Virtual CIO (vCIO) Consulting
Virtual CIO consulting
Executive technology leadership on a fractional basis: someone who owns the roadmap, the budget, the vendors, and the hard conversations, at a fraction of a full-time hire.
The problem we solve
Growing companies reach a point where technology decisions are too consequential to leave to whoever is available: which platform to standardize on, how much to spend, which vendor to trust, what a customer’s security questionnaire actually requires. Hiring a full-time CIO for those decisions is expensive, and often premature.
A virtual CIO gives you that judgment when you need it. We sit with leadership, translate business goals into a technology plan, hold vendors accountable, and make sure the plan is executed, whether by your team, by Moonscape, or by another provider.
What's included
- IT strategy and a 12-month roadmap aligned with your business plan
- Technology budget planning, purchasing guidance, and total-cost reviews
- Vendor management: SLA enforcement, contract renewals, and RFP design and evaluation
- Compliance and security planning ahead of audits, insurance renewals, and customer reviews
- IT policies, documentation standards, and governance for your internal team
- Business continuity and disaster-recovery planning
- Staff technology training plans and mentoring for internal IT staff
- Quarterly business reviews with written progress reports
- On-call access for decisions between sessions
How it works
Discovery
Business goals, current state, spend, contracts, and what leadership is worried about.
Health Check & Audit
A documented baseline: infrastructure, security, software, vendors, and compliance gaps.
Roadmap and budget
Prioritized initiatives with cost, owner, timing, and the business outcome each one serves.
Monthly cadence
Advisory sessions, vendor oversight, decision support, and quarterly reviews with your executives.
Scope notes
Included
- Strategy, planning, governance, and vendor oversight
- Leadership-level reporting and decision support
- Coordination of execution by your team or providers
Not included
- Hands-on engineering and helpdesk (Speed and Flow)
- Legal review of contracts (we work alongside your counsel)
- Guaranteed outcomes from third-party vendors we don't control
FAQ
Is this the same as a fractional CTO?
In practice, yes. Some organizations use ‘CTO’ for product-facing technology and ‘CIO’ for internal systems. We cover both for businesses whose technology is mainly operational, and we’ll say so if your product needs a dedicated engineering leader.
Can the vCIO oversee our existing MSP?
Yes, and it’s one of the most common reasons clients start. We review the contract, measure the SLA, and either fix the relationship or run a clean RFP.
What does it cost relative to a hire?
A fractional engagement is priced as a monthly retainer sized to your cadence. In our article on virtual CIOs we walk through how to compare it with a full-time salary and benefits.
Put a technology leader in the room.
Start with a strategy call, or read our guide on when a virtual CIO pays for itself.