Fractional and Interim CIO Services: 10 Providers Compared

FireOak's case studies include a growth-stage biotechnology company where it joined the executive team as fractional CIO, set a technology roadmap and rationalized software; the firm reports eliminating more than $100,000 in unnecessary software spending in the first year. Another case describes fractional CIO work for an environmental nonprofit operating across Africa, Asia and Latin America. FireOak anonymizes its clients.

Its service page says many clients have 20 to 300 employees, among them nonprofits, foundations, professional services firms and growing businesses. FireOak says it does not resell software or take vendor commissions, and that it works alongside internal staff or a managed service provider. Its fractional CIO FAQ (opens in a new tab) publishes no fee: cost depends on size, complexity and scope, and engagements are not structured around a set number of hours a month.

Ringtons, a family-owned tea and coffee business with close to £100 million in turnover, engaged Freeman Clarke principal Michael Barker after what the case calls "several costly technology missteps". He wrote an IT strategy and five-year roadmap, led the business to Cyber Essentials certification and ran a selection process across more than 20 potential solutions and partners for a new ERP and doorstep sales platform. The firm reports that the choice saves around £500,000 against earlier bespoke proposals, with the rollout still to come.

The service page carries a testimonial from Guy Clark, CEO of CNX Therapeutics, and Freeman Clarke reports more than 100 technology leaders and more than 1,300 clients served. It says it holds no commercial agreements with vendors or resellers. Its client stories (opens in a new tab) name other engagements, among them Ecosurety and NEOM Wellbeing.

TechCXO partner Ian Findlay describes an IT health assessment he ran for a large healthcare organization whose managed service provider seemed to be doing a good job. The company had suffered two security breaches in six months, and he found serious security and system problems. That was an assessment; the case studies read cover other roles, such as fractional CFO, CRO, CMO and CTO work.

The firm's fractional CIO page calls a "neutral, third-party assessment" of how IT is delivered today the most valuable first step for many organizations, followed by a roadmap and, where needed, ongoing leadership as head of corporate IT. Firm-wide, TechCXO reports more than 245 partners and professionals and more than 7,000 companies served, across all the roles it fills.

In his article on fractional CIOs and vCIOs (opens in a new tab), Findlay says he works with companies of 5 to 300 employees. His time with each ranges from two to four hours a month to two to four hours a day, depending on need.

AIT's homepage quotes Jesse Du Bey, founder and managing partner of Orkila Capital, on its work across "many of our portfolio companies". The testimonial concerns broader technology work and names no interim CIO appointment.

On its technology management page, AIT says clients ask it "to assume the roles of interim CIOs and CTOs" during transition, growth or difficulty. The same page lists technology assessments, systems selection, carve-out planning and exit readiness, and the about page (opens in a new tab) lists leaders who have held CTO and CIO roles. No interim CIO case is published on the pages read.

Marlborough Group Holdings, a UK financial services group, uses Economit as its virtual CIO. The case describes a monthly IT strategy meeting with the business and quotes compliance officer Kim Cooling on "a significant improvement in the stability and sturdiness of our network" since Economit took the role. DIPT, a construction supplies group, appointed Economit as virtual CIO after an IT assessment, according to another case (opens in a new tab). In a third (opens in a new tab), the clockmaker Smith of Derby made Economit its outsourced IT director, and Economit reports a 20% cut in IT capital costs. The case pages carry no dates.

Economit works on an outsourced, part-time basis and says that if a client doesn't need its support, it won't charge.

A midsize shoe manufacturer's new COO hired Fluent to assess its technology during a change of strategy, in a case the firm posted in 2021. Fluent reviewed the order-to-cash process and recommended replacing the core system with a new ERP, delivering the selection requirements and a candidate review. The case describes an assessment rather than an ongoing fractional CIO role.

Fluent's fractional CIO page says the firm does not resell software or take commissions and that its CIOs are "backed by Fluent's engineering and design teams". Its FAQ distinguishes a consultant hired for one project from a fractional CIO who owns the technology function and sits at the leadership table.

An equity-backed manufacturer was referred to Solvaria after several attempts with other vendors to fix its IT, according to a case posted in March 2021. Solvaria ran an ERP partner selection and an IT operations turnaround. The client then hired Solvaria's operations lead to stay on as fractional CIO for the next year, and the company's new IT director was trained to carry the roadmap forward. A 2019 case (opens in a new tab) describes a food distributor that grew from 50 to 250 employees. Its long-serving CIO asked Solvaria for an assessment, and Solvaria placed a fractional CIO to oversee the new strategy so the existing IT leader could focus on business applications. Both clients are unnamed.

Solvaria says its fractional CIOs are former enterprise IT leaders and describes a four-phase process: assess the current state, forecast future needs, integrate the findings and build a roadmap. Its other services include database, cloud, data security and business intelligence work.

UniWell Laboratories, a Texas contract manufacturer of nutritional supplements, brought in Net at Work to re-implement its Sage X3 ERP system and hired it as fractional CIO. CFO Bryan Polozola is quoted saying the fractional CIO is "definitely delivering a return on our investment"; the case describes an assessment of operations, supply chain and reporting improvements, and monthly advice. It shows CIO leadership bundled with the firm's own ERP work.

Net at Work says its CIOs draw on the firm's 300+ technology experts and alliance partners. Its private equity page (opens in a new tab) sets out a technology due diligence process in four stages of one, two, three and two weeks, followed by post-acquisition work that includes interim or fractional CIO leadership, an IT roadmap and exit planning. It says it delivers roadmaps and "measurable progress within 90 days".

Net at Work's other services include ERP systems such as Acumatica, NetSuite and Sage, CRM and managed IT. Ask for a CIO reference with a similar scope, including how the leadership role relates to any implementation work you would buy.

Deborah Morrison, CFO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, is quoted among Velonex's testimonials saying the team "took the time to get to know our people, and our mission, so that they could help us plan wisely for the future". Her fuller testimonial describes outsourced IT support and names no separate CIO engagement; most of the other testimonials also concern day-to-day support.

Velonex is a managed service provider whose virtual CIO service includes a technology roadmap, regular progress assessments, help buying hardware and software, cybersecurity advice and IT budgeting.

Alpha Apex Group's fractional CIO page offers IT strategy roadmaps, technology risk management, digital transformation leadership and IT governance. The firm also places interim and fractional executives (opens in a new tab), with the CIO among the roles it lists, and runs CIO searches. It publishes no fractional CIO case or fee on the pages read; its figures, such as 2,000+ candidate placements worldwide, are firm-wide recruiting figures.