Mid-market organizations and high-growth companies frequently need genuine CIO-level strategic IT leadership — but the cost, commitment, and search timeline of a full-time CIO hire are not always appropriate for the organization's current stage or budget. Full On Consulting's Fractional CIO services provide access to a former CIO/CTO with 30+ years of enterprise IT leadership on a flexible monthly retainer — delivering IT strategy, vendor management, IT governance, technology transformation oversight, and board-level technology advisory at a cost that matches the organization's actual requirements, not a full-time executive compensation package.
$40M+
In documented client savings through CIO-level IT leadership and strategic technology management
20+
Years as enterprise CIO, CTO, and Chief Architect at Fortune 100 and mid-market organizations
$8K–$15K
Monthly retainer for Fractional CIO engagement — CIO-level capability without full-time CIO cost
30 Days
To current-state assessment and strategic advisory value — no 6-month learning curve on your retainer
What a Fractional CIO Delivers
IT Strategy, Vendor Governance, Team Leadership & Board Advisory — On Your Retainer
IT Strategy & Investment Planning
CIO-level IT strategy and technology investment planning — developing the multi-year IT roadmap aligned to business objectives, building the business case for technology investments, prioritizing the IT portfolio against budget constraints, and presenting the IT strategy to executive leadership and the board in terms of business value and risk. IT strategy developed by an executive who has personally carried CIO accountability, not by consultants who have advised CIOs.
IT Leadership & Team Development
IT leadership coaching and team development — assessing the current IT organization's capability and structure, developing IT managers into IT leaders, building the IT talent and skills required to execute the technology roadmap, and creating the IT operating model that scales with the organization's growth. IT team development led by a practitioner who has built and managed enterprise IT organizations, not an organizational development consultant without direct IT leadership experience.
Vendor Management & Contract Governance
CIO-level vendor management and technology contract governance — managing strategic technology vendor relationships, reviewing and negotiating major technology contracts, holding vendors accountable for service levels and deliverables, and eliminating the vendor management gaps that allow vendors to under-deliver without consequence. Vendor governance that protects the organization's interests in vendor relationships with significantly more contract negotiation leverage than most mid-market organizations typically possess.
IT Governance & Risk Management
IT governance framework and risk management — establishing the IT policies, standards, and decision-making processes that create consistent, defensible technology governance. Cybersecurity risk oversight, regulatory compliance monitoring, IT audit management, and the risk reporting that gives executive leadership and the board accurate visibility into the organization's technology risk posture. Governance built by a CIO who has managed IT risk in regulated industries, not by a governance consultant without operational accountability.
Technology Transformation Oversight
Executive oversight and accountability for major technology transformation programs — providing the CIO-level program sponsorship, stakeholder alignment, vendor performance management, and executive escalation path that complex technology programs require to stay on track. Transformation oversight from a practitioner who has personally delivered comparable programs, able to identify risk and make course corrections before they compound into program-threatening issues.
Board & Executive Advisory
Board-level and executive committee technology advisory — translating technical complexity into business language for executive and board audiences, presenting the IT investment case and risk posture in terms that non-technical executives can evaluate and act on, and providing the technology perspective in strategic business decisions involving M&A, market expansion, or operating model change. Board advisory from a practitioner who has personally presented to enterprise boards as CIO and CTO.
What Makes Us Different
Why Organizations Choose Our Fractional CIO Over a Full-Time Hire
Former CIO/CTO — Not a CIO Advisor
Full On Consulting's Fractional CIO is Donald Hook — a practitioner with 30+ years of enterprise IT leadership as CIO, CTO, and Chief Architect at Fortune 100 and mid-market organizations. The difference between a Fractional CIO who has personally held CIO accountability and one who has advised CIOs is the difference between judgment developed through direct experience and judgment developed through observation. When a vendor disputes a contract term, a technology program runs behind schedule, or the board asks a hard question about IT risk, the relevant experience is operational — not advisory.
