Fractional IT leadership & service delivery
Technology Leadership.
Without the Full-Time Cost.
Strategic IT leadership, service delivery governance, vendor management and transformation execution for growing businesses.
20+ Years ExperienceAcross multiple industries
Independent. Trusted.Focused on outcomes, not sales
Flexible EngagementsDay rate or retained support
Executive IT operating model
Governance, vendors, risk and delivery aligned.
Trusted by leadership teams operating in
01Private Equity
02Mid-Market
03Professional Services
04Regulated Operations
05Global Delivery
What I do
Helping You Get More From Your Technology
I partner with leadership teams to align IT with business goals, improve service delivery and drive transformation that creates real results.
Explore all servicesFractional IT Leadership
Experienced IT leadership without the full-time commitment. Strategy, planning and execution that moves your business forward.
Learn moreService Delivery Excellence
Improve performance, reduce risk and strengthen governance across IT service management.
Learn moreVendor & Contract Management
Gain control, drive value and reduce cost with expert vendor management and contract negotiation.
Learn moreTransformation & Change
Plan and deliver business-focused IT transformation that drives efficiency, adoption and growth.
Learn moreLeadership services
Executive technology leadership delivered as a focused operating system.
Each service is designed to improve stability, accountability, supplier control and transformation pace without adding permanent senior headcount.
Board strategy
Fractional CIO Services
Strategic technology leadership for roadmaps, board reporting, investment decisions, operating models and risk-based prioritisation.
- Technology strategy and roadmap
- Executive reporting and decision support
- Investment, risk and governance alignment
Operating control
Fractional IT Director Services
Senior operational ownership across internal IT teams, MSPs, delivery plans, service routines and stakeholder communication.
- IT operating cadence and accountability
- Leadership for internal and supplier teams
- Practical improvement planning
Service rhythm
Service Delivery Leadership
Structured service management that makes incidents, SLAs, problems, actions and executive summaries clear and measurable.
- Monthly service reviews
- SLA, KPI and trend reporting
- Incident and problem governance
Supplier leverage
Vendor Management
Sharper supplier governance for MSPs, software partners, infrastructure vendors, contract performance and escalation ownership.
- Vendor scorecards and review cadence
- Contract and service-level oversight
- Escalation paths and commercial control
Change execution
Technology Transformation
Leadership for cloud, identity, infrastructure, collaboration, M&A transition and modernisation programmes.
- Cloud and Microsoft 365 delivery
- Identity, endpoint and infrastructure change
- Transition planning and risk control
Resilience
Operational Excellence
Repeatable governance, resilience planning, root-cause discipline and audit-ready evidence for leadership confidence.
- DR/BCP planning and exercises
- IT risk register ownership
- Operational readiness reviews
Operating domains
Enterprise-grade capability, packaged for executive leadership teams.
Real delivery experience across governance, resilience, supplier control, cloud transformation and high-stakes operational environments.
Governance & Operations
IT Service Management
ITIL-aligned service routines, major incident handling, problem governance, change control and service quality improvement.
Risk & Compliance
Cyber Security & Risk
Zero-Trust thinking, information risk governance, GDPR support, privacy impact assessment and cyber incident escalation.
Cloud & Identity
Technology Infrastructure
Azure, Entra ID, Microsoft 365, Intune, enterprise networking, endpoint management and collaboration platforms.
Transformation
Project Portfolio Management
International rollouts, infrastructure decommissions, M&A transition, resource planning and risk-led delivery control.
Supplier Control
Stakeholder & Vendor Governance
Multi-vendor oversight, SLA/OLA governance, executive reporting, supplier scorecards and commercial escalation discipline.
Resilience
Operational Continuity
Business continuity planning, disaster recovery strategy, high-severity event response and post-incident learning.
Method
A measured route from technology noise to leadership control.
Discovery
A focused executive session to understand structure, MSP relationships, pain points, recent incidents, contracts and compliance needs.
Baseline
A concise view of service gaps, vendor risks, governance maturity and the immediate priorities that need senior ownership.
Control Rhythm
Service reviews, reporting packs, action ownership, risk tracking and vendor cadence are put in place.
Execution
Ongoing governance converts decisions into improvements, transformation delivery and clearer board-level confidence.
Engagement models
Flexible senior capability at a fraction of a full-time hire.
Every engagement starts with a strategy call before recommending the right level of support.
Foundation
For teams that need monthly governance, reporting and improvement discipline.
- Monthly service review
- Incident and problem oversight
- SLA/KPI reporting
Most suitable for growth-stage teams
Weekly leadership rhythmProfessional
For organisations that need active supplier governance, risk visibility and weekly rhythm.
- Weekly leadership check-in
- Vendor scorecards
- IT risk register
Strategic Partner
For leadership teams needing deeper resilience, roadmap, audit and delivery oversight.
- IT strategy and roadmap
- DR/BCP planning
- Audit and compliance support
Free Diagnostic Tools
Assess Your IT. Know Your Gaps.
Three self-service assessments for IT leadership. Each takes 10–15 minutes and produces a structured report with scores, rationale, and next-step recommendations. Free to use — no sign-up required.
ss-it-health-check-calculator.vercel.app
IT Health Check Calculator
A 5-dimension weighted scoring tool for IT service delivery maturity. Assesses governance, service delivery, risk, supplier governance and workplace readiness.
How it works
15 slider-based questions across five weighted dimensions: Governance & Strategy (25%), Service Delivery & ITSM (15%), Risk & Resilience (20%), Supplier Governance (25%), Modern Workplace Readiness (15%). Produces a 1–5 overall score with tier recommendation — Foundation, Professional or Strategic.
