Do You Know What A Fractional CIO Can Do For Your Business?

Do You Know What A Fractional CIO Can Do For Your Business?

Get a glimpse into how a fractional CIO can help your business run smoothly, boost profits, save time and money, get ahead of the competition, and much more.  

Fractional CIOs are outsourced experts who provide the same services a traditional CIO would offer but on a part-time basis. Start-ups and growing enterprises often find that hiring an outside expert to provide part-time, expert IT advice is an affordable way to obtain cutting-edge IT insight that can promote growth and protect their businesses from common yet deadly IT threats. At the same time, fractional CIOs also have much to offer established businesses even if these companies have their own full-time, in-house CIO.

What Does a Fractional CIO Do?

A fractional CIO’s exact job description will depend in no small measure on what you need him or her to do for your company. However, the following overview can give you a general idea of what fractional CIOs can do for your business:

• Help you map out and prepare for a corporate transformation. Is your business merging with another company, acquiring a new business, expanding to other cities, states, or even countries? If so, you’ll likely need expert advice that can get you through the transition smoothly and efficiently. Hiring a fractional CIO who has experience handling these issues is a wise move that can save you a lot of time, money and hassle.
• Create a disaster recovery and business continuity plan. Every single business is bound to face difficulties that could interrupt regular business operations or even shut down the business altogether. Such challenges include, but aren’t limited to, power shutdowns, natural disasters, data breaches, or a pandemic. A fractional CIO can help you assess every single business department and create a plan that will enable you to continue regular operations no matter what’s happening around you.
• Understand and implement new compliance requirements. A growing number of states and countries are drawing up new privacy laws and other laws that affect a wide range of businesses. Failure to comply with the new regulations can result in hefty fines and negative publicity that you’d probably rather avoid. A fractional CIO can help your IT department leverage IT technology to make it easy for you to remain compliant with local, state, federal and even international regulations at all times.
• Oversee and manage your IT department, handling routine jobs such as creating an IT budget, supervising IT technicians, offering recommendations on software upgrades, arranging IT cybersecurity training sessions for staff members, creating IT cybersecurity rules for your office and ensuring these are being adhered to, etc.

Why Hire an Outsider Instead of an In-House CIO?

For start-ups and growing businesses, the decision to hire a fractional CIO instead of an in-house one is based mainly on financial concerns. It’s far cheaper and easier to get outside help as and when needed than it is to find and hire an experienced in-house expert. However, established corporations don’t necessarily have to pick between an in-house CIO and a fractional CIO, as using the services of both individuals can help a business stay ahead of the competition while ensuring that regular IT-related jobs are taken care of.

Additionally, as many savvy business owners have realized, fractional CIOs see things differently than those who work in your company. Because fractional CIO firms aren’t overly familiar with “how you’ve always done things,” they can objectively point out your strengths and weaknesses, ask hard questions, make out-of-the-box recommendations, and drive your company to make needed changes to ensure future success.

Are you looking for a fractional CIO service that is honest, professional, experienced, forward-thinking and that provides a high level of customer service and assistance? Pure IT works with leading organizations throughout the Calgary area, offering the expert advice and practical help they need to streamline efficiencies, improve workflows, boost valuations and increase profitability. Call us at your convenience to learn more or to schedule a no-obligation consultation at your convenience.