$40M+ in Documented Client Savings
Our $40M+ in documented client savings is the track record of IT leadership that produces measurable business outcomes rather than technology deployments — delivered through the same discipline, vendor management rigor, and investment prioritization framework that drives our Fractional CIO engagements. Organizations that engage a Fractional CIO to access cost savings they cannot achieve with their current IT leadership model should be able to point to a specific, documented savings track record — not projected benefits from a consulting methodology.
Flexible Retainer — CIO Capability Without Full-Time Cost
The Fractional CIO model provides access to senior IT leadership at a fraction of the cost of a full-time CIO hire — typically $8,000–$15,000 per month for a defined scope of CIO-level engagement. Organizations that do not need or cannot afford a full-time CIO but need genuine CIO-level strategic leadership, vendor governance, and executive representation can access that capability on a retainer that scales to their actual requirements. Fractional engagement that delivers more strategic value than a full-time internal IT manager at a lower total cost than a full-time CIO hire.
Industry-Proven, No Learning Curve
A Fractional CIO who requires a 6-month ramp-up to understand your business, technology landscape, and vendor relationships before delivering strategic value is a full-time CIO engagement priced as a fractional one. Our Fractional CIO engagement begins with a structured onboarding that produces an accurate current-state assessment within the first 30 days, so strategic advisory and vendor management value is delivered in the first 90 days — not after a learning curve that erodes the cost advantage of the fractional model.
Fractional CIO Retainer
Senior CIO Leadership on a Simple Monthly Retainer
Three clear engagement levels — scaled to how much senior IT leadership you need. No long RFPs, no junior bench, no surprise change orders. Engagements are scoped to your situation; the ranges below reflect typical monthly investment.
Advisory
~1 day / week
- IT strategy & roadmap ownership
- Monthly executive & board reporting
- Vendor and contract oversight
- Technology budget guidance
- On-call senior advisory
Best for: a functioning IT team that needs senior strategic direction and board-level technology leadership.
Get Started →Most Popular
Embedded
~2 days / week
- Everything in Advisory, plus:
- Hands-on IT team leadership
- Active program & project oversight
- Vendor performance management
- Architecture & investment decisions
Best for: organizations actively running programs or transformations that need hands-on senior leadership.
Get Started →Executive
~3 days / week
- Everything in Embedded, plus:
- Full IT organization leadership
- Transformation / M&A program ownership
- Executive committee participation
- Team build-out & succession planning
Best for: a leadership gap or major transformation that needs a near-full-time senior CIO in the seat.
Get Started →Need full-time coverage for a defined period instead? See Interim CIO Services. Not sure which fits? Talk to us — we'll recommend the right level in a 30-minute call.
Featured Case Study
IT Transformation Program — $40M+ in Savings, 40% Business Growth Without Adding IT Headcount
Full On Consulting led a multi-year enterprise IT transformation that delivered $40M+ in documented savings while enabling 40% business growth — the direct result of CIO-level leadership that aligned IT investment to business strategy, managed vendors to contractual performance, developed the IT organization's internal capability, and delivered transformation programs that produced measurable business outcomes rather than technology deployments.
The Fractional CIO model is an extension of the same leadership approach: senior IT executive engagement calibrated to the organization's scale and requirements, delivering the strategic value of a CIO without the full-time cost and commitment. Organizations that need CIO-level thinking and vendor governance but are not at the stage requiring a full-time CIO can access the same quality of leadership that produced $40M+ in documented savings.
Read the Full Case Study →$40M+
In documented savings through CIO-level IT leadership and strategic technology investment management
40%
Business growth enabled through IT strategy aligned to business objectives without headcount growth
20+
Years as enterprise CIO and CTO — the experience that drives Fractional CIO engagement value
Before You Engage
What to Ask a Fractional CIO Provider
Have they actually held CIO accountability — or do they advise CIOs?
There is a meaningful difference between a Fractional CIO who has personally held CIO accountability at enterprise scale and a consultant who has advised CIOs. The judgment required to manage a contentious vendor relationship, lead an IT organization through a major transformation, make a technology platform decision with incomplete information, or represent IT credibly at the board level is developed through direct operational experience — not through advisory proximity to that experience. Ask the specific practitioner who will serve as your Fractional CIO what organizations they have led as CIO or CTO, at what revenue and headcount scale, and what measurable outcomes their IT leadership produced.
