A CIO for the days you need one.
A 40-person company rarely needs a full-time CIO. It does need someone who has done this before, in the room when the budget, the contract and the hiring decision get made. We do that on a set number of days each month, for businesses on the Saanich Peninsula and across Vancouver Island.
What the role covers
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We own the plan
One roadmap, reviewed each quarter, tied to what the business is trying to do this year. Not a document that is written once and then quietly ignored.
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We handle the vendors
Contracts read before they are signed, renewals challenged rather than waved through, and licences you stopped using cancelled. Suppliers behave differently when someone on your side reads the detail.
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We brief your board
Spend, risk and progress in language a finance director can act on, so technology stops being the line item nobody in the room can interrogate.
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We build your team
Hire the two people who matter, and stop paying for the ones you do not need yet. Knowing which is which is most of the value.
Who you actually get
The person doing the work has held the role. Fergus Murray has been Head of Technology and Broadcast at World Triathlon, the IOC-recognised international federation, since 2018 — accountable for technology across more than 180 national federations in over 100 countries, a $2.5M annual portfolio, enterprise systems, cybersecurity, and data privacy compliance across four jurisdictions.
Most businesses on the Saanich Peninsula will never employ someone with that background, and do not need to full time. They do need the judgement occasionally, at the moments where a decision is expensive to get wrong. More about Fergus.
Who this is for
Businesses large enough that technology decisions carry real cost, and too small to justify a full-time executive to make them. Usually that means somewhere between twenty and a hundred staff, several systems that have accumulated over the years, and at least one supplier relationship nobody is entirely happy with.
The common thread is not company size. It is that someone is currently making these decisions as a side effect of another job, and that showing up in the budget.
How it starts
Every engagement begins with a 15-minute call, and if we are a fit, a free assessment. We look at your systems, your spend and the work your team repeats, then hand you a written roadmap: what to fix, what to replace, what to leave alone, and what each costs.
That roadmap is yours whether or not you continue. It is written so that you could hand it to any supplier, which is the point. If it turns out you need a project rather than ongoing leadership, we will say so.
Common questions
What does a fractional CIO actually do?
The same work a full-time CIO does, on the days you need it. That means owning the technology roadmap, setting and defending the budget, reading and negotiating vendor contracts, deciding what to build against what to buy, and translating all of it into language your board or finance director can act on. It is a decision-making role, not a support desk.
How is that different from an IT support company?
An IT support company keeps what you already have running. A fractional CIO decides what you should have in the first place, and holds your suppliers to account, including the support company. The two work well together and are not substitutes for each other.
How much does a fractional CIO cost?
It is billed monthly against a set number of days, so the cost is fixed and known before you commit, and it scales with the days you actually need rather than a headcount. The assessment that establishes how many days you need is free, and you can cancel with 30 days' notice.
How many days a month does a business like ours need?
Most small and mid-sized businesses need less than they expect: enough to keep a roadmap current, prepare for the meetings where money is committed, and be reachable when a decision cannot wait. The free assessment is what settles the number, because it depends on how many systems and suppliers you are carrying.
Do we have to sign a long contract?
No. There is no enterprise retainer and no year-long programme. The fractional CIO engagement runs monthly and you can cancel with 30 days' notice.
What happens to the work if we stop?
You keep it. The roadmap, the documentation and anything built for you are yours, and they are written so another supplier can pick them up. That is deliberate: a plan you cannot hand to someone else is a plan that locks you in.
Do you work on site?
VectorShift is based in Brentwood Bay and works across the Saanich Peninsula, Greater Victoria and Vancouver Island, so being in the room for the meetings that matter is practical. Day-to-day work happens wherever it is most useful.
The roadmap is free.
You end up with a ranked list of what to fix and what it costs, the first automation worth building, and a 12-month plan you can hand to any supplier. Yours to keep either way.