The first step
The CIOverview
It's what every new CIO does on day one: take a hard look at what's already in place before recommending anything. I come to you, spend time seeing how the work moves through your business, and you end up with a written summary of where you stand and what's open to you.
This is not an audit. It isn't a compliance document, it doesn't live on your books, and nothing in it is written to be held against you. It's a picture of where you are today and where you could build from here.
What we go through
What you're running
Desktops, laptops, and servers. How it all connects, and anything old enough that it no longer gets security updates.
Tools and integrations
The software you rely on, whether the pieces talk to each other, and where the gaps are.
If something went wrong tomorrow
Where you're exposed, whether your backups would hold up, and what would happen to the business while you got back on your feet.
How the work gets done
Where the day goes, which steps are done by hand, and which ones stall waiting on somebody.
Goals and priorities
Where you want the business to go and what's getting in the way, so we both know what success looks like.
What you walk away with
A written summary of where things stand, the opportunities worth considering, and a short list of what I'd tackle first.
How it works
A conversation first
We talk before either of us commits to anything. I want to understand the business well enough to tell you whether this is even worth doing, and you should know who you're letting walk around your office.
Half a day to a full day, on site
I'd rather do this in person. Watching how work moves through a business tells me more in a day than a questionnaire would in a week. I talk to whoever does the work, not just whoever signs the checks.
A written summary
I write it up afterwards and walk you through it. You keep the document. If you want to hand it to somebody else to do the work, that's genuinely fine.
Common questions
What does it cost?
It depends on the size of your business and how much there is to look at, which is why there's no price on this page. We talk first, I tell you what I think it will take, and you decide from there. Nobody should be quoting you a number before they understand what they're walking into.
Do you have to come to my office?
I'd strongly prefer it. Seeing how work moves through a business in person tells me things nobody thinks to mention on a call. If it genuinely isn't possible we can work around it, but the on site version is better and I'll say so.
Is this an audit?
No, and that's deliberate. An audit produces a document that lives on your books and can be pointed at later. This is a picture of where you are and what's available to you. Nothing in it is written to be used against you.
What do I actually get at the end?
A written summary: where things stand, the opportunities worth considering, and a short list of what I'd tackle first. It's yours to keep. You're free to hand it to another provider and have them do the work.
Am I committing to anything afterwards?
No. Plenty of people take the summary and handle things themselves, and that's a perfectly good outcome. If you want help with what's on the list, we talk about that separately.
Do I need to understand technology for this to be useful?
Not at all, and it's usually better if you don't. I write the summary in plain language, and the whole point is that you end up understanding your own business better, not that you learn my job.