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Virtual CIO services for leadership teams that want technology decisions made on purpose
Fairoaks IT gives you an experienced technology executive without the cost of a full-time Chief Information Officer. We set the strategy, keep risks in front of you, plan the budget and hold teams and vendors accountable, so decisions get made before a problem, a renewal or a surprise invoice forces them.
Led by Adam Crossley, CEO of Fairoaks IT. Service levels from $1,950 per month.
What is a vCIO?
A virtual CIO (vCIO) is an experienced technology executive who works with your leadership team part time to set technology strategy, manage risk, plan budgets and oversee vendors, without the cost of a full-time Chief Information Officer.
It’s an ongoing leadership relationship. It isn’t a one-time consulting project, and it isn’t tech support. Your vCIO joins your planning conversations, turns technology into decisions leadership can make, and tracks whether those decisions get done.
Three questions worth asking your leadership team
If any of these give you pause, that’s the gap a vCIO fills.
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Do we have a written technology strategy that leadership reviews and uses to make funding decisions?
Not a vendor quote or an old assessment, but a plan you actually steer by.
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Who is accountable for our technology risks, spending, vendors and major projects at the executive level?
If the honest answer is “everyone and no one,” decisions stall or get made by default.
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Are we making technology decisions on purpose, or when a problem, renewal or surprise expense forces us to?
Reactive decisions usually cost more and fix less.
What your vCIO takes off your plate
Ten areas, with one person accountable for keeping them connected. How deep we go in each depends on your service level.
Executive leadership and governance
A technology advisor at the leadership table, with clear priorities, decision rights and a standing review process.
You get: Executive briefings, decision log, governance meeting summaries
Strategy and roadmap
A practical 12–36 month technology roadmap tied to your business goals, budget and staff capacity, updated as things change.
You get: Multi-year roadmap, priority matrix, quarterly updates
Cybersecurity, risk and compliance governance
A living risk register with owners, target dates and escalation, built from your assessment findings and compliance expectations.
You get: Risk register or POA&M, remediation roadmap, executive risk summaries
IT budgeting and cost control
Annual and multi-year budgets, total-cost-of-ownership reviews, and a hunt for overlapping software, unused licenses and services you no longer need.
You get: Budget recommendations, capital plan, cost-savings tracker
Vendor and contract oversight
Independent review of major contracts and renewals, structured comparisons of competing options, and input on RFPs.
You get: Vendor and renewal register, comparison matrices, renewal recommendations
IT team and service effectiveness
An honest look at how your IT team and providers work: structure, staffing, help desk metrics and processes.
You get: Service improvement plan, staffing assessment, KPI scorecard
Major project oversight
Executive governance for big initiatives like cloud moves, Microsoft 365, ERP and infrastructure, without taking over day-to-day project work.
You get: Project portfolio summary, milestone tracking, decision recommendations
AI and automation strategy
Where AI can actually help, what data it can touch, what rules apply and how you’ll measure results.
You get: AI use guidelines, prioritized use cases, adoption roadmap
Business continuity and resilience
Single points of failure, recovery priorities and testing, planned into the roadmap and the budget.
You get: Resilience risk summary, recovery investment priorities
Executive reporting
Technology translated into business terms: what’s moving, what’s at risk, what it costs and what needs your decision.
You get: Executive scorecards, quarterly reports, board or committee materials
How it works: one cycle, repeated
Every engagement runs on the same five-step governance model. We provide the structure, the challenge and the reporting. Your team and providers do the approved work.
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Assess
Understand your environment, goals, financial commitments and biggest risks.
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Prioritize
Decide what deserves attention based on value, urgency, exposure, cost and capacity.
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Assign
Name an owner for each initiative, the expected outcome and the decisions leadership must make.
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Govern
Review progress, challenge assumptions, watch risk and spending, and clear obstacles.
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Report
Give leadership a clear picture of progress, open risks, coming investments and decisions needed.
Then it starts again, so the plan keeps up with the business.
Built from real executive work, not a quarterly review template
Many vCIO services are a hardware refresh list and a security report. Ours grew out of hands-on leadership work: budgets, staffing, vendors, major projects and board-level decisions.
Reports built for decisions
Executives don’t need another technical status report. You get a short brief: what’s moving, where the risks are, what spending is coming and what you need to decide.
A roadmap that stays alive
Security findings, hardware refreshes, renewals, licensing and major systems live in one plan, matched to real funding and staff capacity.
Savings reported honestly
We track savings you’ve realized separately from opportunities we’ve identified, and we don’t count avoided costs as budget cuts.
Attention on how IT runs
We look past hardware and security to structure, staffing, help desk performance and day-to-day processes.
AI with guardrails
Clear decisions on which AI opportunities to pursue, what data can be used and how results get measured.
Recommendations you can trust
When a recommendation involves something Fairoaks IT sells, we say so up front and show the criteria behind it.
“They are not pushy with upselling the latest and greatest, but rather see what our company uses and needs, and advises accordingly.”
