Fractional CIO Services
in Raleigh, NC
Senior technology leadership for Triangle companies — without the full-time executive cost.
What Aeolus provides
Technology leadership
for Triangle companies
Aeolus is headquartered in the Raleigh-Durham Triangle. Van Murray has spent over two decades building technology practices inside the local ecosystem — from NC State spinouts and RTP enterprises to Triangle healthcare networks, fintech startups, and mid-market companies scaling through acquisition. This is not manufactured geography. It is where the work happens.
Aeolus has direct relationships with technology teams, channel partners, and leadership across the Research Triangle Park corridor — including SAS, legacy Red Hat spinouts, and the biotech and life sciences organizations that anchor the region's mid-market.
The Triangle's fintech and venture-backed startup scene has its own infrastructure expectations, compliance requirements, and hiring constraints. Van has operated inside them — not advised from outside. Recommendations reflect what actually works here.
Healthcare is one of Raleigh-Durham's largest employer sectors. Aeolus has direct HIPAA, SOC 2, and clinical systems experience — not general compliance consulting, but the specific frameworks Triangle healthcare organizations need to operate and scale.
Triangle ecosystem
What is a
fractional CIO?
A fractional CIO is a senior technology executive who works with your company on a part-time or retainer basis — providing the same strategic judgment and executive accountability as a full-time Chief Information Officer, at a fraction of the cost and without the long-term hiring commitment.
Unlike a consultant who delivers a report and moves on, a fractional CIO joins your leadership team. They attend executive meetings, own vendor relationships, make technology decisions alongside the CEO and CFO, and remain accountable to outcomes over time. The relationship is ongoing, not project-based.
For companies between $5M and $50M in revenue — past the point where "whoever is most technical handles IT" works, but not yet at the scale to justify a $250,000+ full-time CIO — a fractional model closes the gap precisely when the technology decisions get expensive.
Four practice areas.
One point of contact.
Independent technology leadership across the decisions that matter. No vendor commissions. Ever.
01 — Cloud Migration
From where you are to where you need to be
Cloud migration is not a technical project — it is a business decision with a technical execution. Aeolus leads the strategy and the transition: which workloads move first, which stay on-premise, how to handle identity, data residency, and cost controls from day one.
- Current-state infrastructure audit and dependency mapping
- Cloud vendor selection — Google Cloud, Azure, AWS — without commission bias
- Migration sequencing and risk mitigation plan
- Vendor negotiation and contract review
- Post-migration cost governance and optimization
02 — IT Strategy
Technology aligned to the business plan
A technology roadmap that reflects your actual growth objectives — hiring, acquisitions, new markets, compliance requirements. Aeolus builds the strategy, presents it to leadership and the board, then owns execution alongside your team.
- Multi-year technology roadmap with cost models
- Board-level technology presentation and Q&A
- IT budget development and management
03 — Google Workspace
One of the earliest GCP partners in the Southeast
Van Murray was among the first Google Cloud partners in the Southeast. Aeolus provides Workspace deployment, administration, migration from Microsoft 365 or legacy Exchange, and optimization for growing teams.
- Workspace deployment and user onboarding at scale
- Migration from Microsoft 365, Exchange, or legacy email
- Security policy, DLP, and MDM configuration
04 — M&A Technology Diligence
Find what is hidden before close — 11 transactions and counting
Technology due diligence for acquisitions, mergers, and PE-backed rollups. Aeolus has completed diligence on 11 transactions across healthcare, SaaS, professional services, and manufacturing — identifying the compliance gaps, technical debt, and integration complexity that matter before close, not after.
- Pre-close technology risk assessment and red flag identification
- IT integration planning and day-one readiness
- HIPAA, SOC 2, CFTC Rule 15.06, and other framework compliance review
- Vendor contract audit and consolidation opportunity analysis
Van Murray
Founder & Fractional CIO, Aeolus
Van Murray has spent two decades at the intersection of technology leadership and business growth — not as a consultant advising from the outside, but as a builder, operator, and executive responsible for outcomes. His career spans GlaxoWellcome, North Carolina DOT, founding-team roles at Mi-Co (now Ideagen), Head of IT at Cherokee Investment Partners, and VP-level leadership through the acquisition and integration of Accent Plus into NeoNova.
In 2010, Van was among the first Google Cloud partners in the Southeast. In 2018, he co-founded AppSmart — one of the leading cloud marketplace businesses in North America, later rebranded as AppDirect, where he served as VP of Cloud Services. He is a Triangle Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 honoree and a licensed private pilot.
Aeolus was founded on a simple premise: growing companies need senior technology judgment on the exact issues that matter to them, delivered by someone who is accountable for the outcome — not billing for the conversation.
Schedule a Discovery Call →Before the first call
Straightforward answers to the questions most companies ask before engaging a fractional CIO.
Aeolus engagements are structured as monthly advisory retainers — typically in the range of $3,000–$8,000/month depending on scope, hours, and complexity. Most clients in the $5M–$50M revenue range find the model costs 20–40% of a full-time CIO salary while delivering senior-level judgment on the exact issues that matter. There are no long-term contracts — month-to-month terms, one flat fee, no vendor commissions, no hidden costs.
A consultant delivers a project and leaves. A fractional CIO becomes part of your leadership team on an ongoing basis — attending leadership meetings, owning vendor relationships, participating in board-level technology decisions, and accountable for outcomes over time. Aeolus works on retainer, not by the engagement. The incentive is always to give you the right answer, not to extend the project.
Most engagements start within two weeks of the initial discovery call. There is no lengthy RFP or procurement process. A 30-minute call is sufficient to determine fit, scope initial priorities, and agree on terms. Month-to-month structure means you are not locked in — if the engagement is not delivering, either party can exit with 30 days notice.
Yes. Aeolus works with companies across North Carolina and the broader Southeast, as well as nationally for M&A technology due diligence engagements. While Van is based in the Raleigh-Durham Triangle and has deep familiarity with the local ecosystem — RTP, NCSU, Triangle healthcare, Triangle fintech — most fractional CIO work operates effectively in a hybrid or remote model.