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Solutions
Fractional CTO
Technology should power your ambition, not run on whoever last had time to think about it. A fractional CTO gives your business senior technology leadership on demand, so the big decisions get the experience they deserve without the cost of a full-time hire.
200+
UK businesses trust us
<30 min
average response time
24/7
systems monitored
ISO 27001
certified
THE DIFFERENCE A FRACTIONAL CTO MAKES
Your technology should have someone senior thinking ahead
When nobody senior owns your technology, decisions get made in the gaps. A contract comes up for renewal, something breaks, or a vendor makes a compelling pitch, and a choice gets made on the spot without anyone weighing what it means for where the business is heading. Months later you're paying for tools nobody reviews and living with systems that were never built for the size you've grown to.
A fractional CTO works the other way round. You get an experienced technology leader who sits in the conversations that matter, sets a plan for where your systems should go and keeps that plan moving as the business changes. The result is confident decisions made deliberately, rather than reactively when your hand is forced.
That's what senior technology leadership looks like. Someone who learns your business, then helps you grow it.
WHAT A FRACTIONAL CTO MEANS
What is a fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO is an experienced chief technology officer who works with your business part-time. You get senior technology leadership, strategy and board-level input for a fraction of the time and cost of a full-time appointment, scaled to what your business actually needs.
The difference from a full-time CTO is commitment and cost. A full-time CTO is a permanent senior hire with the salary, bonus and benefits to match, which many growing businesses aren't ready for. A fractional CTO gives you the same calibre of thinking for the hours you need, and no more.
It also differs from IT consultancy. Consultancy is project-based, brought in to answer a specific question or deliver a specific piece of work, then it ends. A fractional CTO is an ongoing leadership role, embedded in your business over time. You can read more on our IT consultancy service.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Senior leadership, sized to fit your business
A fractional CTO covers the strategic ground a growing business needs owned, without a permanent seat on the payroll.
Technology strategy and roadmap
A clear, prioritised plan for where to invest in technology next, tied to your wider business goals so every pound of spend earns its place.
Board and leadership advisory
A senior technical voice in the conversations that shape the business, translating technology risk and opportunity into terms the board can act on.
Budget and vendor management
An experienced eye on what you're paying for and what it delivers, so contracts get renewed on merit and the next investment goes where it counts.
Security and risk oversight
Senior accountability for the technology risks a growing business can't afford to leave unowned, including cyber security and business continuity.
Digital transformation leadership
Direction and ownership when you're changing how the business works, whether that's a major system change or adopting AI across the business. See our AI consulting service.
Team mentoring
Support and direction for whoever handles technology day to day, so they have someone senior to turn to and grow with.
CHALLENGES WE HELP SOLVE
Common challenges we help solve
Most businesses come to us at a similar point. Technology has grown into something too important to leave to whoever is keenest, but there's nobody senior whose job it is to think about it. Decisions get made reactively, when a contract is up or something goes wrong. The roadmap, if there is one, drifts with whoever understands the jargon. Growth plans keep bumping into systems that were never built to support them.
Hiring a full-time CTO would solve the ownership problem, but at this stage the salary is hard to justify and the workload doesn't fill the week. A fractional CTO closes that gap. You get senior ownership of the technology that matters, for the time the business genuinely needs, and someone who keeps the plan moving between the big moments.
SIGNS IT IS TIME
When should you consider a fractional CTO?
Most businesses reach for senior technology leadership when the decisions start to outgrow the people making them. A few signs it's time:
If that sounds familiar, a fractional CTO is usually the point where technology stops drifting and starts supporting where you want to go.
- Technology decisions get made reactively, when something breaks or a contract is up for renewal
- Nobody senior owns the technology roadmap, so it drifts with whoever can understand the jargon
- You're paying for systems and tools nobody has reviewed in years
- Growth plans keep bumping into technology that was never built to support them
- A major project or transition is coming and you want experienced hands on it
- The board is asking questions about security and risk that nobody can confidently answer
THE COMMERCIAL CASE
Why businesses choose a fractional CTO
Bringing in a fractional CTO is a commercial decision as much as a technical one. You get the strategic input of an experienced technology leader for a fraction of a full-time salary, and only for the hours your business needs, so the cost flexes with the value.
It also removes a quieter cost, the price of decisions made without senior oversight. Renewals nobody challenges, projects that stall because no one owns them, and risks that sit unaddressed until they become expensive. Having someone senior accountable for those calls tends to pay for itself long before the year is out.
WHY BUSINESSES STAY WITH US
Good service is a choice we make every day
The strategic thinking is the part clients notice, but they tell us the difference is how we do it.
