause being addressed. And management has no counterpart able to answer the simple question: where are we and where are we going.
Hiring a full-time CIO answers the need but assumes a volume of activity and a budget many companies that size do not have. The role is then either vacant or held by a promoted technical lead with neither the mandate nor the time to steer.
Operations steering. A regular point with the technical teams, incident and root-cause tracking, decisions made rather than postponed.
Vendor management. Review of current contracts, their real scope and cost, renegotiation or replacement where justified. This is often where the engagement pays for itself.
Budget. A consolidated view of what the systems cost, licences and cloud included, and arbitration between requests.
Security and continuity. Tested backups, controlled access, a verified recovery plan. These are the three areas where a lack of steering costs the most.
Roadmap. What must be done this year, what can wait, and what has no reason to be done at all.
It is not managed services. A fractional CIO steers, it does not run day-to-day operations: it selects and supervises those who do.
It is not an audit either. An audit produces a report and stops. A leadership engagement runs over time and is measured by what actually changes.
Finally it is not a support role. If your need is someone answering users, that is a different job, and giving it to a leadership profile means paying a lot for a service you will get better elsewhere.
Our engagements start at €2,000 per month for a two-day monthly cadence suited to a small company. A mid-cap usually justifies a weekly presence.
The right criterion is not the day rate but what moves after six months: the number of recurring incidents, the total of provider contracts, whether a backup has actually been restored, and whether management can finally answer the question of next year's systems budget.
What is the difference between a fractional CIO and managed services?
A fractional CIO steers: it decides, arbitrates and supervises. Managed services run the systems day to day. The two are complementary, and it is healthy that they are not provided by the same entity, so whoever steers can challenge whoever operates.
From what company size does it make sense?
In practice from around thirty people, or as soon as there are several IT providers to coordinate and an annual budget in the tens of thousands. Below that, one good provider is often enough.
How many days per month?
From two days a month for a small company to a weekly presence for a mid-cap. Engagements start at €2,000 per month.
What happens when the engagement ends?
The documentation, contracts and roadmap are yours. A successful engagement ends either with an internal hire we help scope, or with a lighter supervision cadence.
This maps to our Fractional CIO offer, or talk it through with the founder.
Let's talk about your situation.
A 30-minute call with the founder, no strings attached. Reply within 24 business hours.
No data is shared with third parties.