20+ years
Enterprise CIO, CISO and delivery leadership behind every recommendation
Certification-grade
Advisory built to survive an assessor, not a template pack
Decisions, not decks
Every engagement ends with an owner, a date and evidence
Fixed monthly cadence
Predictable cost, scaled up only when a project demands it
What is a fractional CIO?
A senior technology leader you share instead of hire — strategy, cyber risk, compliance and AI decisions, without a full-time executive salary.
Built for Australian businesses of 10 to 200 people.
Start with a review
A free 30-minute Technology & Risk Review. You leave with a one-page priority list — no obligation.
Then a light cadence
Most small businesses run one to two days a month, scaled up only when a project needs it.
One accountable leader
No junior bench, no handover. The person in your executive meeting is the person doing the work.
What we actually do
once we are in the room.
Cyber strategy, ISO 27001 and ISO 42001, AI consulting and secure micro apps — one engagement, one accountable leader.
Latest strategic intel articles.
Source-backed analysis on secure AI enablement, governance evidence and threat modelling for Australian executive teams.
The apps your staff already built: governing low-code and AI sprawl
Every organisation has internal apps nobody approved — Power Apps, Copilot Studio agents, automations wired to personal accounts. How to inventory them, keep the good ones under proper controls, and retire the rest.
Read article
DSPM and AI security: what enterprises get wrong about data posture
Data security posture management (DSPM) is the control that decides whether enterprise AI is safe to switch on. What DSPM does, how it maps to Copilot and agents, and how to sequence it in Australia.
Read article
Shadow AI: finding and controlling unsanctioned AI use
How Australian organisations discover unsanctioned AI tools, assess the real exposure, and bring shadow AI under governance without stopping useful work.
Read articleWork it out before you talk to us.
Two standards,
one operating model.
ISO 27001 secures the information system, ISO 42001 governs the AI system. Run together they share one risk register, one approval path and one evidence trail.
ISO 27001
Information risk, controls and assurance
ISO 42001
AI governance, impact and oversight
Operating model
Owners, approvals and evidence
Net benefit
Value after cost, effort and risk
The artefacts behind the advice.
Explore the three deliverables that anchor every engagement. Hover or select any element to see how we read it with your executive team.
Where each initiative actually sits
Every candidate initiative is plotted on net benefit against residual risk, so investment conversations start from evidence rather than enthusiasm.
Copilot rollout
Strong productivity case, but data over-sharing must be remediated before the licence spend is justified. Treat permissions clean-up as a precondition, not a follow-up.
AI governance and riskReal engagements.
Real results.
Australian organisations that moved from gaps and templates to certification, governance and defensible security. Names withheld at client request.
“We needed help achieving our ISO 27001 certification — we had gaps in our policies and processes that could have seen us fail our audit. FORTE/CYBERx helped us refine our policies and implement practical controls that enabled us to achieve certification.”
Operations Lead
Professional Services
“FORTE/CYBERx helped us achieve ISO 42001 by guiding us to securely and safely roll out AI initiatives across our business. As a small business, we did not have the experience or capabilities internally, so being able to apply enterprise expertise within our budget has allowed us to see the true benefits AI can bring.”
Director
Small Business
“Thanks to the CYBERx team, we now have a concrete defence-in-depth strategy and leading tools to help safeguard our organisation into the future, allowing us to bid on larger tenders we would have struggled to meet from a compliance lens in the past.”
General Manager
Infrastructure & Services
Book your Technology & Risk Review
Tell us what is on your plate. You get a 30-minute call and a one-page priority list.
Start with a checklist, not a sales call.
Two working documents we use on live engagements. Download either one and a senior advisor responds within one business day — only if you want the conversation.
Essential Eight Self-Assessment Checklist
Twenty-four checks across all eight mitigation strategies, ordered the way an assessor reviews them — so you know your gaps before a formal assessment.
Download the PDF AI · SME implementationSME AI Implementation Checklist
Pick the one AI use case worth doing, secure the environment it runs in, then keep the evidence — written for a business without a compliance department.
Download the PDFNSW on-site, Australia-wide remote
We work on-site with organisations in Sydney, Newcastle and on the Central Coast, and remotely with leaders across Australia.
Newcastle
NSW
Central Coast
NSW
Australia-wide
Remote delivery
Remote AI, cyber and fractional CIO consultingClear answers before a call.
What does FORTE/CYBERx consulting cover?+
FORTE/CYBERx is a Fractional CIO practice. One accountable technology leader delivers three capabilities: cybersecurity strategy, compliance across ISO 27001 and ISO 42001, and AI consulting.
Is a fractional CIO worth it for a small business?+
For most Australian businesses between roughly 10 and 200 people, yes. You get executive-level technology judgement one or two days a month for a fraction of a permanent salary, and you only scale the cadence up when a project or audit demands it.
How much does an engagement cost?+
Pricing is consultative and scoped to the outcome, not sold as a fixed package. Engagements typically start with a small monthly cadence and expand only when there is a defined piece of work. We confirm scope and commercials in writing before anything starts.
What happens on the free Technology & Risk Review?+
A 30-minute call with a senior advisor. We work through your current technology, risk and compliance pressures and send you a one-page priority list afterwards. There is no obligation and no sales pitch.
How quickly will someone respond to my enquiry?+
A senior advisor replies within one business day. Enquiries go to the person who would run your engagement, not a call centre or junior qualifier.
Where does FORTE/CYBERx provide consulting services?+
We operate from Sydney and work on-site across Greater Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle, with remote delivery for organisations anywhere in Australia.
Do we need to buy the Platform to work with you?+
No. Consulting and Platform credits are commercially separate. Consultants use the Platform only where it materially strengthens governance, decision records or execution planning.
What happens in the first 90 days of a fractional CIO engagement?+
Days 1 to 14 baseline your systems, suppliers, data and AI tools and produce a one-page priority list. Days 15 to 45 turn that into decisions, an ISO 27001 and ISO 42001 control map, and light governance. Days 46 to 90 deliver one bounded change with an evidence pack and a 90-day roadmap your team can run.
How much of our own time does an engagement take?+
Roughly two hours in the first fortnight, about three hours through the decision phase, then a monthly leadership session. Most small businesses see one to two consulting days a month, weighted towards the first six weeks.
Can you work alongside our existing IT provider?+
Yes. A fractional CIO works above your MSP or internal IT person rather than replacing them — setting direction, prioritising spend and holding delivery to account, so your existing support keeps doing what it does well.
Pressure-test two decisions free in the Platform.
Consulting and Platform credits remain separate. No credit card required.
Ask one question first
You do not need a brief to start. Send the single question you are stuck on — an ISO scope, an AI tool, a supplier decision — and a senior advisor answers it within one business day.
Free 30-minute review
Senior advisor replies within one business day