People come first, yours and ours, because good leadership is only ever as good as the relationship behind it. We treat your goals as our goals rather than an account to manage. You'll always get a straight answer from us, even when it's not the easy one or the most profitable for us. And we stay properly engaged, in the meetings that matter, thinking about where you're heading rather than settling into a caretaker role.
Get all of that right and confident decisions follow, for your business and for ours. It's also why we grow mostly through referral. Clients pass our name on because the experience earns it.
HOW IT WORKS
How our fractional CTO service works
Bringing in senior leadership should feel straightforward, so we keep the start simple. Here's how an engagement gets going.
1
Discovery
We learn your business, your current technology and where the gaps in ownership are.
2
Roadmap
You get a clear, prioritised plan for where technology investment and attention should go first.
3
Embed
We take up a regular seat in the meetings that matter and start acting on the roadmap alongside your team.
4
Ongoing leadership
We stay engaged as the business changes, revisiting the plan regularly so it keeps pace rather than gathering dust.
BUILT TO SCALE
Leadership that grows with your business
The right level of senior input at twenty people is rarely the right level at eighty. A fractional CTO is built to flex. The time commitment scales with what the business needs. Some months that's regular check-ins and board input; other times it's a more hands-on role while something significant is underway.
As you grow, the role grows with you, and if the day comes when a full-time CTO makes sense, we'll help you shape that role and hand over cleanly. You get the level of leadership the business needs at each stage, and it changes as you do.
CLIENT STORY
How Snape Group gained a technology leader at board level
Snape Group is a construction firm with a 50-year history and multiple offices across the Midlands and South West. After a decade with an IT supplier that had gone quiet, Managing Director Darryl Hawkins wanted more than someone to keep the lights on. He wanted senior thinking about where technology could take the business.
He invited our MD, Iain Godding, to lead a review of the business. Three years on, Iain sits on the steering group that advises the board, and we support every company in the group. The relationship started with strategy and grew from there.
That board-level trust is exactly what a fractional CTO relationship is built on. Someone senior who understands the whole business, sits in the conversations that shape it and thinks ahead about where technology needs to go.
Top ways we've helped Snape Group:
“It was never about price. It was the responsiveness, enthusiasm and proactiveness that were the drivers of our change. Such is my trust in Iain that I sometimes use him as a sounding board for non-IT business issues too.”
- A steering group seat advising the board on technology
- An initial review to understand the full requirement
- A technology roadmap aligned to the group's growth
- Microsoft 365 and cloud infrastructure management
- Infrastructure planning and installation for a new office fit-out
- Specialist construction software support
IN THEIR WORDS
What clients say
PROOF YOU CAN TRUST
Credentials that back up the advice
We hold the standards that show we handle this responsibly: We're trusted by more than 200 UK businesses, with 24/7 monitoring and an average response time under 30 minutes. South West HQ, UK-wide reach.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022, certified by UKASCyber Essentials PlusMicrosoft Solutions PartnerB Corp certification in progress
200+
UK businesses trust us
<30 min
average response time
24/7
systems monitoring
SECTOR EXPERIENCE
Industries we support
We provide fractional CTO support across legal, fintech, construction, renewables, charities and professional services. The list matters less than the fact that each sector carries its own pressures, and senior technology decisions have to account for them.
That might mean the compliance a fintech has to evidence for its clients, the safeguarding and data rules a charity works under, or the specialist software a construction firm depends on. We take the time to learn how your industry works, so the strategy fits your world rather than a generic template.
WHERE WE WORK
Supporting businesses across the UK
We're based in the South West and provide fractional CTO support to businesses across the UK. The role mixes regular remote check-ins with time in the room for the meetings that matter, so you get senior input wherever your business is based.
We work with growing organisations of roughly 10 to 500 staff in legal, fintech, construction, renewables, charities and professional services. A fractional CTO often sets the direction that our managed IT services team then delivers day to day.
WORKING WITH YOUR TEAM
Leading the team you already have
A fractional CTO doesn't replace your IT team or provider. The role sits above day-to-day delivery, setting direction and giving whoever handles the technology someone senior to report into and learn from. Your internal knowledge stays where it is, and your team gains a leader who can mentor them and make the bigger calls.
If day-to-day capacity is the pressure rather than the leadership, our co-managed IT service works alongside your team on delivery, and our IT consultancy service can take on specific projects. A fractional CTO often sets the direction those services then follow.
