The Practical CTO

AI Strategy Should Start With the Business, Not the AI

Darrin@VanderpanConsulting.com (Darrin Vanderpan - Fractional CTO/CIO) — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:19:54 GMT

A practical, business-first approach to finding where AI can actually improve results.

AI can make individual tasks faster. But making one task faster doesn't necessarily make the business more efficient—or mean you're getting a meaningful return on your AI investment. That's the distinction that gets lost in many conversations about AI.

Three Questions Every Business Leader Should Be Asking About Technology

Darrin@VanderpanConsulting.com (Darrin Vanderpan - Fractional CTO/CIO) — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 22:28:03 GMT

Technology used to be a lot easier for business leaders to manage.

What a Fractional CTO Actually Does for a Small Business

Darrin@VanderpanConsulting.com (Darrin Vanderpan - Fractional CTO/CIO) — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 14:16:22 GMT

If you're a business owner who's never had a CTO, the term can sound like something reserved for venture-backed startups or large enterprises. In practice, a fractional CTO is simply an experienced technology executive who works with your business part-time, or as-needed, instead of full-time.

Five Signs Your IT Has Outgrown Ad-Hoc Management

Darrin@VanderpanConsulting.com (Darrin Vanderpan - Fractional CTO/CIO) — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 14:16:04 GMT

Most businesses don't sit down one day and decide to build a messy technology environment. It happens gradually — a tool added here, a vendor switched there, a "temporary" workaround that became permanent three years ago. At some point, though, that accumulation starts to cost you in ways that are easy to miss until you look for them.

AI Adoption for Small to Mid-Sized Businesses: Where to Actually Start

Darrin@VanderpanConsulting.com (Darrin Vanderpan - Fractional CTO/CIO) — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 14:15:02 GMT

AI is one of the few technology conversations that's reached every business owner's desk, regardless of industry — and it's also one of the most confusing. Between vendor hype, conflicting advice, and genuine risk (data privacy, security, and simply wasting money on tools that don't fit), it's reasonable to not know where to start.