Anita EthierOffice Administrator, Arcade Snacks“Fairoaks IT has remained supportive to our changing business needs and has continued to provide unique support options that fit our current needs. … The breadth of knowledge of Fairoaks IT’s team has allowed Sontiq to remain agile and support our ever expanding remote workforce.”
Chris KnocheVice President, IT and Cybersecurity Operations, SontiqvCIO pricing
The same method at every level. What changes is how often we meet, how much we report and how many big initiatives we actively oversee. Pricing is set by scope and complexity, not an unlimited bank of hours.
Foundation vCIO
For small businesses with straightforward technology that still need real strategic oversight.
$1,950–$2,950 per month
- One strategic meeting each month
- Quarterly roadmap and risk review
- Annual IT budget and lifecycle review
- Quarterly executive summary
- Limited strategic consultation between meetings
Already a Fairoaks IT managed services client? This is a natural first step. It’s a separate executive service, not the account reviews you already get.
Strategic vCIO
For established businesses with several technology priorities, significant IT spending or growing security and compliance demands.
$4,500–$6,500 per month
- Monthly IT leadership working session
- Monthly executive sponsor meeting
- Maintained roadmap and risk register
- Quarterly executive report and presentation
- Budget, licensing and renewal oversight
- Oversight of up to two major initiatives at once
- AI and automation governance
- Additional consultation within defined limits
Executive vCIO
For municipalities, larger businesses and complex organizations that need deep executive involvement.
$9,500–$13,500+ per month
- Weekly IT leadership working sessions
- Biweekly executive briefings
- Full roadmap and risk governance
- Annual and multi-year operating and capital planning
- Contract, RFP and vendor evaluation advisory
- IT structure and staffing guidance
- Executive reporting and selected board presentations
- Oversight of multiple initiatives
- Defined availability for time-sensitive decisions
| Capability | Foundation | Strategic | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology roadmap | Quarterly | Quarterly, plus ongoing updates | Actively governed |
| Risk management | Top risks reviewed | Maintained risk register | Full program oversight |
| Executive reporting | Quarterly summary | Quarterly presentation | Monthly scorecard and briefings |
| Financial planning | Annual review | Annual budget and renewal planning | Multi-year capital planning |
| Vendor oversight | Limited | Regular strategic oversight | Major sourcing and RFP advisory |
| AI governance | Foundational guidance | Policy and use-case advisory | Organization-wide governance |
| Organizational design | Basic recommendations | Advisory | Structure and staffing work |
Every engagement starts with 90 days of onboarding
Onboarding is priced separately: $3,000–$7,500 for small and mid-sized organizations, and custom for complex ones. It’s an interview-and-document review of how technology is managed, not a technical audit. Pricing it on its own means discovery work isn’t hidden inside your monthly fee.
Days 1–30
Discovery and baseline
We meet your executive sponsors and IT leaders and review your environment, major contracts, budgets, security assessments, operational issues and business goals.
You get: an initial technology leadership assessment and top priorities.
Days 31–60
Strategy and priorities
We build the roadmap and risk register, assign initiative owners, set financial priorities and agree on how we’ll report to you.
You get: your first 12–36 month roadmap and a 90-day action plan.
Days 61–90
Governance launch
Working sessions, executive briefings, vendor and initiative oversight, and decision tracking begin on a regular rhythm.
You get: your first executive scorecard and a set meeting cadence.
Where the vCIO role stops
A vCIO is strategic leadership and governance. It isn’t a replacement for day-to-day IT support or staff.
Your vCIO handles
- Technology strategy, priorities and the roadmap
- Risk governance and remediation tracking
- Budgets, capital planning and cost control
- Vendor, contract and major project oversight
- Reporting and recommendations to leadership
Not included unless contracted separately
- Help desk or end-user support
- System administration, engineering or deployment
- Security monitoring, incident response or forensics
- Penetration testing, compliance audits or certification
- Hands-on project implementation or dedicated project management
- Acting as your legal representative, employee or contracting officer
You keep ownership of execution, staffing, business decisions, risk acceptance and project approvals. Want hands-on help too? Fairoaks IT also provides managed IT, co-managed IT and security services under separate agreements.
Is a vCIO right for you?
A strong fit if you’re
- An owner, CEO or CFO making technology spending decisions without a technology executive in the room
- Running an internal IT team or outside provider that needs strategic direction and executive backing
- Facing a big decision: a major renewal, a cloud move, a compliance requirement or an AI policy
- A municipality or public organization that needs governance, planning and vendor accountability
Probably not the right fit if you
- Need someone to fix computers. That’s our help desk and managed IT, not vCIO.
- Want unlimited consulting hours for a flat fee
- Want recommendations but don’t plan to have anyone own the decisions
Led by Adam Crossley
Adam Crossley is CEO and co-owner of Fairoaks IT, which his father, Tom Crossley, founded in 1991. Before IT, he worked at Sikorsky on the Navy Seahawk program and as an internal consultant and manager for United Technologies, so budgets, programs and accountability aren’t theory to him.
