Fractional CIO (vCIO) · Fractional CISO (vCISO)
vCIO and vCISO are the industry names. The job is simpler: someone who has actually run the stack sits with ownership every month on budget, vendors, security, and the plan — and does not replace the admin you already trust.
A full-time CIO or CISO is the right hire at a certain size. Before that, most Tri-Cities and Asheville companies have an owner making IT decisions after hours, or an admin with no one senior to escalate to. That is the gap.
From $1,500 / month
Technology leadership: the roadmap, the budget, the vendor pile, and the projects that stall when everyone is drowning in tickets. Same person every month.
From $1,500 / month
Security leadership: posture, policy, staff training, insurance questions, and a continuity plan you can hand to an auditor or attorney. Tickets stay with IT.
It is not a helpdesk. It is not a SOC in another time zone. It is not a product we are paid to push. Month-to-month. Vendor-neutral. If you are mid-ransomware, this is the wrong first call — start at incident response.
This is Avery Parker’s practice. Scheduled work is booked. Incident response jumps the queue. If he is already on a site, you hear that on the first call — not after you have waited. Partner MSPs get a scoped window in writing. We do not invent a second-shift team we do not have.
Week one is intake: what you have, who has admin, what the owner is tired of paying for, what the insurer or the board asked last quarter. Then a recurring call — 60 or 90 minutes, same day each month — with a written note after. Between calls you get email or phone at the tier you picked.
The admin (or the MSP) stays on the tickets. Avery is the person who says “stop buying that,” “this backup has never been restored,” or “do not sign that cyber app until we fix MFA.” That is the product.
Executive tiers add onsite in the Tri-Cities (within about 30 miles of Johnson City; farther by arrangement). Remote advisory runs nationwide.
Managed IT patches, monitors, backs up, and answers the “printer / 365 / the Wi-Fi” call. Published packages start at $175 per user per month. Managed IT & MSSP.
Fractional CIO / vCIO decides what the next year of technology should cost and who is allowed to sell you something. From $1,500/month. Tiers.
Fractional CISO / vCISO decides whether you can look an insurer, a hospital partner, or a contracting officer in the eye. From $1,500/month, plus a one-time BCP if you do not have one. Tiers.
You can buy the helpdesk without the leadership seat. You should not buy the leadership seat and expect the helpdesk to come free.
Fractional leadership only works if the person on the call has actually run the stack. Avery Parker has.
Office at 4100 North Roan Street, Suite 208, Johnson City, TN 37604. Onsite across the Tri-Cities and Western North Carolina. You talk to Avery, not a tier-1 queue. Retainers are month-to-month. We do not sell you a stack we are paid to push — vendor-neutral advice.
This is Avery Parker’s practice. Scheduled work is booked. Incident response jumps the queue. If he is already on a site, you hear that on the first call — not after you have waited. Partner MSPs get a scoped window in writing. We do not invent a second-shift team we do not have.
A fractional CIO (also called a vCIO, virtual CIO) is senior technology leadership on a monthly retainer instead of a $180k–$250k full-time hire. Avery owns budget, vendors, the 12-month roadmap, and the hard calls — and sits next to the admin or MSP you already have.
A fractional CISO (vCISO) is the security equivalent: posture, policy, staff training, cyber-insurance questions, and a written continuity plan. Tickets stay with your IT. The CISO work is the program, not the helpdesk.
Many shops start with one. vCIO if technology spend and vendors are the mess. vCISO if insurers, boards, HIPAA/GLBA, or a recent scare are the mess. Some clients run both at a combined scope after discovery.
No. Managed IT keeps the lights on. Fractional leadership decides what gets bought, what gets dropped, and what the next ninety days are for. You can buy either, or both.
Essential tiers are built for 10–75 person companies and for smaller professional practices that need a named senior, not a slide deck. A five-person shop that only needs tickets should start on remote support or managed IT.
Johnson City office. Remote nationwide.
