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Fractional CTO
A fractional CTO in Edinburgh who still builds.
Senior technical leadership for growing businesses and funded startups, on a monthly retainer. Norloch sets the technology direction, leads the people and suppliers involved, and stays close enough to the code to make sure it gets built properly.
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Led by Shanoor Hussain, former Head of Managed Services at Datatonic and Cloudreach. About Shanoor
Updated October 2026
In short
Norloch provides fractional CTO services in Edinburgh, Scotland. A fractional CTO is a part-time Chief Technology Officer who gives a growing business senior technical leadership without a full-time executive hire. Norloch's fractional CTO service covers technology strategy, software architecture, hiring and leading engineers, managing agencies and vendors, security and data governance, and reporting to boards and investors.
It's run by Shanoor Hussain, who was Head of Managed Services at Datatonic and at Cloudreach and has spent 15 years building and running software, cloud, data and AI systems. Unlike most fractional CTOs, Norloch also designs and builds the custom applications, data platforms and AI systems it recommends.
When it makes sense
You need a CTO. You don't need one full-time.
A fractional CTO fits a particular stage of a business. These are the situations we see most in Edinburgh.
The founders aren't technical.
You're making architecture, vendor and hiring decisions without anyone who can check them.
Your developer is a department of one.
A good engineer is carrying the whole system. Nobody is thinking about the next two years.
An agency built it.
The platform works, mostly, but you don't own the thinking behind it and the invoices keep coming.
You're hiring engineers.
Someone needs to write the job specs, run the interviews and set the standards the new hires will work to.
The board is asking questions.
Security, data, resilience, roadmap. You need answers you can stand behind.
What you get
What a fractional CTO actually does, month to month.
The job is judgement and accountability. The days are spent on whatever moves the business forward that month.
- Technology strategy and roadmap. A plan the board can read, tied to what the business is trying to do, with the order of work agreed.
- Architecture and build-vs-buy. What to build, what to buy, what to leave alone. Decisions made once, written down, and defended when suppliers push back.
- Hiring and team leadership. Specs, interviews, onboarding and standards for your first engineers. Leading them once they're in.
- Supplier and vendor management. Reviewing proposals and quotes, holding agencies to scope, and making sure you own what you pay for.
- Security, data and compliance. Sensible controls for your size, answers for clients and auditors, and no surprises.
- Board and investor reporting. A technical voice in the room, and a clear account of progress, risk and spend.
- Hands-on when it counts. Reviewing code, unblocking a release, or building the first version of something yourself.
How it compares
Fractional CTO, interim CTO, agency or full-time hire.
Each has its place. The question is what the business needs this year.
| Fractional CTO | Interim CTO | Agency | Full-time CTO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commitment | Part-time, ongoing | Full-time, fixed term | Per project | Permanent |
| Cost | From £1,500 a day; about £6,500 a month at one day a week | £1,200 to £1,800 a day, five days a week | Project fees, typically £20,000 upwards | £120,000 to £160,000 a year plus equity and on-costs |
| Accountability | One named person | One named person | Account manager | One named person |
| Builds as well as leads | Yes | Sometimes | Builds only | Rarely |
| Independent of suppliers | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Best when | You need senior judgement every month, not every day | You're between CTOs | You know exactly what to build | Technology is the product and you've the scale to justify it |
Track record
What the same approach has delivered.
Norloch leads and builds. The same person who sets the direction is the one who has shipped it for other clients.
100 hrsGiven back to an Edinburgh accountancy practice every month
4,800+Client emails handled by one system in its first 8 weeks
+41.8%Booking clicks for an Edinburgh studio after its channels were rebuilt
How it starts
Three steps, the first one free.
1
Strategy call
30 minutes. Where the business is going, what's in the way, and whether a fractional CTO is the right shape of help.
2
Discovery and roadmap
A short, fixed piece of work. We map your systems, data, team and suppliers, then agree priorities and a plan you can take to the board.
3
Retainer
An agreed number of days a month. Roadmap, architecture, hiring, suppliers, and a technical lead you can call.
Edinburgh
Based here. Working across Scotland and the UK.
Funded startups.
Edinburgh has one of the strongest startup scenes outside London. Most early-stage companies raise before they can afford a CTO. That gap is where we sit.
Professional services.
Accountancy, legal, property and wealth firms where the technology is the operations. Regulated, document-heavy, and ready for proper systems.
On-site when it matters.
Board meetings, hiring days and workshops in person. The rest remote, on UK hours.
Scotland and beyond.
Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, the Lothians and Fife regularly. The rest of the UK remotely.
FAQ
Common questions.
What does a fractional CTO cost in Edinburgh?
From £1,500 a day. Most engagements run one day a week, around £6,500 a month; some start at one day a month and some run as a compressed week-long sprint. A full-time CTO in Edinburgh costs £120,000 to £160,000 a year plus equity and on-costs, so a day a week is roughly a quarter of that for the same level of judgement. Days and price are agreed before anything starts. Full pricing.
How many days a month do you need?
Most clients start at two to four days a month. Early on, during a roadmap or a hiring push, it's often more. Once the architecture and team are settled it drops back. We review the shape every quarter.
What's the difference between a fractional CTO and an interim CTO?
An interim CTO fills a full-time gap for a fixed period, usually while you recruit. A fractional CTO is part-time and ongoing. It suits businesses that need senior technical judgement every month but can't justify, or don't need, a full-time executive.
Do you take equity?
No. Norloch is paid in fees, which keeps the advice independent. If a client later wants to discuss a longer-term arrangement, that's a separate conversation.
Do you only advise, or do you build as well?
Both. Setting the direction and then building to it is the point. Where you already have engineers, we lead them. Where you don't, we build the first version ourselves and hand it over documented.
Can you work with our existing agency or developers?
Yes. A lot of fractional CTO work is reviewing what a supplier proposes, checking the architecture is sound, and making sure you're not locked in. You get someone on your side of the table who can read the code.
Do we need to be based in Edinburgh?
No. Norloch is based in Edinburgh and works on-site with businesses in Edinburgh and across Scotland. Clients elsewhere in the UK are supported remotely, with in-person days when they matter.
Need a technical lead?
Free 30-minute strategy call. Honest advice on whether you need a CTO at all, and what kind.
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