How is the Fractional CIO engagement structured and scoped?
Fractional CIO engagements that are not clearly scoped produce either under-delivery (the Fractional CIO's time is insufficient for the actual leadership requirements) or over-delivery (the engagement expands to full-time equivalent without changing the retainer). Ask how the firm structures the Fractional CIO scope: what deliverables and activities are included in the monthly retainer, how engagement hours are tracked and reported, what the process is when scope requirements increase beyond the retainer, and how the engagement transitions if the organization decides to hire a full-time CIO.
How quickly do they begin delivering strategic value?
A Fractional CIO who requires months to understand your business before contributing strategic value is consuming retainer budget during a period when the organization receives no CIO-level leadership benefit. Ask how the firm structures the onboarding period: what the 30-day and 90-day deliverables are, what current-state assessment is produced and over what timeline, and how the Fractional CIO begins contributing to vendor management, IT governance, and strategic advisory work while the onboarding is still in progress. The first 90 days should produce concrete deliverables, not just relationship building.
How do they handle situations that require full-time CIO availability?
Every organization has periods that demand more than a fractional CIO's standard engagement — a major vendor crisis, a board inquiry about cybersecurity, a technology program in trouble, or an M&A event that requires intensive IT involvement. Ask how the firm handles surge demand: whether there is a defined process for increasing engagement intensity during critical periods, what the additional cost structure is, and whether the Fractional CIO is available for emergency consultation outside the standard retainer schedule when the situation requires it.
Former CIO/CTO — Available on Your Retainer
Fractional CIO Services: $8K–$15K/Month for CIO-Level IT Leadership That Produces Measurable Results
A former CIO/CTO with 30+ years of enterprise IT leadership and $40M+ in documented client savings — available on a monthly retainer to lead your IT strategy, manage your vendors, govern your technology risk, and represent IT at the board level. CIO-level capability without the full-time search, cost, and commitment.
Schedule a Fractional CIO Consultation →Not Sure Which Fits Your Situation?
Fractional CIO vs. Interim CIO — What's the Difference?
Fractional CIO — You're Here
The right fit when your organization needs ongoing CIO-level leadership but does not have — or want — a full-time CIO. A monthly retainer engagement ($8K–$15K/month) where your Fractional CIO owns IT strategy, vendor governance, board reporting, and technology investment decisions on a sustained basis.
Best for: Organizations without a current CIO that need ongoing strategic IT leadership.
Interim CIO — Need a Bridge?
The right fit when your CIO has departed and you need full, immediate CIO accountability during the gap before a permanent hire. A time-bounded engagement — typically 6 to 18 months — where the Interim CIO assumes full operational authority within two weeks and transfers to the permanent CIO when hired.
Best for: Organizations actively searching for a permanent CIO who need a bridge leader now.
Learn about Interim CIO Services →WHY FULL ON CONSULTING
Senior Consultants Only
Every engagement is led and delivered by senior consultants — former CIOs, CTOs, and enterprise IT executives. You get the people you were sold, not a bait-and-switch to junior staff after the contract is signed.
$40M+ in Documented Savings
Our track record includes $40M+ in verified client savings, a $130M M&A integration across 90+ global facilities, and an end-user computing transformation for 18,000 employees. We deliver measurable outcomes — not just recommendations.
20+ Years of Enterprise Experience
Our consultants average 30+ years of enterprise IT experience across Fortune 500 and mid-market companies. We have run the same programs we are being asked to lead — across SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and large-scale transformations.
Strategy Through Execution
We do not hand you a strategy deck and walk away. Our teams stay engaged from initial assessment through go-live — accountable for outcomes, not just deliverables. If we recommend it, we are prepared to execute it.
Boutique Agility
As a boutique firm, we move faster, adapt to your priorities, and work with your team rather than around it. No bureaucracy, no layers of overhead — just focused, senior-led execution from day one.
A Partner, Not a Vendor
We build long-term relationships grounded in trust and integrity. Many of our clients have engaged us across multiple initiatives and refer us to peers — because we do what we say we will do, every time.