INSIGHTS / fractional
Do you actually need a fractional CIO?
Fractional executive work isn't for every business. A practical guide for MDs and COOs trying to decide whether a fractional CIO is the right shape — or whether something cheaper, smaller, or in-house would do the job.
The role looks obvious from the outside. Internally, it's harder. A fractional CIO is an experienced IT executive on retainer — two to four days a month, embedded in your leadership team, owning the technology decisions your business can't quite justify hiring full-time for. The question isn't whether such a role exists. The question is whether you're the business that needs one.
This is the post I wish existed when I first started having the conversation.
The short answer
You probably want a fractional CIO if your company runs an operation — manufacturers, distributors, professional services, multi-site retail — where ERPs, integrations and internal IT hold the business together, and where the cost of a full-time CIO doesn't yet fit the P&L.
You probably don't want one if your company is a small software product business whose primary technology asset is the code you ship to customers. That's a different role with a different shape; a fractional CIO will not be the right fit, no matter how senior.
The interesting cases sit in between, and that's most of them. Most £5–50M operating businesses have some software, some internal IT, an ERP that's either great or terrible, and an MD who suspects technology is now a strategic question rather than an operational one. That's the buyer.
What a fractional CIO actually does
A CIO owns operational technology. That means ERP strategy, vendor management, internal IT direction, cybersecurity and compliance posture, M&A integration, and increasingly AI deployment across the business — sales, operations, finance, support.
The fractional version is the same job, scoped to the days a full-time hire isn't justified. Sitting on your leadership team. Owning decisions. Translating between the board and IT. Not advising from a deck.
When the answer is "not yet"
A fractional CIO isn't right for everyone. If your IT footprint is genuinely small — fewer than 30 people, one or two SaaS tools, no ERP project on the horizon — you may be better served by a good MSP, a part-time IT manager, or a couple of days of consulting when you have a specific decision to make.
If you've never had a meaningful technology conversation at board level, hiring a fractional CIO to start having one is overkill. Start by writing down the three technology decisions you're avoiding. If they're real, you'll know.
Choosing for your situation
Ask yourself: if my technology stopped working tomorrow, what stops first — the product I ship, or the operation that runs the business? If it's the operation, and the cost of stoppage is meaningful, you're in fractional CIO territory.
If you're still not sure, book a call. Thirty minutes, no pitch.