★★★★★
Netsafe Solutions has provided fast and courteous help on a regular basis. I have been pleased with the promptness of their service.Michael T. Jun 2025 · Google
VIRTUAL CIO SERVICES
Executive IT Strategy, Without the Executive Hire.
Quarterly strategic reviews for Carolinas businesses.
Roadmap planning, IT spend management, and technology advisory at a fractional level. Executive depth without the executive headcount.
- Quarterly strategic reviews
- IT spend visibility and benchmarking
- Roadmap aligned to business goals
Netsafe Solutions provides virtual CIO (vCIO) services to Charlotte-area businesses: 22+ years of technology strategy experience applied to your organization on a fractional basis. Our vCIO program runs two core workstreams: Strategic Reviews (quarterly by default, weekly for deeper-scope clients) covering roadmap, risk, and alignment; and IT Spend Management: a dedicated program to optimize license spend, consolidate vendors, and ensure IT resources match business priorities. Delivered by our founders George Hayner and Derek Schott (22+ years Microsoft-first IT experience), the vCIO program is available as a standalone engagement or bundled with managed services. Pricing is per-engagement, quoted in writing before starting. No onboarding fee.
What Is a Virtual CIO?
A virtual CIO (vCIO) is an outsourced executive-level technology advisor who provides the strategic IT function of a full-time Chief Information Officer without the full-time salary. For most Charlotte small and mid-sized businesses, a full-time CIO runs $180,000.$280,000 per year in total compensation. That’s not proportional for most companies under $50 million in revenue: but the function itself is essential. Without strategic IT leadership, technology spending drifts, vendor relationships fossilize, security gaps widen, and the business gets stuck reacting to problems instead of getting ahead of them.
A vCIO fills that function on a fractional basis. Typical engagements run 10-40 hours per month depending on business complexity, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. The output: an IT roadmap aligned to business goals, documented quarterly (or weekly) strategic reviews, vendor and spend optimization, risk management, and escalation path for technology decisions.
What the vCIO program covers.
Six areas of strategic counsel that an in-house chief information officer would handle. Scoped to the cadence your business actually needs.
Quarterly strategic reviews
A working session with your leadership every 90 days. We walk through what has changed in the business, where technology is helping or blocking, what is on the horizon, and what specific decisions need to be made. Each review produces written meeting notes, an updated roadmap, and a short list of recommendations with cost and effort estimates.
Multi-year technology roadmap
A living plan for where each system in your environment is headed over the next two to three years. End-of-life dates, upgrade paths, capacity planning, integration opportunities, and technical debt to retire, all sequenced against business priorities so technology spend lines up with strategy instead of reacting to surprises.
IT spend management
Software licenses drift. Pilots become permanent line items, departed employees keep their seats, departments buy overlapping tools on credit cards, and per-user contracts price-creep at renewal. Full license inventory, per-user cost analysis, vendor consolidation review, contract renewal calendar, and shadow tool discovery. On a first engagement we typically surface 12 to 20 percent of total spend as recoverable.
Microsoft 365 license strategy
Most organizations have 15 to 25 percent of seats on the wrong tier (Business Basic vs. Standard vs. Premium vs. E3/E5). We audit license assignments against actual usage, reclaim seats from departed users, qualify nonprofit or education pricing where it applies, and compare Enterprise Agreement against Cloud Solution Provider terms for larger tenants.
Risk and compliance counsel
Quarterly review of security posture, compliance calendar (audits, renewals, deadlines), vendor and third-party risk, business continuity testing status, and cyber insurance contractual requirements. Where an audit or insurance renewal is approaching, we run the prep so leadership shows up with answers, not last-minute scrambles.
Vendor and project advisory
Project-specific counsel on vendor selection, RFP support, technology due diligence for mergers or acquisitions, and build-vs-buy decisions on custom software, hiring, and infrastructure. Available as embedded hours within a quarterly engagement or as standalone hourly advisory when a one-time question comes up.
How vCIO pricing works.
Three engagement shapes depending on how often your business needs strategic technology counsel.
Quarterly engagement
Scheduled strategic reviews, IT spend benchmarking, and roadmap planning four times a year. The standard starting shape for most clients.
Hourly advisory
Project-specific consulting for vendor selection, due diligence on a merger or acquisition, technology RFP support, or a one-time strategic question.
Embedded engagement
Monthly retainer for active strategic programs that need continuous executive-level technology oversight without the cost of a full-time hire.
Most clients start quarterly, then add embedded hours as projects come up.
