ABOUT THE SMB CIO
The Chief Information Officer (CIO) provides 3 specific benefits to an organization:
- They are the bridge between the business and technology in the organization, providing a critical interface between the business needs, user needs, and the information and communication technology used in the organization.
- They manage and plan IT resources, including policy and practice development, planning, budgeting, resourcing and training.
- CIOs play an important role in controlling technology costs and limiting potential organizational damage by setting up appropriate IT controls and planning for IT recovery from business interruptions.
Unfortunately, most Small and Medium businesses (SMBs) and Not-for-Profit Agencies in Canada do not have the financial ability to employ a full time CIO or technology executive. As a result, planning for technology enablement, cyber security readiness, business continuity, and other strategic work never gets addressed, putting the business at risk.
That’s why after 30 years I have decided to focus my experience on providing these services to Small and Medium businesses (SMBs) and Not-for-Profit Agencies on a more targeted and cost effective basis.
Our Services
The SMB CIO will help you with key technology initiatives to help you grow your business and protect your digital assets.
Executive Technology Consulting
Many businesses focus their technology
investments on buying hardware and software and paying people to support these investments.
I will help you to manage this investment by integrating the technology with your business strategy. This will allow us to build a roadmap of future required technology
initiatives and investments. My goal is to ensure you get the most from your investments and plan your technology future.
Cyber security readiness
How do you protect your significant
investment in your digital assets? By preparing for a breach of your technology environment by an external party.
I will work with you to identify the potential gaps you have and build the plan to address them. Additionally, we will design a plan in the event a breech takes place, so your clients have confidence in how you are protecting their information allowing you to safely bring your business back online.
Risk and resilience planning
Business continuity is defined as the
capability of an organization to continue the delivery of products or services at pre-defined acceptable levels following a disruptive incident. From power outages, and hardware failures to more recently the ability of staff to work remotely in the case of a pandemic, a business’ predefined plans to react to these incidents can be key to their survival.
In my role I work with your team to
identify risks within your technology environment. In addition to this, I will
help you build out or improve your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans. Risk planning should be viewed as insurance to avert a future costly
business interruption.
The SMB CIO Process
Securing your business and making better use of technology doesn’t have to be expensive. I apply a value-based approach to assist with key technology initiatives to help you grow your business, while protecting your digital assets. As a result of the changes we implement together, your business will realize benefits not only in the short term, but over the long-term as well.
Though many of my clients come to me with a specific concern, each client engagement begins with a free discussion to determine how The SMB CIO may be of assistance to your business. Following this discussion, I will provide your organization with an initial recommendation outlining 1 of 3 possible assessments:
- I determine that the potential client’s current solutions effectively address their concern(s) and no work is required.
- The work required is either beyond my scope or in my opinion better addressed by another firm. If this is the case, I will make a recommendation and/or introduction to an appropriate service provider.
- The work required is within the scope of The SMB CIO and an engagement letter will be prepared outlining the scope of work.
Also, with The SMB CIO there are no long-term commitments. If the needs of the business change you can always reschedule or cancel the engagement without any financial penalty. My goal is to build a base of extremely satisfied clients, as I feel there is no better compliment than being referred to another business that can benefit from The SMB CIO’s services.
Contact The SMB CIO Today
E:mail: info@thesmbcio.com
Phone: (226)-666-7668
