Senior technology leadership, without the full-time hire
MTRC.tech is a fractional CTO for Southwest Florida clubs, firms, developers, and estates. One senior person in charge of your technology: the plan, the budget, the vendors, and the security. We answer only to you.
Most organizations don't need a full-time technology executive. They do need someone in charge
Your IT provider keeps things running. Vendors sell what they sell. Renewals arrive, quotes pile up, and the big decisions land on an owner or office manager who doesn't have the time or the background to make them. Nobody is planning, and nobody is checking.
That's the job we do.
Frustrated with your IT? It may not be your provider
Most IT relationships don't fail on skill. They fail because nobody sits in the middle: setting priorities, turning business needs into clear requests, and checking the work. You don't need to sever the relationship. You need to reframe it. We become the buffer between you and your provider, and if it still isn't the right fit, we'll help you move on cleanly. We take no referral fees from any provider.
What we handle
Plan and budget
A 12 to 36 month technology roadmap. An annual budget and a 3 to 5 year replacement plan. A one-page brief every month.
Policies and documentation
Security program, acceptable use, AI use, remote work, data retention, incident response. Documentation of your systems, network, and who has access to what. Procedures your people can follow.
Vendors and spending
Procurement and RFPs. Telecom and contract negotiation. Licensing and renewals. Oversight of your IT provider and every other vendor, with escalation on your behalf. Help desk performance: where tickets stall, and why problems keep coming back.
Security and compliance
Ownership of the security program, mapped to the FTC Safeguards Rule, HIPAA, and similar requirements. Cyber insurance questionnaires.
AI
What AI can do for your organization, the policy that governs it, and, when you're ready, someone to set it up and run it.
Ways to work with us
Fractional CTO
An ongoing monthly engagement, sized to what you need: an advisor on call, an active partner leading projects, or interim leadership through a gap or a crisis. Learn more →
Assessments
A fixed-fee, written assessment of where you stand: security and compliance, disaster recovery, network, AI readiness, or technology spend. Often the first step. See assessments →
Specialist work
Scoped separately, when you need the work done, not just recommended: - AI Operator: we set up AI on your own data and keep it running. - Application consulting: hands-on work on platforms like Microsoft 365, ERP, and CRM. - Network and low-voltage design: networks, cameras, access control, and AV, designed by us and installed by a licensed contractor.
When to call
- Your IT relationship isn't working. Before you replace anyone, put someone in the middle.
- Your IT person is leaving. Recover the passwords, domain, and accounts before they walk out the door.
- You're moving or renovating. Internet lead times, phones, cabling, and a cutover plan, before move-in day.
- You're buying or selling a business. Due diligence, combining systems, cleanup before a sale.
- After a security incident. One person coordinating the insurer, the forensics firm, and your provider.
- Cyber insurance renewal. Answer the questionnaire and put in the controls that qualify you.
- Hurricane season. A readiness review before the season and a recovery plan for after.
- You're about to sign something big. A second opinion before you commit.
If it's technology and it isn't day-to-day support, start with a call.
Who we work with
Private clubs and hospitality · Real estate and builders · Professional services (CPAs, medical, legal, financial) · Communities and associations · Homes and estates
Independent, by design
- No commissions, no markups, no resale. We're paid only by you.
- Off the shelf first. Proven products before custom builds. When custom software is really called for, MTRC.studio builds it under the same roof.
- We work alongside your IT provider, whoever it is. We don't sell managed IT, so we're not angling for their contract.
- Recommendations in writing, with the reasoning and the cost.
- You own your records. If you leave, you get all of it and a proper handoff.
Led by Michael Hines
Michael Hines has spent more than twenty years designing, building, and running business technology in Southwest Florida: networks for more than fifty clubs, communities, and businesses; more than 5,000 mailboxes moved to Microsoft 365; and six years directing technology for STOCK Development, a real estate developer with about 400 employees. He still does the engineering himself.
How it starts
- 1A conversation. No charge. We find out whether we're the right fit, and say so if you need something else.
- 2An assessment. A written report on where things stand, and a readout with your leadership.
- 3The first 30 days. We document your systems, vendors, and renewals, meet your IT provider, and agree on the roadmap.
- 4Then a steady rhythm. Monthly, quarterly, and yearly, so nothing drifts.
Questions
- How is this different from the vCIO my IT provider offers?
- An IT provider's vCIO works for the company selling you managed services. We don't sell managed services, hardware, or software, and we take no commissions, so our recommendations aren't shaped by what we'd earn from them.
- Do you replace my IT provider?
- No. Your IT provider keeps day-to-day support. We set direction, hold vendors accountable, and make sure the work matches the plan.
- What does it cost?
- Every engagement is scoped before it's priced, because a ten-person firm and a private club need very different things. As a reference point, it costs a fraction of a full-time IT director.
- Do you work outside Southwest Florida?
- Advisory work, yes. On-site work is in Collier, Lee, and Sarasota counties.
Start with a conversation
Tell us what's going on. You'll hear back the same business day.