Fractional CTO: a part-time technical lead, for a few companies chosen together
For small and medium-sized companies that spend on software and vendors but have nobody in-house to decide the technical side. I work with a few companies at a time: you apply, we talk, and we decide together whether it makes sense.
A fractional CTO is the technical lead a company has by the day instead of full time. They decide with management what to do on technology, in what order and with which vendors, and check that it is done well. For a small or medium-sized company a full-time CTO is often too much, or hard to find; nobody deciding costs more, in the wrong software and quotes nobody can assess.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- You have several software vendors and nobody holding them together.
- A quote arrives and you cannot tell whether price and solution are right.
- Your management system is no longer enough, but it is unclear whether to replace it, integrate it or build custom.
- Everyone talks about AI, but nobody knows where it really pays off and what GDPR and the AI Act require.
- Security is handled by whoever has time, when they have it.
What does a fractional CTO do?
- A written technical roadmap: what to fix first, what later, what it costs, starting from a process analysis.
- Software and vendor choices: off-the-shelf, integrated or custom; reading quotes and contracts on the company's side.
- Checking the work of software houses and agencies: code, tests, deliveries.
- AI where it helps, with the numbers on time saved and the rules of GDPR and the AI Act.
- Security: priorities, checks, and NIS2 when it applies to you.
When needed I also write the code, with collaborators when the work requires it: whoever decides and whoever builds is the same person.
Where am I doing it already?
For a plant wholesaler I lead the technical side as a fractional CTO. We measured where time goes: about 150 supplier invoices a week retyped by hand into the management system, about 4 minutes each, almost 480 hours a year. That led to a prototype that reads them and asks for confirmation only on uncertain lines, and the next step is connecting it to the system they use, with its vendor.
Why only a few companies?
A fractional CTO is useful only if they know the company closely. So I work with a few companies at a time, chosen together: you apply with a few lines about who you are and what you need, we talk, and if it is not the right moment I will tell you.
How does it work and what does it cost?
- Small company (up to 50 people): €400 a day;
- Medium-sized company (50 to 250 people): from €500 a day.
Usually at least one day a week, on site in the Veneto region and remotely in the rest of Italy and Europe. The price is written in the quote before starting, and it can be stopped. Other day rates are on the pricing page.
Apply with your company
Write me a few lines: who you are, how many people, which programs you use and what worries you most today. I will reply in writing.