Senior technology leadership that aligns your stack with the business, without a full-time CIO salary.
Fractional CIO leadership on retainer. We own your technology roadmap, vendor decisions, security posture, and budget, and we can pull in a full build team when execution is the gap.
A fractional CIO gives you the strategic technology leadership most growing companies need but cannot yet justify as a full-time hire. We sit at the leadership table, translate business goals into a technology roadmap, and take ownership of the decisions that keep your stack aligned to where the company is going. That means IT strategy, vendor and contract management, security and compliance oversight, and a budget you can defend to a board. Fractional means part-time commitment, senior-level accountability.
What separates us from an IT consultant is ownership. Consultants deliver a recommendation and leave you to run it. We stay accountable to the outcomes: the roadmap actually shipping, the budget holding, the security posture improving quarter over quarter. And because Rule27 runs four studios under one roof, a fractional CIO here is not a lone advisor. When a plan needs execution, engineering, or a data integration built rather than just specified, we can pull in the build team directly instead of handing you a stack of RFPs. That is the difference between advice and results. Rule27 holds 56 plus certifications across 9 platforms and partnerships with Adobe, Google Premier, Shopify Plus, and HubSpot, so the technology guidance you get is grounded in how these systems actually behave in production.
This is right for companies making technology decisions reactively when they should be making them strategically, and for leadership teams carrying real risk (aging systems, unclear security posture, vendor spend nobody owns) without the seat that should own it. If you have an internal IT lead, we lead alongside them. If you have no IT function at all, we fill the gap end to end, including vendor selection and management.
Built to deliver.
IT strategy and roadmap ownership that ties every technology decision to a specific business objective, not a wish list of tools
Vendor and contract management, reviewing your agreements, cutting redundant spend, and negotiating on your behalf
Security and compliance oversight, assessing your current posture, prioritizing the real vulnerabilities, and putting the right controls in place
Digital transformation leadership, evaluating and selecting the systems that modernize how you operate without disrupting what works
System and data integration planning so your tools share data instead of creating silos your team has to reconcile by hand
IT budget accountability, building a defensible technology budget and holding it, so spend maps to outcomes
Board and executive reporting that translates technology decisions into business impact your leadership can act on
See how Fractional CIO would work for your business.
Book a consultationThe engagement.
IT Assessment
We evaluate your current technology landscape: systems, vendors, security posture, spend, and the gaps between what you have and where the business is headed. You get a clear, honest read, not a sales pitch.
Roadmap Development
We build a prioritized 12-month technology roadmap tied to your business goals, sequenced by impact and risk, with a budget you can defend to your leadership team.
Execution Leadership
We take ownership of the roadmap, leading initiatives, managing vendors, and directing your internal IT staff where you have them. When a plan needs building, we can pull in the Rule27 engineering studio directly.
Governance and Reporting
We keep security, compliance, and budget performance on track and report progress in business terms at the cadence your leadership needs, so technology stays a managed asset rather than a recurring surprise.
Priced like a product.
Not sure which tier fits? We will scope it with you.
Start with Fractional CIOWe deliver a comprehensive IT strategy and 12-month roadmap within 30 days of engagement start, guaranteed. If we miss that deadline, we credit that month's fee.
Asked often.
What does a fractional CIO actually do?
We own your technology strategy. That means aligning technology investments with business goals, managing vendors and contracts, overseeing security and compliance, leading digital transformation initiatives, and reporting technology decisions to leadership in business terms. Fractional means a part-time commitment with full senior-level accountability, so you get the CIO seat without the full-time salary.
How is this different from an IT consultant?
Consultants deliver recommendations and hand them back to you. We take ownership of outcomes. We are accountable to your roadmap shipping, your budget holding, and your security posture improving over time, not just to a deliverable. And because Rule27 runs its own engineering studio, when a plan needs to be built rather than specified, we can pull in the team to execute it instead of leaving you to find one.
Do you manage our IT team, or work alongside an internal lead?
Both structures work. We can provide leadership and direction to your IT staff as part of the engagement, or partner alongside an internal IT lead who handles day to day operations while we own strategy and governance. We scope the structure to what your organization actually needs.
What if we do not have an IT team at all?
We work with companies that have no internal IT function regularly. In that case we handle vendor selection and management to fill the execution gaps, and because Rule27 has an in-house engineering studio, we can build what needs building rather than assembling a chain of outside vendors for you to coordinate.
How much time per month does an engagement involve?
Engagements range from a lighter advisory cadence to active, hands-on leadership, and we scope the right level based on your organization's size, complexity, and the risk you are carrying. We would rather right-size the commitment than sell you hours you do not need.
What size company is this right for?
Typically companies that need strategic technology leadership but cannot yet justify a full-time CIO salary. If you are making technology decisions reactively instead of strategically, carrying security or vendor risk that nobody owns, or heading into a growth phase your current systems will not survive, this is the engagement.