PDF Report
Auto-generated
Print-ready
ss-vendor-governance-scorecard.vercel.app
Vendor Governance Scorecard
A structured vendor governance maturity assessment across five dimensions — from strategy and contract oversight to risk management and exit planning.
How it works
15 questions (3 per dimension) covering Vendor Strategy & Portfolio Management, Governance & Contract Oversight, SLA & Performance Monitoring, Risk & Security Management, and Relationship Governance & Exit Planning. 1–5 scoring with maturity labels from Ad Hoc to Optimised. Includes per-dimension breakdown and engagement recommendations.
PDF
Word (.docx)
Markdown
ss-ai-readiness-assessment.vercel.app
AI Readiness Assessment
A research-backed AI readiness diagnostic across seven dimensions — informed by Gartner, MIT CISR, and MITRE frameworks.
How it works
15 questions (2–3 per dimension) covering Strategy & Ownership, Governance & Policy, Tool Visibility & Inventory, Data Boundaries & Privacy, Risk Assessment & Security, Operational Readiness, and Enablement & Adoption. Weighted dimension analysis produces an overall readiness score with prioritised recommendations.
PDF
Word (.docx)
Markdown
Enterprise AI Portfolio & Field Workbench
Looking for Enterprise AI Adoption, Governance & Operational Readiness?
Explore Apurva Joshi's dedicated AI field portfolio demonstrating the 8-Stage Operating Model, interactive synthetic AI Control Centre, and Use-case Decision Gate frameworks.
Delivery proof
Experience across global IT operations, risk, cloud and resilience.
Selected examples positioned as capability evidence for future executive technology leadership engagements.
Global Cloud Identity Transformation
Orchestrated Azure AD, Entra ID and Microsoft 365 rollout for a global workforce of 5,000+ users, including Intune policies and Zero-Trust access controls.
Enterprise GRC & GDPR Framework
Executed Archer GRC implementation, delivered 50+ privacy impact assessments and reduced manual risk assessment time by 40%.
Major Upstream Asset Divestment
Led IT transition workstreams across London, Budapest and Azerbaijan, including buyer handover, decommissioning and secure legal-data migration.
Upstream Exploration Office Rollout
Delivered infrastructure, networking, AV, collaboration, vendor contracts, ISP engagement and specialist equipment procurement for a new international office.
Crisis Management & Cyber Defense
Acted as escalation lead for major global operational and security events, coordinating engineering response and executive RCA communication.
Global Remote Work Readiness
Transitioned a multi-thousand-user workforce to remote readiness with secure connectivity, guidance portals and operational continuity.
Global delivery footprint
International project experience with local executive relevance.
A track record across headquarters, emerging markets, divestment locations and high-risk operational regions gives clients confidence in governance, logistics, resilience and stakeholder control.
Leadership topics
Practical advisory themes for boards and operational leaders.
Microsoft 365 Operating Maturity
Workflow, collaboration, automation and secure productivity practices that convert existing licences into measurable operating value.
Minimum Viable Security
Executive-level prioritisation for cyber controls, identity hardening, MFA, endpoint governance and practical risk reduction.
Zero Trust Readiness
Identity-centric security models where continuous verification, conditional access and least privilege replace perimeter assumptions.
About Stack Steward
A technology governance partner led by real enterprise delivery experience.
Stack Steward is led by Apurva Joshi, a senior IT service delivery and technology operations leader with 20+ years of enterprise experience across ITIL-aligned service management, vendor governance, major incident leadership, multi-site delivery, cyber risk, cloud identity and executive support.
The service is designed for organisations that need calm, experienced technology leadership, but do not yet need or want the cost and commitment of a full-time senior hire.
ITIL-aligned service management
Major incident leadership
Vendor governance
DR/BCP and audit support
Credentials
Professional depth behind practical delivery.
Formal learning translated into structured technology leadership across service delivery, cyber resilience, cloud identity, governance and operational control.
Certification-backed capability
Recognised training across the disciplines clients rely on when technology needs stronger structure, accountability and resilience.
SAFe® Agile Delivery Leader
ITIL® Service Management
MS-100 Microsoft 365 Identity
Azure Cloud Security & Automation
ISO / NIST Information Risk Governance
CCNA Cisco Networking Foundations
Academic foundation
Computer science
Advanced grounding in software, systems thinking, data and analytical problem solving.
Engineering systems
Technical foundation in control, instrumentation, infrastructure and disciplined operational design.
Trust standards
Clear expectations before any client work begins.
Privacy
Information provided via engagement forms is used exclusively for evaluating consulting opportunities and maintaining service delivery communication.
Security
Consulting operations are built on confidentiality, integrity and availability, with NIST and ISO 27001-aligned thinking applied to client information.
Engagement Terms
Services are advisory and management-based. Work begins after discovery, proposal, agreed scope and a specific Statement of Work.
Start a conversation
Book a no-obligation strategy call.
Use the short form to share your context privately, or select a time slot directly on the calendar. The first conversation is focused on understanding your current environment and whether fractional technology leadership is the right fit.
Fastest Route
Book directly on the calendar
Choose a 30-minute introductory strategy session at your convenience.
Schedule on Calendly
30 min
Focused leadership-fit review, not a sales pitch.
Private, senior-level review of your current IT leadership gap.
Clear recommendation on whether a fractional CIO or IT Director model fits.