Christchurch · Dunedin · Nationwide
vCIO Services for New Zealand Businesses
A vCIO gives your business ongoing technology advice without employing a full-time CIO. Exodesk helps your leadership decide what to invest in, what to defer and which risks need attention, then keeps the agreed plan under review.
Supporting New Zealand businesses since 1989
The short answer
What is a vCIO?
A virtual chief information officer, or vCIO, gives your business ongoing technology advice without employing a full-time CIO. The role helps leadership decide what to invest in, what to defer and which risks need attention, then keeps the agreed plan under review.
Exodesk provides vCIO advice from Christchurch and Dunedin. We help connect technology decisions with your business priorities, with the scope and review schedule agreed before work starts. If you need help with a single decision rather than an ongoing relationship, our IT consulting service is the better starting point. See what the engagement covers.
Who it suits
Who is a vCIO for?
This arrangement suits a business where technology decisions keep coming up and nobody at leadership level has the time or background to own them.
- Recurring decisions. Renewals, replacements and new systems need a decision every few months, not once.
- Competing priorities. Security, growth and ageing systems all compete for the same budget.
- A leadership gap. There is no IT leader in the business to set direction or challenge suppliers.
- A plan that has gone stale. A roadmap exists, but nobody revisits it as the business changes.
- Several suppliers. Support, software, telecommunications and cloud providers each need coordinating.
When is one-off consulting enough?
If you have one defined decision, such as choosing a system or producing an IT roadmap, a scoped consulting engagement may be all you need. An existing support relationship that already includes regular planning input may also be enough. Ongoing advice makes sense when the decisions keep coming.
What you receive
What does the engagement cover?
The scope sets out which of these your engagement maintains. Each is kept up to date as the business changes, rather than produced once and filed.
Plan
A roadmap kept current
The agreed technology roadmap, revisited at each review so it reflects what has changed. Our IT roadmap guide explains how one is built.
Budget
A budget view
Planned spending on renewals, replacements and projects, so technology costs are visible before they are due.
Risk
Risk priorities
The technology risks that need attention, in an agreed order, with the decisions leadership needs to make about each one. The National Cyber Security Centre business security guides are a useful reference for leadership.
Follow-through
A decision and action record
What was decided, who owns each action and what has been completed, carried forward from one review to the next.
How it works
How does a vCIO engagement work?
The engagement starts with your priorities and continues through regular reviews and follow-through.
Initial conversation
We talk through your business plans, the decisions coming up and how your IT is supported today.
Agreed scope
We agree the areas covered, the included time, the review schedule, access between reviews and how progress will be judged.
Starting position
We review your current systems, costs, risks and plans, so later progress can be measured against a clear baseline.
Regular reviews
At each review we revisit priorities, budget, risks and progress with your leadership, and record the decisions made.
Follow-through
Between reviews we track agreed actions and coordinate with your IT provider and suppliers where the scope includes it. Project delivery is scoped separately.
Responsibilities
Who does what?
Advice, approval and delivery are separate roles, and the scope records who holds each one.
Approves
Your business
Approves budgets, accepts or treats risks, authorises changes and makes the final decisions.
Advises
Exodesk as adviser
Develops recommendations and options, prepares cost estimates, coordinates suppliers where agreed and tracks actions.
Delivers
Your IT support
Runs day-to-day support and operations, whether that is Exodesk, another provider or your own team. Projects are scoped separately.
You can keep your current IT support provider. Exodesk can advise your leadership while another provider runs day-to-day support, with responsibilities between us set out in the scope. If your internal IT team needs operational help rather than advice, see co-managed IT.
Compare
How is a vCIO different from IT consulting?
The difference is continuing involvement.
A one-off consulting engagement addresses a defined decision or produces an agreed piece of work. Ongoing advice continues beyond that point, helping leadership revisit priorities, budgets and progress as the business changes.
Managed IT services keep systems running and can include proactive planning input as well. Ongoing advice adds a regular forum for technology decisions at leadership level, whichever provider runs the day-to-day work. For direction and decision principles, see our guide to IT strategy.
Cost
What affects the cost?
