Architecture & design
Turn strategy into a platform design your team can build.
01 · Fractional CTO & advisory
Technical leadership when the decisions matter most
Senior technical judgment on geospatial, cloud, and AI, for organizations that need a CTO-level partner without a full-time executive hire.
Direction you can defend
Big platform decisions are expensive to reverse. Choosing a mapping provider, committing to a cloud data platform, or betting a product on AI shapes your costs and your options for years.
North Forge Geo gives leadership teams an experienced, independent technical voice in those decisions. We set strategy, pressure-test plans and vendor claims, and guide your team, so the choices you make hold up to scrutiny from your board, your investors, and your engineers.
Who it's for
- Startups and scale-ups building a location-based or AI product without a CTO
- Enterprises launching a geospatial or AI initiative that needs experienced technical direction
- Leadership teams and investors evaluating a technology, vendor, or acquisition
- Product organizations whose platform has outgrown its original design
Typical engagements
- Technology strategy and multi-year roadmaps tied to business goals
- Mapping and cloud platform selection, including build-versus-buy and open source options
- Vendor and partner evaluation, negotiation support, and oversight
- Technical due diligence for investment, acquisition, or partnership
- Team structure, hiring guidance, and mentoring of technical leads
- Executive briefings that translate technical trade-offs into business terms
Outcomes
- A clear, prioritized roadmap your team can execute
- Platform and vendor decisions backed by evidence
- Fewer costly reversals on large commitments
- A stronger internal team that can carry the work forward
The experience behind it
Both sides of the table
Our founder has advised technology buyers and shaped what technology vendors build. At Microsoft, that meant working with the company's largest customers from the Industry Solutions Office of the CTO, and leading strategy for its geospatial products.
- Technical lead on four major deals that generated more than $3B in new business
- Led strategy to unify Microsoft's geospatial offerings, Bing Maps and Azure Maps
- Defined product roadmaps for enterprise geospatial SDKs and client libraries
- Led co-innovation workstreams and executive escalations with Fortune 500 customers
- Co-founder and CTO of a software consultancy, managing a global development team
How it's delivered
Usually as a monthly advisory retainer sized to your needs, or as a fixed-scope assessment such as technical due diligence. More on how we engage.
AI consulting
Decide where AI fits, and build what's worth building.
Selected work
Representative engagements across strategy, platforms, and AI.
Have a geospatial, cloud, or AI challenge in front of you?
Tell us what you're working on. We'll give you a straight answer on how we can help, or tell you if we're not the right fit.