Talk to an architect

Managed IT

Senior IT leadership, on the days you need it.

IT strategy, roadmaps, budgets, vendor management and board reporting from a senior technology leader who also understands how the systems are run.

Talk to an architect What is included

Sound familiar

Where this usually starts.

Strategy written by people who never operate systems reads that way. A virtual CIO gives you senior technology leadership part time: someone to own the roadmap and the budget, evaluate vendors, report to the board and decide between building and buying, backed by the engineers who run the estate day to day.

Tick the ones that sound like your situation.

Scope

What is included.

  • IT strategy and roadmap

    A plan tied to business goals and reviewed every quarter.

  • Budget and spend

    A forecast, a spend review and savings tracked to completion.

  • Vendor management

    Contracts, renewals and supplier performance reviewed before they renew automatically.

  • Board reporting

    Technology and cyber risk reported in terms a board can act on.

  • Technical due diligence

    Assessments for acquisitions, investments and major purchases.

  • Policy and governance

    IT policies, a risk register and a decision log, kept current.

Reference architecture

IT that is watched, fixed and reported on before it is noticed.

A virtual CIO owns the top of the managed IT architecture: the monthly report and the IT roadmap that turn what the service desk, monitoring and backup see into decisions a leadership team can take.

IT that is watched, fixed and reported on before it is noticed. YOUR PEOPLE RUN BY US ASSURANCE Users Laptops and phones Service desk Endpoint management Microsoft 365or Workspace Monitoring (NOC) Backup Off-site copies Monthly report IT roadmap

What this service delivers here

  • Monthly report

    What happened, what was done and what is coming, in writing.

  • IT roadmap

    The plan for renewals, risks and budget, owned by your virtual CIO.

Walk through every flow in Managed IT

Before you start

Decisions to settle early.

  • How much time you need

    Some organizations need a few days a month; others need a standing seat in leadership meetings. The engagement is sized to the decisions ahead.

  • Advise or lead

    A virtual CIO can advise the leadership team or lead the IT function. Authority is agreed at the start.

  • When to hire a permanent CIO

    Growth eventually justifies a full-time leader. The virtual CIO says when, and prepares the handover.

Approach

How the work runs.

  1. Examine

    Architecture, delivery and operational risk

  2. Compare

    Options against your real constraints

  3. Record

    Evidence, assumptions and dissent

  4. Lead

    Roadmap owned and reviewed each quarter

Commercials

How it is bought.

  • A fixed-fee assessment

    We review your estate, spend, contracts and the decisions waiting to be made, and meet the leadership team. You receive the immediate risks, the decisions to take first and a fixed price for the roadmap.

  • A fixed-price build

    The strategy and roadmap, budget review, vendor and contract register and first board report, at a fixed price.

  • Running it afterwards

    Leadership then continues on a monthly retainer for the time agreed, with quarterly roadmap reviews and board reporting.

Start with the assessment.

Scope an assessment

Worked example

Two proposals that could not be compared.

Say a growing manufacturer has two proposals on the table, one to replace its ERP and one to move its servers to the cloud, each written by the vendor who would deliver it. The managing director has nobody senior to ask which should come first.

  1. Examine

    We review the current estate, its operational risks and what each proposal assumes, including what the vendors left out.

  2. Compare

    Both options are set against the same constraints of cost, risk, disruption and the skills the company has, on one page.

  3. Record

    The recommendation is written up with its evidence and assumptions, and the decision is logged with the reasons for it.

  4. Lead

    The chosen project goes into the roadmap with a budget, and we manage the vendor against it and report progress to the board each quarter.

At the end, the decision has been made on comparable terms, the board can see why, and the company has someone accountable for the roadmap without hiring a full-time CIO.

An illustration

An illustration, not a client account.

Where it goes wrong

What we design out.

  • Advice nobody is accountable for

    Recommendations that nobody owns are never delivered. The virtual CIO owns the roadmap and reports on it each quarter.

  • Vendor proposals compared on vendor terms

    Proposals written by the seller rarely compare fairly. Options are set against your constraints on the same page.

  • Renewals that renew themselves

    Contracts roll over because nobody tracked the notice period. The register shows every renewal in time to act.