EXPLORE MORE
Explore our other services
IT Consultancy
Technology should power your ambition, not leave you guessing which investment to make next. We give you a clear, independent view of your technology, so every decision moves your business forward.
Managed IT Services
Technology should power your ambition, not drain your energy. We keep your IT running and secure, then we keep making it better, so your people can focus on the work that grows the business.
Co-Managed IT
Your internal IT team knows your business better than anyone, and you want to keep them. Co-managed IT gives them a specialist partner behind the scenes, so round-the-clock monitoring and the heavy security projects stop landing on one desk.
AI Consultancy
Technology should power your ambition, and AI is how you get further, faster. We're a practical AI consultancy that cuts through the hype and only puts AI to work where it saves your team time and makes your business money.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
What is a fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO is an experienced chief technology officer who works with your business part-time. You get senior technology leadership and strategic direction for a fraction of the time and cost of a full-time hire, scaled to what your business needs.
What does a fractional CTO do?
A fractional CTO owns your technology strategy and roadmap, advises your board, oversees vendors, budgets and risk, and supports whoever handles technology day to day. In short, they make sure your technology decisions are made deliberately and line up with where the business is heading.
How is a fractional CTO different from IT consultancy?
IT consultancy is project-based, brought in to answer a specific question or deliver a specific piece of work. A fractional CTO is an ongoing role, embedded in your leadership over time. You can read more on our IT consultancy service.
What is the difference between a fractional CTO and a full-time CTO?
A full-time CTO is a permanent senior hire, with the salary, bonus and benefits that come with one. A fractional CTO gives you the same calibre of leadership for the hours you actually need, which suits businesses that have outgrown ad hoc decisions but aren't ready for a full-time appointment.
What is the difference between a fractional CTO and a virtual CTO (vCTO)?
The terms are often used to mean the same thing, senior technology leadership provided on a part-time basis. Any real difference is in emphasis. A virtual CTO may work mostly remotely, while our fractional CTO service includes taking a regular seat in the meetings that matter, in person when it helps.
How much does a Fractional CTO cost?
Typically £1,500-4,000/month depending on time commitment (1-4 days/month). Compare to full-time CTO (£120,000-200,000/year = £10,000-17,000/month). You get senior technology leadership for 10-30% of full-time cost.
How much of your time do we get?
It depends on the business and what stage you're at. Some clients need a few hours a month, others need a more regular presence, particularly around a big project or transition. We agree this upfront and review it as things change.
Who is a fractional CTO right for?
Typically businesses that have outgrown ad hoc technology decisions but aren't yet ready, or don't need, a full-time CTO on the payroll.
Will a fractional CTO replace our existing IT team or provider?
No. The role sits above day-to-day delivery, providing direction and oversight, while your existing team or provider continues the work on the ground. If capacity is the issue, our co-managed IT service can help there.
Can a fractional CTO help us hire a full-time CTO later?
Yes, for some businesses that's exactly the path. A fractional CTO can help shape that role and support the handover when the time comes.
What size of business do you work with?
We mainly support organisations from around 10 to 500 staff, across sectors including legal, fintech, construction, renewables, charities and professional services.
Do you cover security and compliance?
Yes. Security and risk oversight is part of the role, and security is built into everything we do. We hold ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and Cyber Essentials Plus ourselves, and we can extend dedicated cyber security and compliance support.
Can a fractional CTO lead a specific project, like a system change or cloud migration?
Yes. Digital transformation leadership is a core part of the role. A fractional CTO can own the direction of a major project and make sure it lands, while your team or provider handles delivery.
Do you work remotely or onsite?
Both. Good technology advice doesn't depend on being in the same room, so we combine remote working with onsite visits where they add value.
What does getting started look like?
It begins with a review of where you are now and where you want to go, exactly how our relationship with Snape Group started.
How is a fractional CTO different from managed IT services?
Managed IT services keep your technology running and secure day to day. A fractional CTO sits above that, owning strategy and the big decisions. The two work well together, and many clients pair them. See our managed IT services.
What happens if we're not happy with the fit?
We'd rather know early. Regular reviews mean issues get raised and addressed quickly, rather than discovered a year in.
Can a fractional CTO help with AI decisions?
Yes. Knowing where AI genuinely helps, and where it doesn't, is increasingly part of the role. A fractional CTO can set that direction, supported by our AI consulting service.
Give your ambition the leadership it needs
Technology should power your ambition, and it does that best when someone senior is thinking ahead about it. A short conversation is the fastest way to see whether a fractional CTO fits where your business is right now. We'll look at where you are, where you want to go and what senior leadership could add, with no obligation.
Book your free fractional CTO consultation