CTO as a service
Securing strong technical leadership takes time, budget, and HR effort that many teams simply don’t have. Whether you are a fast-growing startup, a mid-size business, or an enterprise, CTO as a Service (CTOaaS) provides the strategic guidance and support needed for focused, cost-effective growth.
Vention's CTO advisory services will transform your operations, fast-track launches, and enhance your company culture. With our London-based engagement management team at your side, you gain financial stability and real peace of mind.
What is CTO as a Service?
CTO as a Service is a model of engaging an external chief technical officer on a flexible basis (part-time or project-based), which allows businesses to access high-level technical and business expertise without the overhead of full-time employment.
When does CTO as a Service make the most sense for your company?
CTO as a Service provides immediate, high-impact technical leadership that adapts to companies at different stages of growth. It helps you maintain operational continuity and clear strategic direction during leadership transitions or periods of rapid change.
Startups in their early stages
For startups, every technical decision carries greater risk. If you’re navigating architectural choices, validating your roadmap, or tackling delivery challenges, Vention’s CTO as a Service will be your guiding star towards success. You gain access to experienced technical leadership that supports confident decisions and helps set strong foundations early on.
Fast-growing scaleups
Preparing for Series B or C funding, scaling teams, or expanding your product offering can quickly stretch internal leadership capacity. Vention’s CTO as a Service helps you adapt to change, stay ahead of emerging challenges, and support evolving technology needs without losing focus or momentum.
Established businesses
Whether you are a midsize company that undergoes digital transformation or a large enterprise navigating a temporary leadership gap, Vention’s CTOaaS brings seasoned technical and business insight. It supports long-term strategy while giving executive teams confidence that delivery stays on track.
Meet Vention’s CTO
With over 20 years of CTO experience leading teams across the UK and Europe, London-based Glyn Roberts has mastered a vast array of tech stacks. He leads Vention’s internal AI Centre of Excellence, shaping how advanced AI capabilities are translated into real-world products and scalable architectures. As a sought-after engineering advisor, interim CTO, and mentor, Glyn is the go-to expert for companies aiming to build the next big thing.
Glyn Roberts
CTO of Digital Solutions
"Remember: A core part of the CTO role is making tough decisions and thinking strategically, both in the moment and over the longer term. Without a clear strategy guiding every move and keeping the big picture in view, things can unravel very quickly.
No matter your situation, CTO services from Vention focus on short-term, fractional, or part-time support. The goal is to fill a leadership gap at the right time and support your business until you are ready to hire internally.”
Facing tech challenges?
Our CTO services offer expert guidance and next-gen technologies to boost your growth.
Why choose an outsourced CTO as a Service over in-house hiring?
Hiring a qualified in-house CTO is often a long and expensive process that adds strain to growing businesses. The CTO as a Service model closes this gap by providing senior technical leadership without needing a permanent commitment, which makes it a practical option in fast-moving markets where flexibility and speed matter.
Below you’ll find a clear comparison showing why choosing CTO as a Service for your business can be a smarter, more efficient choice.
In-house CTO
CTO as a service
Employment model
In-house CTO
With full-time employment, your business gets a permanent C-level executive on payroll.
CTO as a service
Fractional, interim, or project-based tech leader engaged on demand.
Cost-efficiency
In-house CTO
High fixed costs, including salary, bonuses, benefits, and overhead.
CTO as a service
External CTO implies pay-as-you-go costs aligned with your task scope and CTO involvement (days per week, project sprints, or workshops).
Time to hire
In-house CTO
Typically takes from 4 to 6+ months, with multiple stages including search, interviews, negotiations, and notice periods.
CTO as a service
A CTO on demand can start within days or weeks, especially for urgent initiatives or interim coverage.
Expertise
In-house CTO
Deep knowledge of the company and its systems, shaped by one professional background.
CTO as a service
A fractional CTO brings experience across sectors and technologies, informed by work on multiple engagements and varied challenges.
Objectivity
In-house CTO
Decisions may be influenced by internal politics, past choices, or existing constraints.
