A named advisor, never a bench
You work with one identified advisor for leadership reviews, vendor questions, roadmap decisions, and incidents. The advisor and backup process are documented before ongoing work begins.
Fractional CISO services
Put one accountable owner in charge of the security program.
A named advisor directs remediation, organizes insurer and customer evidence, briefs leadership, and keeps the security roadmap moving while your IT team or MSP operates the systems.
Book a 30-minute scope call
Responsibilities, cadence, hours, and fees are documented before work begins.
- Named advisorOne accountable program owner
- 8–25+ hoursTypical monthly scope range
- Written cadenceMeetings, reporting, and escalation
- Your existing teamWe direct; IT or the MSP executes
The formula
Why this works when tools alone don’t.
Recommendations you can evaluate
Software, vendors, and outside services stay separate from the advisory scope. Any commercial relationship that could affect a recommendation is disclosed before you approve it.
What the retainer is notScoped to your risk, not a template
No cookie-cutter tiers. Your program is built from your actual risk, headcount, and audit calendar, then the hours, cadence, and rate are fixed in writing. Sometimes we’ll tell you to buy fewer hours.
How pricing worksBest fit: small and midsize regulated organizations that already have IT staff or an MSP but need an accountable security-program owner for remediation, reporting, renewals, and customer requests.
Not the right fit: organizations looking only for helpdesk support, a tool reseller, a full-time onsite executive, or unlimited emergency response under a small monthly retainer.
What you get.
Every retainer includes
- Remediation project management (we direct, your IT executes)
- Monthly/quarterly leadership reporting
- Policy & framework maintenance
- Vendor risk oversight
- Annual reassessment planning and refresh scope
- Incident response leadership
- Compliance calendar support (MIPS, insurance renewals, audits)
- On-call advisory
Your retainer
Custom scope, one fixed rate
Get my scope & quoteEvery retainer includes the full program above. The hours, cadence, and rate get scoped custom to your program.
No internal IT? No problem. We bring and manage the crew, priced per project.
How pricing works
Priced by scope. Fixed in writing.
There’s no rate card, because no two programs need the same executive. Your retainer is built from four things, then fixed in writing at the free 30-minute briefing.
Hours & cadence
Retainers run from roughly 8 to 25+ advisor hours a month, with reporting to match.
Program state
A fresh roadmap with active remediation needs more direction than a maintenance year.
Regulatory load
HIPAA, insurance, and audit calendars each add standing work.
Sites & systems
Multi-site environments and complex stacks widen the program you are running.
Your proposal documents the monthly hours, meeting cadence, responsibilities, deliverables, rate, and change process before work begins.
What the retainer is not
- Not desktop or helpdesk IT. Your team or MSP keeps running the systems
- Not software subscriptions or hardware. Licenses stay in your name, on your budget
- Not a rebranded MSP. We direct the security program and validate the work; we don’t resell tools
- Not an undisclosed sales channel. Any commercial relationship relevant to a recommendation is disclosed before approval
How it integrates
What winning looks like: the first 90 days.
A retainer is a working cadence, not a subscription. Here’s how your advisor plugs into the org chart from day one, without adding headcount or getting in IT’s way.
Days 0–30
Diagnostic baseline
Your advisor gets the lay of the land (existing findings, policies, vendors, insurance obligations) and clears the quick wins that buy credibility with your team.
Days 30–60
Board-ready roadmap
Priorities sequenced by risk, a budget case leadership can approve, and the policy program your framework expects. Written for your board, executable by your IT.
Days 60–90
Operating cadence
The standing rhythm begins: leadership reporting, vendor risk reviews, remediation direction, and incident-response readiness. The program, running as a program.
What ongoing ownership changes.
We are not large enough to justify a full-time CISO, but we still needed someone looking at security from a leadership perspective. Their fractional advisor filled that gap.
We did not need another report dropped off and forgotten. The fractional advisor from Hardenwell made the assessment useful by helping the team act on it.
Questions we hear about this service.
There are no fixed tiers. Every retainer is built custom around your program: roughly 8 to 25+ advisor hours a month depending on whether you need direction over existing IT, active remediation management, or multi-site and audit load. The scope and rate are fixed in writing at the free briefing, which ends with an honest recommendation. Sometimes that recommendation is fewer hours than you expected to buy.
You work with one named advisor for the program. The engagement documents the advisor, meeting cadence, responsibilities, and handover process before ongoing work begins.
A standing cadence is set during scoping. Most programs use a monthly working session plus a quarterly leadership review. The engagement documents communication channels, routine response expectations, and urgent escalation contacts.
No. Your MSP or IT team operates the systems; we set the program and verify the work. When you need an auditor, penetration tester, or MSP, we can help define the requirements and evaluate options. Any relevant commercial relationship is disclosed before you decide.
Managed remediation: we bring and manage the crew, priced per project, under the same program and reporting. When you’re ready to hire or engage an MSP, we help you scope it and hand over cleanly.
Book your advisor scope call.
Thirty minutes with an advisor.
We’ll cover the current security owner, active deadlines, your IT or MSP model, and the work already on the desk. You’ll leave knowing the likely cadence, monthly scope, and next step.
Prefer phone or email?
(754) 216-9664 info@hardenwell.com
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