01
Technology strategy
Where the estate is going, what it costs and which moves come first.
Software services / Lead
Add technical leadership
Technical leadership without a full-time hire.
Senior technical judgement on tap — for organisations carrying real technology decisions without anyone in the building qualified to own them.
Discuss a retainer
Accountable, not advisory Named decisions, recorded, with someone answerable for them.
Who it is for
Founders and managing directors with a development team, an outsourced supplier or both — and no senior technical voice representing the business in those conversations.
How it is sold
A monthly retainer against an agreed number of days, with a minimum term so the work has time to matter. Scaled up during a build, down once it steadies.
Start here
A fixed-price technology review: team, suppliers, systems, spend and roadmap, assessed in a fortnight, with a written set of recommendations.
Book a technology reviewWhat the role covers
The decisions a business should not outsource to its supplier.
This is the work a CTO does: direction, governance and judgement. It does not require a full-time salary to do well.
02
Supplier governance
Holding development partners to scope, quality and timeline on your behalf.
03
Team leadership and mentoring
Structure, hiring input and technical mentoring for in-house developers.
04
Architecture oversight
Reviewing the decisions being made before they become expensive to reverse.
05
Risk and compliance
Security posture, POPIA obligations, continuity and the things auditors ask about.
06
Board and exec reporting
Translating technical reality into something a board can make decisions on.
What is included
A standing seat at the table, not a report once a quarter.
Scheduled time each month
An agreed number of days, planned rather than reactive.
Decision ownership
Named technical decisions, recorded with their reasoning.
Supplier and team reviews
Regular review of the work being produced in your name.
Roadmap and budget input
Technology spend argued in business terms.
Escalation access
Someone to call when a decision cannot wait for the next session.
Succession planning
The role is designed to be handed to a permanent hire when you are ready.
Why fractional works
Most businesses need the judgement far more often than the headcount.
A full-time CTO is a significant salary and a hard hire to get right. The decisions that need senior judgement are frequent, but they are not a full week's work.
- Senior from day one
No ramp-up, no probation, no risk of a mis-hire at that level. - Independent of the supplier
Your interests are represented by someone who is not billing for the build. - Scales with the work
More during a build or a migration, less when things are steady. - Designed to end
The role hands over to a permanent CTO when the business justifies one.
In-house team
Development suppliers
Technical directionOne accountable voice
Board and budget
Risk and compliance
One person accountable across every technical conversation
A different kind of engagement
Advice you can ignore is not leadership.
Consulting produces recommendations. This role produces decisions, and carries responsibility for them.
| Decision area | Consulting engagement | Fractional CTO |
|---|---|---|
| Output | A report and a set of recommendations | Decisions made and recorded |
| Relationship | Project-based and time-boxed | Continuous, with institutional memory |
| Supplier dealings | Outside the conversation | Representing you inside it |
| Accountability | Ends with the deliverable | Carries into what happens next |
| Cost shape | Project fees, repeated per question | A predictable monthly retainer |
The leadership engagement
From scattered technical decisions to one clear direction.
The first weeks are deliberately assessment-heavy. Direction set without understanding the estate is just opinion.
01
Review
Team, suppliers, systems and spend.
02
Prioritise
What needs deciding, and when.
03
Direct
Decisions made and recorded.
04
Govern
Ongoing oversight and review.
05
Hand over
Transition to a permanent hire.
What you receive
- Technology review
- Decision record
- Roadmap
- Supplier reviews
- Board reporting
- Succession plan
Proof
Knowing which decisions cannot be delegated
On regulated work, the choices that matter most — what the data model must support, what an auditor will ask for — are made long before delivery. That judgement is what this role supplies.
Carrying decisions nobody owns?
Borrow the judgement. Skip the salary.
Tell us what your team looks like, who builds your software today and which decisions keep getting deferred. We will tell you honestly whether you need this, a permanent hire, or neither.