Dear business owner,

Your business runs on technology. Laptops, Microsoft 365, your accounting software, your CRM, and a few apps your team signed up for on their own.

Someone keeps it all running. Maybe it's an IT provider. Maybe it's whoever in the office is good with computers.

But nobody is in charge of where it's heading.

So the bills grow. Licences pile up for tools nobody uses. Each new problem gets a new product. And when someone asks if you're secure, nobody can give you a straight answer.

I've worked with 253 business owners. Most of them didn't need more IT support. They needed someone senior to make the technology decisions with them. Here's what it usually looks like before that happens:

• IT costs go up every year, and nobody can explain why.

• You pay for two tools that do the same job.

• Your IT provider fixes problems but never plans ahead.

• A customer or insurer asks about cybersecurity, and you're not sure what to say.

• Every vendor tells you their product is the answer.

Most owners try to fix this by hiring an IT manager. A good one keeps things running, but may not have the experience to set direction. A full-time CIO costs $250,000+ a year, and most businesses don't need one five days a week.

Others leave it to their IT provider. But an IT provider is paid to keep things running, so the planning rarely gets done.

What helps is a technology leader on your side, for the hours you actually need. Someone who understands your business and your tools. Someone who says no to the wrong purchase, and explains why.

That's what I do as a fractional CIO. We agree together on how much of my time you need, and you only pay for the time you use.

The free audit is the first step.

Sam Halcrow

Fractional CIO