IT · Infrastructure · Hands-On Technical Leadership
Set a course.
Build the future.
Senior technology leadership for small and midsize companies — without hiring a full-time CTO. We get in the room and do the work: a second opinion on your IT and your providers, a plan for AI you can trust, and hands-on help with the systems your business runs on.
For owners and leadership teams with a small IT staff, or none, who need someone experienced on their side.
Now taking on a limited number of projects.
Does this sound like you?
- Your managed provider says everything is fine, and things keep breaking.
- Everyone is asking about AI, and nobody owns the answer.
- Nobody on staff can tell whether the vendor bill or the contract is fair.
- There's an app or a system nobody dares to touch.
- You're about to make a big technology decision and want someone experienced to check it first.
If any of that sounds familiar, that's the work we do. Start with a conversation.
Where we help
01 — where we get hands-onAI adoption, with people in charge
Everyone is telling you to use AI; few can tell you where it pays off and where it creates risk. We help you pick the work worth doing, set guardrails for your data and your people, keep AI spend in check, and review what gets built. AI tools can cut development and support time when experienced people guide and check the work — see it in our own console.
Managed service & vendor review
A second opinion on your managed service provider and your vendors: what they actually do, what you pay for cloud and software, and what the contract really says. We tell you what's working, what isn't, and what to ask for — and help renegotiate when the terms don't match your actual usage.
Technology health check & roadmap
A fixed-scope IT assessment of your systems, security basics, costs and risks, ending in a plain-English report and a prioritized plan you can act on — with or without us.
Hands-on application & infrastructure builds
Building and operating real software end to end — a shipped application, the monitoring and safety controls behind it, and the infrastructure it runs on — not just advising on how it should be done. See it in action, then again on a second app, and in the console that runs them.
Fractional CTO & interim IT leadership
A senior technology leader on your side part-time, through a transition, or while you search for a permanent hire — owning the technology agenda without a full-time salary.
Technology strategy that fits the business
IT strategy you can act on: what your technology should do for the business over the next year or two, and how it should be staffed and funded to get there — matched to where the business is headed, not where it started.
M&A technology diligence & integration
Assessing acquired technology stacks, surfacing real risk and real cost before close, and running the integration that follows without disrupting either side.
Regulatory & audit readiness
Getting ready for an audit or a regulator's questions, with documentation and controls that hold up under real scrutiny.
Plain answers for owners & boards
Translating technical reality into something an owner, a board, or a CFO can act on — clear tradeoffs, clear numbers, no jargon.
What we're building
02 — two apps and the console behind themScavenger
A shared shopping list app for households — add items by typing, talking, or snapping a photo, and Scout, the app's built-in AI, sorts them into categories. Base Camp shows every store and its list at a glance, the Trail keeps a history of past trips, and your whole household stays in sync. Available now on iPhone, iPad, and Android.
Stormline Weather
A native weather app built around what matters: a clean forecast on one scrolling screen, radar with a lightning layer, alerts for nearby lightning and severe weather, and plain-language AI summaries of what the weather is about to do. No ads, and no account needed for the forecast, radar or alerts. Available now on Android, and coming soon to iPhone and iPad.
Northbaseworks Control Center
One console for every app we ship: usage and cost at a glance, feedback and crash triage, and live safety controls. When something needs attention, an alert reaches a real person, with a follow-up notice once the issue clears. Built to run across apps and platforms, so each new product starts from an existing foundation instead of guesswork.
Platforms and technologies we work with
03 — what you already runMost companies run a mix of these. We work with them and advise across them, so a recommendation starts from what you already have, not from a favorite vendor.
Cloud & hosting
Amazon Web Services (AWS) · Microsoft Azure · Google Cloud · Firebase · Cloudflare · Docker and containers · on-premises Linux servers and network storage
Apps & delivery
iOS and iPadOS (App Store) · Android (Google Play) · GitHub and GitHub Actions
Productivity & identity
Microsoft 365 · Google Workspace · Microsoft Entra ID · Okta · single sign-on (OpenID Connect) · Sign in with Apple and Google
Security & devices
Zero Trust access · endpoint detection and response (EDR) · Microsoft Intune · Jamf · UniFi networking · secrets management, key rotation and access scoping
Data & integration
Python · TypeScript and React · SQLite and serverless SQL databases · REST APIs and webhooks · Power BI · Power Automate
Monitoring & cost
Datadog · Grafana · on-call paging · cloud billing and usage data · custom operations consoles
AI tools
Anthropic Claude · OpenAI · Google Gemini · Microsoft Copilot
Business systems
NetSuite · QuickBooks · Microsoft Dynamics · Salesforce · HubSpot · ServiceNow · Jira · Zendesk
How we work
Northbaseworks is built around one idea: technology leadership is a navigation problem as much as a technical one. Fast growth, regulatory pressure, and M&A all create the same demand — a clear-eyed read of where things actually stand, and a disciplined plan to move from there.
Engagements are scoped tightly and run with the same discipline used to lead technology organizations directly: start with discovery, not assumptions. Confirm root causes before proposing fixes. Leave every engagement with documentation the team can operate from after we're gone.
Every engagement is led personally — no bench, no handoffs to junior staff you haven't met.
Ways to start
A fixed-scope review
A health check, a managed-provider or vendor review, or a second opinion on one decision. You get a plain-English report and a prioritized plan.
Fractional leadership
A senior technology leader on your side part-time — in your meetings, owning the technology agenda, and working alongside your provider and your staff.
Advisory
Someone experienced to call when a decision comes up — a contract, a hire, an AI tool, a project that's drifting.
A hands-on build
When the right answer is to build something — an app, an integration, the monitoring behind it — we build it, run it with you, and leave it documented so your team can operate it.
Common questions
Do we need a full-time CTO?
Probably not yet. Most small and midsize companies need senior technology judgment on the decisions that matter, not forty hours a week of it. A fractional CTO gives you that experience, and will tell you honestly when you've grown into needing a full-time hire.
Can you work alongside our managed service provider?
Yes, and that's often the best setup. Your provider keeps running day-to-day IT; we sit on your side of the table. We review what they do and what you pay, help you ask for the right things, and give you a second opinion you can trust.
Where should we start with AI?
With one or two real problems, not a tool. We look at where your people lose time or where customers wait, pick the uses worth trying, and set simple guardrails — a plain acceptable-use policy and clear rules on what data goes where. That's AI governance sized for a small company. Then a small pilot with a clear definition of done, before anything bigger.
What does a first conversation look like?
A conversation about where things stand and what's worrying you — no sales pitch, no jargon. If we can help, we'll suggest a sensible first step; if we can't, we'll say so.
Let's talk about where you're headed.
Whether it's a provider you can't evaluate, an AI question nobody owns, an operating model that's outgrown itself, or a deal that needs real technology diligence — reach out.
hello@northbaseworks.com