Core Services
A full-time CIO runs $250,000–$400,000 a year in total compensation. Fairway IT’s Virtual CIO service gives your business the same strategic technology leadership — budget planning, vendor oversight, risk management, board-ready reporting — at a fraction of the cost, on a schedule that fits your business. Our Virtual CIO service brings executive-level technology planning to businesses that need strategic direction without a full-time executive headcount. Lower Cost Than a Full-Time CIO A full-time CIO runs $250,000–$400,000 a year once salary, benefits, bonus, and recruiting costs are factored in. A Virtual CIO engagement delivers the same strategic leadership at 50–75% less — with no recruiting risk and no severance if the fit isn’t right. You get executive attention sized to your business — not a fixed headcount you have to justify year-round. As your needs grow, your vCIO’s involvement scales with them, without a renegotiated employment contract. Typical Weekly Engagement Strategic Business Reviews We build a multi-year technology roadmap tied to your actual business goals, then review it with you every quarter — adjusting for new priorities, new risks, and new opportunities before they become urgent. Your vCIO owns cybersecurity strategy end to end — risk assessments, incident response planning, and vendor security reviews — and is the executive who answers for it when your board or insurer asks. Security Oversight & Escalation We evaluate, negotiate, and manage your technology vendors — software, telecom, cloud platforms — so you get better terms and one accountable point of contact instead of five separate relationships. We identify which regulatory frameworks apply to your business — HIPAA, PCI-DSS, state privacy law — and own the technology side of staying compliant, coordinating with your legal and finance teams. We translate technology risk and investment into language your board, investors, or leadership team can act on — clear reporting, not jargon, delivered on the cadence your organization needs. Acquiring or being acquired changes your technology risk profile overnight. We assess target systems, integration cost, and security exposure before the deal closes, not after. We build and test the plan that keeps your business running through an outage, breach, or disaster — and make sure it’s actually rehearsed, not just a document on a shelf. A Virtual CIO (vCIO) provides the strategic technology leadership of a Chief Information Officer — budget planning, vendor management, cybersecurity strategy, compliance oversight, and board reporting — on a fractional, scheduled basis instead of a full-time salary. A full-time CIO costs $250,000–$400,000 a year in total compensation once salary, benefits, bonus, and recruiting costs are included. Virtual CIO engagements typically run 50–75% less, scaled to the hours your business actually needs — commonly 10–20 hours per week. Managed IT services keep your day-to-day technology running — help desk, monitoring, patching, security operations. A Virtual CIO operates one level up: setting the strategy, budget, and roadmap that your managed IT team (ours or otherwise) executes against. Many clients use both together. Virtual CIO services fit growing businesses — typically 20 to 500 employees — that are making real technology and budget decisions but don’t yet have the volume of strategic work to justify a full-time executive hire. We start with a free consultation to understand your business, current technology environment, and near-term goals. From there we scope a monthly engagement — hours, cadence of reviews, and specific deliverables like a roadmap or risk assessment — before any commitment. Start with a free consultation. We’ll review your current technology environment, budget, and goals — and show you what a Virtual CIO engagement would look like for your business. No commitment required. Or email us at info@fairwayitsolutions.com
Virtual CIO Services — Chicago, IL
Executive IT Strategy, Without the Executive Salary
✓ Strategic technology roadmaps
✓ Vendor & budget oversight
✓ Board-ready reporting
What’s Included
Strategic Leadership, Built Around Your Business
50–75%
Executive Strategy, a Fraction of the Cost
Flexible, Scalable Engagement Model
10–20 hrs
Quarterly
Technology Roadmapping & Budget Planning
Cybersecurity Leadership & Risk Management
24/7
01
SERVICE
Vendor Management & Negotiation
02
SERVICE
Compliance & Risk Oversight
03
SERVICE
Board & Stakeholder Reporting
04
SERVICE
M&A and Due Diligence Support
05
SERVICE
Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning
FAQ
Virtual CIO Services — Frequently Asked Questions
Get Executive Strategy Without the Executive Salary