CTO as a service
Unbiased insights that challenge established assumptions, expose blind spots, and offer better strategic decisions.
Flexibility and scalability
In-house CTO
The role of an in-house CTO remains largely the same, regardless of workload, with rigid costs.
CTO as a service
External CTO involvement can be easily scaled up or down based on current priorities, funding stage, and roadmap.
CTO services Vention offers
Regardless of your company size or sector, Vention’s CTO as a Service provides UK-based technical leadership, development teams, and hands-on support needed to drive sustainable, profitable growth.
Technology consulting
Vention helps businesses align technology decisions with long-term goals and changing market needs. The focus stays on clarity, resilience, and steady progress rather than short-term fixes.
- Tech audit: Vention’s CTO assesses vendor platforms and APIs, as well as reviews infrastructures, solutions’ architectures, and codebases for quality, security, and reliability to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
- Tech strategy: We refine the company’s overall technology roadmap, select stacks that are consistent with business goals and long-term maintainability, and conduct risk assessments for new initiatives.
- AI integration consulting: We help you shape actionable strategies for the smooth adoption of AI for your business or product.
- Infrastructure advisory: Vention’s CTO as a Service enhances the performance and reliability of your infrastructure and solutions. We assist with cloud platform selection and implementing Infrastructure-as-Code, DevOps pipelines, and security best practices.
- Efficiency and scalability improvement: We upgrade your legacy systems to make sure your business keeps up with the latest tech advancements. Without disrupting your operations, Vention also helps implement cloud solutions to enhance data accessibility, lower infrastructure costs, and improve operational agility.
Business advisory
Vention’s CTO represents the technical perspective of your product and business at the board level, which helps shape a clear digital strategy that supports growth, innovation, and long-term decision-making.
- Strategic planning: Vention’s chief technical officer helps your stakeholders identify revenue opportunities, cost optimisations, and strategic investments to develop an optimal tech innovation roadmap.
- Budgeting for tech: Our CTO assists with IT budgeting, optimising cloud spend, licensing, vendor contracts, and hiring plans.
- Market validation: Vention’s team helps prioritise product features (based on ROI expectations, customer value, and technical complexity) and validate your product on the market.
- Risk management: Vention’s CTO provides proactive guidance on data protection and compliance with UK regulations, such as the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, establishing effective data governance frameworks and incident response plans.
Project oversight
Vention manages critical technology projects from planning to completion, always on time, on budget, and within scope.
- Project governance: Vention’s CTO defines delivery processes, sets KPIs and milestones, manages development teams and third-party vendors, and ensures proper implementation of QA strategies.
- Risk mitigation: We proactively identify blockers, risks, and inefficiencies, then adjust resources and priorities to reduce technical debt and keep projects moving forward.
Technical team staffing, scaling, and management
When you hire a fractional CTO from Vention, you get a tech leader who works along with your senior-level engineers and helps integrate new talent into your teams to work on technical projects ahead.
- Talent acquisition: We support recruiting, team building, and mentoring. The focus stays on creating high-performance teams, improving retention, and encouraging continuous improvement.
- Engineering best practices: Vention’s training programs boost your team’s skills and knowledge and ensure they stay on top of the latest tech and industry trends.
- Business scaling: Vention’s CTO plans for headcount growth throughout your business evolution (seed, Series A, Series B+).
Our CTOaaS packages
We've helped over 550 businesses achieve market success, so we know how it’s done. Vention’s tailored CTO as a Service models cater to your specific needs and provide the perfect blend of support and expertise.
Supportive
Ideal for businesses needing occasional guidance on managing ongoing projects and troubleshooting issues.
- Remote support
- 8 hours/week
Enabler
Designed for companies looking to enhance their tech capabilities and strengthen their tech infrastructure and strategic planning.
- On-site
- 16 hours/week
Intensive
Supports significant transformations and complex tech projects, making it perfect for organisations requiring comprehensive, hands-on engagement.