Why Charlotte Businesses Choose Netsafe for vCIO
Founder-delivered George Hayner and Derek Schott both have 22+ years of IT leadership. vCIO is delivered by founders, not junior staff
Microsoft Partner since 2003 deep Microsoft 365, Azure, Entra ID experience at the level CIOs need
AI-powered operations expertise we run our own business on Claude API, Azure, and custom MCP servers; we’re fluent in the emerging AI strategy questions executives are asking
IT Spend Management as a named program not an afterthought, a dedicated workstream with structured methodology
Quarterly cadence default, weekly available delivery that matches business rhythm, not a rigid service package
Fixed-fee pricing scope defined in writing before engagement, no hourly billing ambiguity
Documented output every strategic review produces written deliverables, not just a conversation
Quarterly reviews for managed clients existing managed clients get Strategic Reviews at no extra fee
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we need to be a Netsafe managed services client to engage for vCIO?
No. vCIO is available as a standalone engagement: your business can keep its current IT arrangement (internal team, different managed service provider, hybrid) and engage Netsafe only for strategic advisory. For businesses that do use Netsafe for managed services, quarterly Strategic Reviews are included at no additional fee.
Who actually delivers the vCIO work?
Our founders. George Hayner (Founder, technical lead, 22+ years) leads technology strategy, AI advisory, Microsoft 365 roadmap, and security direction. Derek Schott (Co-Founder, operations) leads vendor management, spend optimization, and operational alignment. For specific technical questions during an engagement, we pull in subject-matter experts from our team: but the primary vCIO relationship is founder-held.
What’s the difference between vCIO and IT consulting?
IT consulting is project-based: a specific engagement with a defined deliverable (infrastructure refresh, cloud migration, security gap analysis, platform selection). vCIO is ongoing strategic advisory with recurring cadence and continuity of context. Most clients need both over time: vCIO for strategy and governance, IT consulting for specific projects that the vCIO workstream identifies. Both are available from Netsafe.
Can you participate in our board or leadership meetings?
Yes. For clients that want executive-level technology presence at leadership meetings or board meetings, vCIO engagement scope can include regular board-level updates, technology topics for board packets, and in-person attendance (in Charlotte area) or Teams attendance for meetings. This typically increases engagement scope to the Monthly or Weekly cadence.
How is this different from a “tech advisor” at our current managed service provider?
Most managed service providers bundle very light technology advisory into their managed services: a client success manager who does a quarterly check-in, or an account manager who runs through a recurring slide deck. That’s account management, not vCIO. Real vCIO means: structured methodology, documented roadmap, quantified spend analysis, risk register maintenance, and participation in strategic decisions outside the IT function (growth planning, M&A, compliance, vendor selection). Netsafe delivers the full vCIO function, not a dressed-up account management call.
Can vCIO help us prepare for a cyber insurance renewal or compliance audit?
Yes, directly. Cyber insurance renewals and compliance audits (security operations center 2, HIPAA, PCI, CMMC) are exactly the kind of recurring cycle vCIO engagements manage. We assemble the evidence, complete the questionnaires, and prep leadership for underwriter or auditor conversations. For one-time audit prep without ongoing vCIO engagement, we also quote those as project engagements.
Do you help with build-vs-buy decisions (custom software, hiring, infrastructure)?
Yes. Build-vs-buy is one of the most common vCIO conversations. Examples we’ve navigated with clients: custom software vs. platform (build an internal tool vs. adopt Salesforce/HubSpot/etc.), hire in-house IT vs. expand managed service provider scope, on-prem infrastructure vs. cloud migration, develop AI capabilities internally vs. use Copilot/Claude/commercial tools. Our job is to lay out the real numbers and tradeoffs, not to sell you into one answer.
What if we don’t want ongoing vCIO but need a one-time engagement?
Available. Common one-time engagements:
- Spend optimization project: complete license audit + renewal playbook (typically 4-8 weeks)
- Technology roadmap development: 6-12 month strategic roadmap tied to business plan (typically 3-4 weeks)
- M&A IT due diligence: either side of the transaction (typically 2-4 weeks)
- Post-incident strategic review: after a near-miss or minor incident, a structured “what do we change” engagement (typically 2-3 weeks)
How quickly can we get started?
Discovery call within 3-5 business days of request. First formal engagement kickoff within 2 weeks. First Strategic Review or Spend Management deliverable within 30-45 days of engagement start, depending on scope.
Let’s plan your technology.
Tell us where your business is headed in the next two years and what role technology needs to play. We will scope a vCIO engagement that gives your leadership the strategic depth without adding a full-time hire.
Or call us:
(704) 333-0404
What our clients say
241+ Google Reviews
★★★★★
Netsafe has been extremely helpful and we rely on them for answers to all of our IT issues. They are always there with great advice and cost effective solutions. I have worked closely with Jonathan now for many years and I really appreciate all of the hard work he puts in and is knowledgeable about many things!Grace C. Mar 2020 · Google
★★★★★
Yesterday's service was punctual, effective, and Professional - just like every time I need help. Good listeners, easy to talk to (and understand), and always pleasant.Drake S. Sep 2025 · Google
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