Fractional Executive Leadership
Fractional CTO Services
Technology leadership that rescues failing implementations, drives automation, and positions your infrastructure for scale.
Fractional technology roles represent 12.4% of all fractional executive positions, the third most common category behind CFO and CMO.
The Build-vs-Buy Debate Ends. Your CTO Picks the Right Path.
Your ERP migration is six weeks behind. The vendor is pointing fingers at your team. Your fractional CTO gets on a call with the implementation lead, identifies the three integration bottlenecks, and restructures the project timeline before your operations team even knows there was a problem.
That is the fractional model. You get a technology leader who has been through this exact situation at other companies. They embed with your team, own the technical outcomes, and bring pattern recognition that a first-time CTO simply does not have.
What a Fractional CTO Handles
A Fractional CTO provides senior technology leadership on a part-time or project basis. They own your technology strategy and execution, not just a set of recommendations.
- Technology strategy and roadmap - aligning tech investments with business goals
- ERP and system implementations - managing the vendors, timelines, and integrations
- AI and automation strategy - identifying where automation creates real leverage
- Technical team leadership - building and developing your internal capability
- Vendor evaluation and management - cutting through the sales pitch to find the right fit
- Technical debt reduction - paying it down without stopping forward progress
The Build vs. Buy Decision
A full-time CTO carries total compensation between $350K and $425K annually. For companies that need technology leadership but are not running a software company, that is a heavy line item for a role that may be project-driven rather than continuous.
Fractional CTO engagements scale with the work. During an ERP implementation, you might need 20 hours a week. Once systems are stable, that drops to 5. You pay for the expertise when you need it, not when you do not.
Companies that bring in experienced technology leadership during implementations are significantly more likely to deliver on time and on budget. The cost of getting it wrong is always higher than the cost of getting help.
Signs You Need a Fractional CTO
Technology problems rarely announce themselves clearly. They show up as other problems. If these sound familiar, the root cause may be a leadership gap:
- Your ERP or major system implementation is behind schedule or over budget
- You are making technology investments without a clear strategy
- Your development team is busy but not delivering business value
- Vendor relationships are adversarial instead of productive
- You know you need AI or automation but do not know where to start
- Your CTO left and you need someone to stabilize the team
Meet Our Fractional CTOs
Technology leaders across manufacturing, healthcare, and professional services. The right CTO matched to your industry and challenge.
Tom Altman
Fractional Executive, CIO
Van Williams
Fractional Executive, CTO
Bo Schatzberg
Fractional Executive, CTO
Ready for Technology That Works?
A 30-minute call to discuss your situation. No pitch, no pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a fractional CTO do?
A fractional CTO gives you senior technology leadership on a part-time basis: setting technical strategy and architecture, leading build-versus-buy decisions, guiding ERP and systems implementations, shaping your AI and automation approach, managing vendors, and leading your technical team, without the full-time cost.
How much does a fractional CTO cost?
Engagements average between $2,000 and $7,000 per month for basic services and scale from there based on your needs, priorities, and available internal resources. That's a fraction of the $350,000 to $425,000 in total compensation a full-time CTO commands.
When should a company hire a fractional CTO?
Common signals: you're facing a major build-versus-buy or platform decision, an ERP or systems migration is looming, technical debt is slowing you down, you're adding AI or automation and need a real strategy, or your engineering team needs senior leadership you can't yet justify full-time.
What's the difference between a fractional CTO and a fractional CIO?
A CTO looks outward at the technology you build and ship: product, architecture, engineering. A CIO looks inward at the systems that run the business: ERP, infrastructure, IT operations, and security. Some companies need one, some need both, and Altus offers both.
What's the difference between a fractional CTO and an interim CTO?
A fractional CTO is an ongoing, part-time partner who scales with you over time. An interim CTO steps in full-time and temporarily, usually to hold the seat through a transition or until you hire a permanent replacement. Altus offers both.
How is a fractional CTO different from hiring a development agency?
An agency executes what you tell it to build. A fractional CTO owns the strategy and the decisions: what to build, whether to build or buy, which vendors to trust, and how to lead the team, then holds the agencies and vendors accountable to it.
What industries do your fractional CTOs work in?
Our fractional CTOs work across many sectors, and we're not limited to a fixed list. We match the right operator to your business whatever your industry. We go deep in manufacturing, healthcare, professional services, construction, cooperatives, agriculture, private equity, venture capital.