CIO In A Box. Get tech help when you need it
Back when the company was just starting out, Barb asked George to order the hardware from Dell. He ordered a version of the hardware he used at home, with a few changes suggested by a sales guy he doesn’t even remember.
The hardware arrives. Naturally, George gets the job of setting up the computers for their team. The company grows and more computers show up. George does his thing, installing Office, your business apps and making sure there’s virus protection on every machine. George was the guy in the right place at the right time. Somewhere along the way, he officially (or unofficially) became the head of IT.
Which is to say that the head of the IT department – officially, your CIO, CTO or other similarly expert-sounding top tech person, is the guy that happened to be around when someone needed Windows installed.
George is not necessarily a trained technology expert – and there might not be any real technology strategy management training anywhere in his resume.
A can-do-attitude and willingness to read through installation instructions can go a long way when a company is building up; George is still a pretty capable go-to guy when it comes to putting out fires. But at some point, you need the kind of technology expertise that you can only get from someone who has more than improvised, on-the-job training. That’s where the CIO in a Box comes in.
The idea is to bring in a senior technology executive part-time so a company can do more than just respond to tech crises and put out fires. Many companies aren’t even aware this is an option, assuming they will have to put a senior person on payroll full time – which can be a pricey thing to do. CIO in a Box gives companies another option.
What does a CIO in a Box do?
Provides a technology perspective during leadership team meetings
Help hire executives
Strategize technology initiatives
Develop disaster recovery plans
Assist with IT security audits
And much more. George is a great guy – but companies are well advised to get help for him before he gets in over his head.