Between leaders
Keep technology steady and decisions moving while you recruit the right permanent person.
Consulting and strategy
Senior technology leadership for the times you do not have a full-time CIO.
Not every organisation needs a full-time chief information or technology officer, but every organisation needs someone accountable for technology decisions. Kritical provides fractional and interim technology leadership: strategy, budgets, vendors, procurement, board-level reporting and the engineering team behind it. Tell us where you are and we will come back with a clear proposal and a written quote.
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For organisations that need the leadership without the full-time hire.
Maybe your CIO has left, your IT lead has outgrown the role, or you are growing faster than your technology decisions are. Maybe you simply want an experienced person in the room when the board, the auditor or a major supplier asks hard questions. We step in for as long as you need, from a few days a month to a full interim engagement.
Growing organisations
Get senior direction and structure before technology becomes the thing that slows the business down.
Organisations under pressure
A contract renewal, an audit, a security concern or a failing provider, and no senior person to own it.
A technology strategy people can follow.
We write strategy that a board can read and an engineer can build. It links what the business is trying to do to the systems, skills and spending needed to get there, in a sensible order, with the trade-offs explained. It is a working plan, reviewed as things change.
Roadmap and priorities
What to do first, what to defer and what to stop doing.
Architecture direction
Clear principles for how systems fit together, so each decision does not start from scratch.
Risk and resilience
Security, recovery and compliance planned in from the start.
Vendors, budgets and procurement, handled with a firm and fair hand.
Technology spend tends to grow quietly. Our director has managed budgets, vendor relationships and procurement for an enterprise storage and compute team, and we bring the same discipline to yours: understand what you are paying for, test it against what you need, negotiate sensibly and hold suppliers to what they promised.
Budget ownership
Realistic forecasts, clear tracking and honest reporting on where the money goes.
Vendor management
Reviews, performance conversations and contract renewals that favour the long term.
Procurement
Requirements, comparison, selection and contracting, with a record of why each decision was made.
Board-level reporting in plain language.
Directors do not need a tour of the server room. They need to know where technology stands, what the risks are, what is being done and what it will cost. We can prepare technology reporting for your board at that level, in plain language, with the decisions that need to be made clearly set out.
Build and mentor the team that will keep it running.
Good technology leadership leaves a stronger team behind it. We help define roles, hire and select engineers, set standards and mentor your people, so the capability remains in your team when we step back. We have hand-selected and built an engineering team, and we know that the right people and clear expectations matter more than any single tool.
Provider changes without the disruption.
Moving from one managed provider to another is risky when it is rushed. Our director has led a zero-disruption provider transition, and the approach is straightforward: understand the current service in detail, plan the handover step by step, run both sides in parallel where needed and cut over only when your people are ready. We plan so your users notice as little as possible.
What happens when you get in touch.
Tell us about your organisation, what you have in place and what is keeping you up at night. We will have a straightforward conversation, then send a written proposal covering scope, time commitment and fees. There is no obligation, and if a lighter touch such as a one-off review would serve you better, we will say so.
Questions before you enquire
What is a fractional or interim CIO or CTO?
It is an experienced technology leader who works with your organisation part-time or for a fixed period, taking responsibility for strategy, suppliers, budgets and reporting without a permanent hire.
How much time would you commit?
That depends on what you need. Some clients want a few days a month; others want a near full-time interim presence. The commitment is agreed in your proposal.
Can you work with our existing IT provider?
Yes. We can sit alongside your current provider, hold them to what they have agreed to deliver, or help you plan a move to a different one.
Will you replace our current IT staff?
No. The aim is to give them direction and support. Where a team needs building, we help you recruit and mentor the right people.
Do you report to our board?
If you want us to. We can prepare technology reporting for your board, in plain language, with the decisions that need to be made clearly set out.
Why is there no price on this page?
Time commitment, scope and duration change the cost too much for one published number. Send us the details and you get a written, scoped proposal.
Let’s define the next step.
Tell us what you want to achieve, what you have today and when it matters.