The service is a regular retainer, quoted after we have agreed the scope. The main factors are:
- The decisions in scope. The areas of the business and technology you want help with.
- Included time. The review schedule and the time set aside between reviews.
- Access between reviews. How and when you can raise questions as they come up.
- Your environment. The number of sites, systems and suppliers involved.
- Travel. Any on-site meetings that involve travel, where relevant.
Project work, such as migrations or new system implementations, is quoted separately before it starts.
How is value measured?
We agree the outcomes at the start, such as an approved budget, clearer investment priorities, overdue decisions resolved or agreed actions completed, and review progress against that starting point. Verified savings, such as cancelled licences, are recorded where they occur. We track risk work through agreed actions and checks that the relevant controls are in place and working. The absence of an incident does not, by itself, prove risk reduction or a cash saving, and we do not assume the engagement will pay for itself.
Why Exodesk
Why work with Exodesk?
Christchurch and Dunedin
Exodesk has supported businesses in Christchurch, Dunedin and across New Zealand since 1989. See our Christchurch and Dunedin consulting pages.
Works with your provider
We can advise your leadership alongside the provider or team that runs your day-to-day IT.
Scope agreed first
Included time, the review schedule and access between reviews are agreed before work starts, with project work quoted separately.
Questions
vCIO questions
What is a vCIO?
A vCIO, or virtual chief information officer, gives a business ongoing technology advice without employing a full-time CIO. The role helps leadership decide what to invest in, what to defer and which risks need attention. It then keeps the agreed plan under review as the business changes.
How is a vCIO different from a one-off IT consulting engagement?
A one-off engagement addresses a defined decision or produces an agreed piece of work. An ongoing arrangement continues beyond that point, helping leadership revisit priorities, budgets and progress as the business changes. The difference is the continuing involvement and agreed responsibilities.
How much time is included?
The included time, meeting schedule and access between reviews are set out in the scope. They depend on the decisions you need help with and the level of ongoing involvement required. Additional project work is agreed separately before it starts.
Can we keep our current IT support provider?
Yes. Exodesk can advise your leadership while another provider runs your day-to-day support. The scope sets out who does what, so recommendations, approvals and delivery each have a clear owner.
Who makes the final decisions?
Your business does. Exodesk develops recommendations, prepares options and tracks agreed actions, but your leadership approves budgets, accepts or treats risks and authorises changes. Buying advice does not transfer those decisions to Exodesk.
How do we know whether it is worthwhile?
Agree the outcomes at the start. These might include an approved budget, clearer investment priorities, overdue decisions resolved or agreed actions completed. Review progress against that starting point, and record verified savings where they occur without assuming the engagement will pay for itself.
How much do vCIO services cost?
It is a regular retainer, quoted after we have agreed the scope. The fee reflects the decisions in scope, the included time, the review schedule and the size of your environment. Project work is quoted separately.
Does a vCIO replace managed IT support?
No. The role provides advice and oversight at leadership level, while day-to-day support, monitoring and project delivery stay with whoever runs them. That can be Exodesk, another provider or your own team.
Is one-off IT consulting enough for some businesses?
Yes. If you have a single decision to make or need a roadmap produced once, a scoped consulting engagement may be all you need. An ongoing arrangement suits businesses that face recurring decisions and want the plan kept current.
Can a vCIO help with cyber security and privacy obligations?
The role can help leadership understand security risks, set priorities and plan the budget for improvements. Security operations stay with your support provider or security service. Legal questions about privacy obligations need advice from a qualified professional.
How do we get started?
Start with a conversation about your business, your current IT arrangements and the decisions coming up. From there we agree the scope, the review schedule and how progress will be judged before any work begins.
Next step
Need ongoing help with IT decisions?
Tell us about your business, the decisions coming up and how your IT is supported today. We can discuss a scope, the review schedule and how progress would be judged.
Get in touch
Talk to us about vCIO support
Tell us a little about your business and the technology decisions ahead, and we will be in touch to arrange a time that suits.
Prefer to talk?
Christchurch
Level 1, 85 Riccarton Road
Christchurch 8011
03 343 3124
Dunedin
Level 3, Bartons Building
2 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
03 479 2941