- On-site
- 24 hours/week
Results and deliverables you can expect from CTO as a Service
Our CTO as a Service offering supports you every step of the way, from crafting strategic roadmaps to integrating advanced systems and beyond. Expect expert leadership, out-of-the-box thinking, and a dedicated focus on achieving your tech goals.
Refined strategy and architecture
We help refine your strategy and build a resilient, forward-looking architecture. Whether you’re designing scalable systems or picking the right tech stack, Vention’s CTO consulting services ensure your strategy meets the needs of today and also plans for tomorrow’s needs.
Digital and business transformation
Transform both your digital presence and business operations. With our CTO advisory services, you'll seamlessly navigate digital shifts and adapt your business to meet evolving market demands.
Rapid solution development and implementation
With today’s market competition, speed matters. With CTO as a Service for startups, you drive success with solutions that are swiftly developed and executed with precision.
Streamlined service management
Inefficient service management slows teams down. Improve processes, remove bottlenecks, and adopt a more proactive approach with expert guidance from experienced CTO advisory support.
Procurement management and support
Procurement is about making strategic choices that align with your overall vision. With our CTO consulting services, you benefit from structured procurement management that ensures each investment fits your budget and aligns with your tech strategy.
Cost optimisation and budget planning
Remove uncertainty from budgeting decisions. Temporary CTO leadership helps manage IT budgets more effectively, optimise costs, and decide whether to build custom software or invest in existing solutions.
Our case studies
Building a secure foundation for fintech platform success
As our client, a fintech company, was preparing to launch a new platform, they needed experienced technical guidance. Vention’s CTO strengthened their security approach by leading penetration testing and addressing vulnerabilities. He also improved internal processes and documentation.
Then, the CTO ensured the platform was production-ready through a thorough technical review, SLA refinement, and planning for future processes and support changes. He developed a data warehouse strategy to optimise costs and reporting and provided a clear technical summary covering architecture, API guidelines, code standards, security, and integrations.
Guiding product development from concept to reality for a savings app
Our client, a savings app, turned an early vision into a clear product roadmap with support from our CTO. He led a comprehensive product discovery workshop (PDW) and delivered practical architectural recommendations, cost estimates, and delivery timelines.
Without in-house technical leadership, the company relied on Vention’s CTO as its major decision-maker throughout development. All of this resulted in consistent direction and a well-structured, successful MVP launch.
Let’s turn your next initiative into a success story
Vention helps turn unscoped ideas and complex requirements into clear technical direction and dependable, stress-free delivery.
Testimonials
Glyn (Vention UK CTO for Digital Solutions) worked closely with the project, ensured he understood what we wanted to achieve and how we wanted to achieve it.
He pulled details out of us which we had not considered and put everything together to produce a comprehensive specification for a system that would go significantly beyond our original ideas. I felt in very good hands with money well spent to get an excellent solution.”
Bobby Gilbert
Senior Director of Digital Transformation at
Sperry Rail
Testimonials
Vention supported the design and development of the WiseOwl MVP, an AI-powered school library platform.
The scope began with a two-week discovery sprint focused on user roles, architecture decisions, and product requirements. Their deliverables included wireframes, functional MVP features, UX/UI assets, DevOps pipelines, and ongoing PM coordination through Jira... Their team brought thoughtful questions, creative problem-solving, and a clear understanding of our goals.”
Co-Founder, WiseOwl Innovations, LLC.
Testimonials
I am delighted to share my glowing review of the consulting company we have had the pleasure of working with.
From the very beginning, our experience with them has been nothing short of exceptional. The impact they had on our deliverables cannot be overstated. The contractors provided invaluable support, going above and beyond to ensure the successful completion of our projects. Their expertise and dedication were instrumental in achieving remarkable results.”
VP of Engineering at HistoWiz
Testimonials
We hired Vention to provide us with engineering and consulting services. Vention has saved us time and money.
The quality of their work has been fantastic, and they work together as a great team. Their team and leadership are impressive. Their organization is far better than the other organizations I’ve worked with before.”
Founder at Experience Management Company
Why CTO as a Service at Vention?
