Fractional CIO / CTO
Senior technology leadership, part-time. For businesses that need an experienced executive engaged, accountable and focused on their technology, without hiring one full-time. Drawn from our network of seasoned technology leaders and matched to your business.
When it makes sense
Our advisory work helps with a specific decision. A fractional engagement is for when you need that same judgment applied every month, across everything.
Common situations
- You’ve outgrown having IT run by an office manager, a single IT generalist or your MSP
- Technology decisions land on an executive who doesn’t have time to own them
- You’re between technology leaders and need continuity
- A major initiative is coming: AI, a contact center or communications change, a move to cloud, an acquisition
- Spend keeps rising and nobody can say clearly what you’re getting for it
How it differs from project advice
Project advice is scoped to one decision or renewal: we help you choose well, then step back.
Fractional leadership is ongoing. We take on a defined share of the CIO or CTO role, attend the meetings that matter, keep the roadmap and budget current, and stay accountable for results with your team and providers.
What’s included
The exact mix depends on your business. Typical responsibilities include:
- Strategy and roadmap. A practical 12–24 month technology plan tied to business goals, reviewed regularly
- Budget and spend. A clear view of recurring technology costs, with waste and overlap addressed
- Contracts and renewals. A renewal calendar so no term auto-renews by surprise
- Provider management. Service levels, escalations and accountability for your MSP, carriers and platforms
- AI and automation. Prioritized use cases, governance and pilots measured against real outcomes
- Customer experience. Contact center and communications decisions grounded in the customer journey
- Security and recovery. Clear ownership of protection, response and recovery, working with qualified specialists
- Major projects. RFPs, selections and implementations led from requirements to go-live
- Leadership reporting. Plain-language updates for owners, executives and boards
- Your team. Guidance on IT structure, hiring and developing the people you have
How an engagement works
- Free 20-minute conversation
We talk through where you are, what’s not working and whether a fractional role is the right fit, or whether a scoped project would serve you better.
- Match and assessment
We introduce the executive best suited to your business. Together we review your environment, spend, contracts and team, then agree priorities and a roadmap for the first months.
- Ongoing leadership
A set monthly commitment of time and meetings, agreed up front, reviewed with you regularly and adjusted as your needs change.
Who you work with
The right executive for your business, from our network.
StrategIQ IT works with a network of experienced technology executives. Founder Brian Friedopfer scopes each engagement personally and matches you with the leader whose background fits your industry, size and priorities, whether that’s Brian himself or another executive from our network. You’ll meet them before anything is agreed.
Our network includes CIOs and IT leaders from global manufacturing and distribution, with deep ERP, M&A integration and cost-reduction experience; executives who have built and scaled technology solutions businesses; operations leaders from high-growth cybersecurity and data companies; and growth leaders who put AI and automation to work in e-commerce and direct-to-consumer businesses. When an engagement calls for more than technology leadership, we can bring in operations or growth expertise from the same network.
Before founding StrategIQ IT, Brian owned a $5M technology budget and infrastructure, telecom and CX strategy on the customer side, led global contact center engineering at Thomson Reuters for 16,000 agents and 60,000 users, and ran a national business unit reporting to a CTO, with full P&L responsibility. He has advised Fortune 100 CIOs and CTOs on CX modernization, cloud migration and vendor selection.
Every fractional leader works the same vendor-agnostic way as the rest of StrategIQ: start with your requirements, compare real options and make costs and responsibilities clear.
Clear scope. Clear fees.
Fractional engagements are a paid, scoped service. The monthly commitment, responsibilities and fee are agreed before work starts. Where we source a provider solution through our 200+ provider partnerships, how we’re paid is explained up front, the same as every engagement.
Not sure which you need?
Bring your situation to a complimentary 20-minute conversation. We’ll tell you whether a fractional role, a scoped project or nothing at all makes the most sense.
Prefer to share details first? Email brian@strategiqit.com. Include your company, the decision and your timing, and leave out confidential information.