Adam is the author of The Compliance Formula: Successful Strategies of CMMC Compliant Companies, Cyberattack: How to Defend Your Business and Protect Your Bottom Line and Cybersecurity: The Silent Battlefield, and has been featured in MSP Success Magazine. Watch him on YouTube.
“It’s also great knowing that I can pick up the phone or email with the owners of the business if I have an issue. Fairoaks IT is the real deal.”
Ross TretheweyOwner, TE2 Engineering- Since 1991Owner-led, with offices in Franklin, MA and Belmont, NC
- Soteria AwardMost Trusted MSP in North America, 2024 MSP Titans of the Industry
- Six booksWritten by our owners, Tom and Adam Crossley
- Independent adviceAny commercial interest in a recommendation is disclosed
vCIO questions, answered
What does a vCIO do?
A vCIO sets an organization’s technology direction and makes sure it gets carried out.
That means building the roadmap, keeping a risk register, planning the IT budget, reviewing major vendors and contracts, overseeing big projects and reporting to leadership in plain business terms. See everything that’s included.
How much do vCIO services cost?
Fairoaks IT’s vCIO services cost $1,950 to $13,500+ per month, depending on scope and complexity.
Foundation runs $1,950–$2,950 per month, Strategic $4,500–$6,500 and Executive $9,500–$13,500+. Onboarding is a separate one-time fee of $3,000–$7,500 for small and mid-sized organizations, with custom pricing for complex ones. Compare service levels.
What’s the difference between a vCIO and a full-time CIO?
A vCIO does the strategic work of a CIO part time, scaled to how much executive time your organization actually needs.
You avoid a senior executive salary and benefits, and you get someone who has seen how many organizations handle the same problems. A full-time CIO makes sense when technology leadership needs someone on staff every day. See how a vCIO engagement runs.
How is a vCIO different from the technology reviews an IT provider includes?
A vCIO engagement manages technology as a business function, while a routine IT account review checks the health of your IT environment.
Your vCIO works on strategy, risk, budget, vendors, staffing and the decisions leadership needs to make, with a governance process and executive reporting to match. What makes our approach different.
Do we need to be a Fairoaks IT managed services client?
No, Fairoaks IT’s vCIO services are available whether or not you use Fairoaks IT for managed IT.
Many organizations have their own IT staff or another provider and want independent executive leadership above that work. If you’re already a managed services client, Foundation is a natural place to start. About our managed IT services.
Will a vCIO replace our internal IT team?
No, a vCIO works alongside your internal IT staff and outside providers rather than replacing them.
We set priorities, clear obstacles and report to leadership. Your team and vendors still do the hands-on work. See where the vCIO role stops.
What’s the difference between a vCIO and a vCISO?
A vCIO leads overall technology strategy, while a vCISO leads the cybersecurity program.
Your vCIO covers budget, vendors, projects and risk governance across all of technology. A vCISO runs the security program itself. Fairoaks IT offers both, and they work well together. See what a vCIO covers.
Can a vCIO help with our AI policy?
Yes, AI and automation strategy is part of every Fairoaks IT vCIO engagement, scaled to your service level.
That ranges from foundational guidance at the Foundation level to organization-wide AI governance at the Executive level: which opportunities to pursue, what data AI tools can use, who approves new uses and how results get measured. Compare service levels.
Does vCIO include penetration testing or a security audit?
No, vCIO services govern cybersecurity risk but don’t include penetration testing, audits, security monitoring or incident response.
Your vCIO tracks findings and remediation and helps leadership make risk decisions. Fairoaks IT provides several of those hands-on services under their own agreements. See what’s included and what isn’t.
What happens in the first 90 days?
The first 90 days of a Fairoaks IT vCIO engagement cover discovery, strategy and the launch of a regular governance rhythm.
In days 1–30, we learn your environment, contracts, budgets, risks and goals. In days 31–60, we build your roadmap, risk register and reporting format. In days 61–90, we start the meeting cadence, assign owners and deliver your first executive scorecard. More on onboarding.
How do you stay objective when Fairoaks IT also sells IT services?
Fairoaks IT discloses any commercial interest in a recommendation and shows the criteria behind it.
That way you can judge every recommendation on its merits, including when the best answer is another vendor. How we work.
Do you work with municipalities and public organizations?
Yes, Fairoaks IT’s Executive vCIO level is designed for municipalities and other complex organizations.
It includes structured governance, multi-year capital planning, RFP and vendor oversight, and selected board presentations. Contract terms can follow your procurement requirements. See the Executive level.
Where does Fairoaks IT offer vCIO services?
Fairoaks IT provides vCIO services to organizations within about 40 miles of its offices in Franklin, MA and Belmont, NC.
That covers Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island and the Charlotte, NC area.
Start with a conversation, not a pitch
Book a discovery call with Adam. We’ll talk about where technology decisions get stuck today and whether a vCIO is the right fix. If it isn’t, we’ll tell you.
Offices in Franklin, MA and Belmont, NC.
Book a discovery call
Pick a time that works for you. No pressure, no pitch deck.
Or call 774-222-5500, or email sales@fairoaksit.com.