CTO as a Service by Vention gives you seasoned, hands-on technical leadership that helps you move faster, reduce risk, and make better long-term decisions with the reassurance that delivery is in safe hands.
Years of delivering bespoke software solutions across 30+ industries, including fintech, healthcare, real estate, and education.
London-based CTO, Glyn Roberts, with 20+ years of hands-on leadership in delivering complex software projects
Security and risk management best practices to help our clients' software solutions reach UK regulatory compliance
Engineers on tap for you to seamlessly move from strategy to implementation without switching vendors
Internal AI Centre of Excellence, transforming emerging research into reliable engineering practice
Client IPOs supported
Saved by clients annually on average
Internal AI Centre of Excellence, transforming emerging research into reliable engineering practice
Need more than tech leadership? Tap into our broader capabilities
If you need to build high-performance products, conduct in-depth audits, or maybe align your development with market demands through discovery workshops, we’ve got a full suite of offerings to make it happen.
With dedicated local teams offering CTO as a Service in London and across the UK, 20+ offices worldwide, and access to 3,000 engineers, we ensure the right product, the first time, and every time.
We help you shape, validate, and prioritise your ideas before you make any significant investments. Through structured discovery workshops, we align business goals, user needs, and technical feasibility into a clear roadmap that reduces risk and accelerates time-to-market.
Vention helps businesses create robust MVPs that launch quickly, demonstrate real value, and build confidence with investors and customers.
Having supported 20+ client IPOs, Vention knows what it takes to grow from early traction to scale. We offer a wide range of startup-focused software development services to ensure fast launches and seamless scaling.
From intelligent automation to data-driven decision-making, Vention delivers robust AI-powered solutions that are practical, reliable, and built for real-world use. Our focus is on innovation you can trust, with governance and security built in.
When off-the-shelf tools are not enough, Vention designs and delivers custom software tailored to your specific challenges. Solutions are built around your objectives, existing systems, and long-term growth plans.
Ready to transform your business with expert CTO services?
Visit our London office or schedule an online meeting to discuss your needs. We are ready when you are.
Churchill Place
London E14 5RE, UK
FAQs
How does Vention CTO work with our in-house teams?
Our CTO consulting services adapt to your needs. You can engage an interim CTO on a part-time basis to collaborate with in-house teams or to get expert guidance on development, planning, and engineering management. Our CTO services are seamless, flexible, and fully scalable.
What happens if we need additional specialists?
If your needs evolve, we can quickly bring in additional specialists, including AI and data engineers, solution architects, security experts, and project managers. You get a balanced fusion of expertise, guided by Vention’s CTO leadership, without the friction of re-structuring your team.
What are the cost factors for CTO as a Service?
The cost of CTO services depends on the duration, level of involvement, and specific tech expertise required. Fractional CTO services are flexible, which means changes in your budget can be accommodated by adjusting the CTO’s level of involvement and overall cost.
What is a fractional CTO, and how does a fractional CTO differ from a part-time CTO?
Both part-time and fractional CTOs offer strategic guidance without full-time commitment. The key difference lies in their scope of responsibilities. A part-time CTO handles all technology leadership needs for a set number of hours (typically on a long-term basis), while a fractional CTO focuses on a more specific range of tasks within their domain.
How quickly can we get started?
Vention’s CTO can start working on your projects as quickly as two weeks after signing the agreement.
Can Vention CTO help with AI adoption?
Absolutely. Whether it’s adopting AI for your internal workflows or integrating machine learning capabilities into your core product, we start by running structured AI workshops to align your leadership, product, and engineering teams around AI use cases, technical feasibility, and business impact. From there, Vention’s CTOaaS guides you through the entire journey, from idea conceptualisation to implementation and launch.
What is the difference between technology consulting and CTO as a Service?
Technology consulting focuses on expert analysis and advice on how to use specific technologies to meet business objectives. Its role is typically advisory and limited to recommendations.
CTO as a Service takes a more hands-on role. It acts as an extension of your leadership team, with responsibility for technology decisions, technical direction, roadmap ownership, and delivery execution.