Ask ten MSPs what their vCIO does all day, and you’ll get a bunch of different answers. Some have them selling. Some have them fielding escalations. Some have them doing a bit of everything, which in my opinion makes it difficult for them to be great in their role.
We run it differently, and it works. Our MSP will do over $25M in revenue this year, and the vCIO role is a big part of how we built that. So rather than give you a generic definition, here’s exactly what we have our vCIOs do, and just as importantly, what we keep them away from.
The vCIO is an advisory role.
1. Every client has a current three-year roadmap and budget
This is the non-negotiable. The foundation of the entire role.
Every single client a vCIO owns must have a three-year budget that accounts for the projects coming up and the assets that are aging out and need to be replaced. That budget comes paired with a roadmap, and the vCIO presents both to the client on an annual basis.
This is the bare minimum. If a client doesn’t have a current roadmap and budget, the vCIO hasn’t done their core job. We use Propel Live to build and present these, which also helps us standardize clients and keep everything consistent, but the principle stands no matter what tool you use: every client, a three-year plan, refreshed every year.
2. Proposals for projects
Because the vCIO knows the client’s infrastructure better than anyone else, they own the project proposals that go to the project team.
Say a client is migrating to Azure. Or rolling out a new line-of-business application and they want single sign-on with it. Whatever the initiative, the vCIO builds the proposal. They understand the environment, the goals, and the risks, so they’re the right person to scope it properly.
There’s one thing they don’t quote: basic hardware. Laptops, accessories, standard replacements. That goes to our procurement team. We don’t want our vCIOs spending a minute of their time quoting a laptop order. They’re highly technical and strong with clients. That’s where their time belongs, not on routine procurement.
3. The trusted advisor on any technology decision
Anytime a client wants to go deeper on technology, the vCIO is brought in.
A client is weighing a new line-of-business platform and wants our honest read on it. A client is trying to understand a cybersecurity risk, or figure out whether a new app is worth it. They’re the trusted advisor the client calls before making a decision that touches technology.
This is the part clients value most, and it’s only possible because we protect the vCIO’s time for exactly this kind of conversation.
4. Executive education presentations
Once a year or so, our vCIOs deliver an educational presentation to each client, typically to the executives.
The goal is genuine learning on a topic relevant enough to get executives in the room. We’ve run cybersecurity sessions that walk through a real attack case, new tactics, and the business of cybercrime. Right now our vCIOs have an AI presentation they’re taking to clients.
This does two things. It delivers real value to the client, and it keeps the vCIO in front of the executive, reinforcing the relationship with the person who actually signed the contract. It has to be a topic that matters, though. Nobody clears their calendar for a sales pitch dressed up as education.
5. Standardization and setting our solution standards
Standardizing clients is part of the vCIO’s job, and it happens naturally when we present the technology and cybersecurity alignment through PropelLive.
Beyond their own accounts, our vCIOs also work together as a team to set the standards for what we sell. They stay current on what’s changing in the market and establish the solutions we recommend and deploy across the board.
What we keep our vCIOs out of
This is the part that makes the role work, and it’s where many MSPs get it wrong.
Our vCIOs do not do account management. They don’t handle billing disputes. They don’t talk through what’s included in the contract. They don’t schedule resources, and they don’t own escalations when a specific issue flares up.
We have account managers for it. The moment you let operational and administrative tasks creep onto a vCIO’s plate, you’ve taken your most valuable advisory resource and buried them in admin. Their credibility and their value both come from staying in the advisory lane.
The takeaway
A vCIO is not a jack of all trades. They are a focused, highly technical advisor whose entire job is to help clients make smart technology decisions and plan for the future.
Roadmaps and budgets. Project proposals. Trusted advice. Executive education. Standards. That’s the role. Everything else belongs to someone else, and keeping it that way is exactly why the role delivers.
If you get this right, your vCIO stops being an overhead cost and becomes the reason your best clients stay for years.
Simon is the President of S3 Technologies, a leading Canadian MSP he co-founded in 2003. He built and scaled the vCIO team which eventually lead to him co-founding Propel Your MSP in 2018 to help MSPs with their vCIO services.