Outcomes

What it changes.

  • A decision frame, not generic options

    Choices are compared against the commercial, operational, security and team constraints that matter to you.

  • A written record for scrutiny

    Findings, assumptions, risks and recommendations are documented so a board or an investor can examine the rationale.

  • A path from recommendation to action

    Each review ends with an ordered plan and named owners.

How you will know it is working

  • Every major technology decision is recorded with its reasons.
  • The board receives technology and cyber risk in terms it can act on.
  • No contract renews without a decision being taken.
  • Spend follows a plan that someone can explain.

You keep

What you have at the end.

Handover pack

five items

  1. IT strategy and three year roadmap The technology priorities that serve the business plan, sequenced and costed, and reviewed each quarter.
  2. Budget forecast and spend review Where technology money goes today, where it will go, and the savings identified and achieved.
  3. Vendor and contract register Every technology supplier with contract terms, renewal dates, notice periods and performance.
  4. Quarterly board reports Technology and cyber risk in terms a board can act on, with the decisions needed from it.
  5. Risk register and decision log Technology risks with owners and treatments, and a record of each major decision and why it was taken.

The team

Who you work with.

  • Virtual CIO

    Owns the roadmap, budget and vendor relationships, and reports to the board.

  • Architects and specialists

    Provide technical depth for assessments, due diligence and major decisions.

  • Service team

    Runs the estate day to day, so the roadmap is grounded in operation.

What we need from you

  • A seat at the leadership table, or regular time with it.
  • Access to contracts, budgets and technology spend.
  • The business plan the roadmap has to serve.
  • Introductions to the vendors and internal teams involved.

Less firefighting for your own team, because the routine work is already done.

Questions

Questions we get asked.

How is this different from hiring a large consultancy?

The person writing the recommendation has operated systems like yours and is the person you speak to. There is no research team producing findings for a senior name to present.

Will you recommend a vendor you do not work with?

Yes. Recommendations are made on the evidence and your constraints. Where implementation is outside our scope, the findings remain useful to whichever partner you choose.

How much time does a virtual CIO spend with us?

An agreed number of days each month, with more around planning cycles and major decisions. The commitment is written into the agreement and reported against.

Will you tell us not to do something?

Regularly. The most useful outcome is often a smaller program than the one that was planned, and we would rather say that than be paid for the larger one.

Does a virtual CIO manage our internal IT staff?

They can, if you want them to. Some clients want leadership for an internal team; others want strategy and vendor management while the team reports elsewhere. The arrangement is agreed at the start and written into the engagement, so the lines of authority are clear to everyone.

What does a virtual CIO report to the board?

The state of technology and cyber risk, progress on the roadmap, spend against budget, and the decisions the board needs to make, each in business terms. The aim is a short report the board can act on, with the detail available to anyone who asks.

Can a virtual CIO help us hire a permanent CIO later?

Yes. When the organization needs a full-time leader, the virtual CIO can write the role, help assess candidates and hand over the roadmap, registers and vendor relationships, so the new hire starts with a clear picture.

How do we know whether the virtual CIO is adding value?

By the roadmap delivered, the spend controlled, the risks reduced and the decisions made on time, all of which show in the quarterly reports. Objectives for the role are set at the start and reviewed with you, as they would be for an employee.

Ask about your situation

Answered from this site, with its sources.

Where it is bought

Virtual CIO, by sector and region.

Sectors that ask for it

Region homes, and who signs

Often paired with

What usually comes next.

Everything in Managed IT

CONTACT

Bring the decision before it becomes a commitment.

A roadmap, a vendor choice, an acquisition or an architecture concern is easier to evaluate while there is still room to change course.

  • Senior-led
  • Accountable
  • Direct
  • Fixed-price options
  • Compliance-ready
  • 24/7 capable

Prefer to talk it through? Call +92 (333) 32 11011

What happens next

  1. You pick the time

    Tell us the decision on your desk now, if there is one; the call is at a time you choose.

  2. Thirty minutes, with an engineer

    A senior technology leader discusses the decision, the options and what is missing from them.

  3. A written assessment

    It sets out the immediate risks and a fixed price for the roadmap.