Deloitte's 2026 research found 74% of organisations want AI to grow revenue, but only 20% have seen it — a 54-point gap that is almost always strategic, not technical. We close it, as your fractional CTO or Chief AI Officer.
A full-time CTO with genuine AI expertise costs £200,000–350,000 a year, plus equity — out of reach for most mid-market companies precisely when they most need the guidance. So decisions get made without it: tools bought on hype, pilots launched with no success metric, "agentic AI" purchased from one of the thousands of vendors Gartner warns are "agent washing" (only ~130 are the real thing). A fractional CTO from Visian gives you the same strategic depth on a monthly retainer — someone who has personally delivered 100+ production systems. The market has caught on: fractional CTO openings are up ~47% year-on-year.
Regulation is now a live budget line, and the detail matters. The EU AI Act's transparency obligations and general-purpose AI enforcement (with fines) take effect in August 2026, even though high-risk rules were deferred to December 2027 by the "Digital Omnibus." Meanwhile the UK's Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 is in force and has liberalised automated-decision rules — so a UK-compliant AI system does not automatically satisfy EU requirements. Only ~36% of organisations have a formal AI governance framework. We help you build one that fits both regimes.
An honest evaluation of where AI will create value in your business — and where it won't yet.
10–40 hours per month of hands-on strategic leadership. We're operators, not advisers who leave.
We know which of the thousands of "AI vendors" are real, and which are repackaged chatbots.
EU AI Act, UK GDPR and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and emerging UK AI regulation.
AI strategy workshop — £3,000–8,000 (one to two days). AI readiness assessment — £5,000–15,000. Fractional CTO / Chief AI Officer retainer — £5,000–15,000 per month, no long-term lock-in. Every engagement begins with a free strategy call.
Thirty minutes, no pitch deck — an honest read on what's worth building and how fast we can get it live.