Summary: A company can have plenty of technical expertise and still lack anyone who holds IT together as a whole. When suppliers, budget, risks, projects and business priorities need coordinating, the problem is not always a shortage of one more IT consultant. Sometimes what is missing is clear IT leadership. An interim IT manager, or IT manager as a service, can then be an alternative to recruiting a full-time role straight away.
A common situation looks roughly like this. Microsoft 365 is handled by one supplier. The network by another. The business system has its own partner. The finance director approves the IT invoices. The CEO gets involved when something major happens. And a few people internally are the ones who “know IT”.
That can work. At least until the organisation needs to make a bigger decision. Then the questions come:
- Who actually owns the IT strategy?
- Who prioritises the investments?
- Who holds the suppliers together?
- Who assesses the security risks?
- Who owns the roadmap?
- Who explains the IT situation to management?
At that point the problem is not necessarily a lack of technical expertise. It may be a lack of IT leadership.
An IT consultant and an IT manager solve different problems
An IT consultant is often engaged to solve a defined specialist need: migrate Microsoft 365, configure networks, design a cloud solution, carry out a security review or resolve a technical problem.
The IT manager’s remit is broader. The role needs to hold together business needs, IT strategy, operations, budget, suppliers, security, risk, projects, people and skills, and priorities.
So it is not simply a more senior technician. It is a leadership responsibility.
ISO/IEC 38500:2024 describes the governance of IT as a domain of the governance of organisations and provides guiding principles for the effective, efficient and acceptable use of IT. The standard is primarily addressed to the governing body but recognises that governance occurs throughout the organisation, and it applies to entities of all types and sizes. Its principles cover responsibility, strategy, acquisition, performance, conformance and human behaviour.
When is a full-time IT manager not needed?
Not every organisation needs an IT manager five days a week. Consider a company with 60 employees, Microsoft 365, a few SaaS systems, one business system and an external operations partner.
There are still important IT questions. But they may not require a full-time role. An arrangement with clear external IT leadership responsibility can then be more proportionate. The need may be one day a week, a few days a month, or an intensive period during a change.
The scope has to be driven by the business, not by the title.
When does an interim IT manager fit?
An interim role is particularly relevant when there is a clear temporary need.
- The IT manager has left. The organisation needs continuity while recruitment is under way.
- The company is growing. The informal IT model no longer works.
- Many suppliers lack coordination. Each delivers their part, but nobody owns the whole.
- A major change programme is starting. A new business system, a Microsoft 365 transformation, an acquisition or a large infrastructure change.
- IT costs are unclear. Nobody can really explain what the organisation is paying for or which contracts should be prioritised.
- Security requirements are increasing. The Swedish Cybersecurity Act, customer requirements, ISO 27001 or other demands mean management needs clearer risk governance.
Start with the mandate, not the title
An external person can be given the title of IT manager. But if that person does not get access to information, a mandate to prioritise, the ability to talk to suppliers, budget visibility and support from management, the role will not work.
The organisation therefore needs to decide early:
- What may the IT manager decide?
- What needs escalating to the CEO or management team?
- Which suppliers may the role direct?
- Which budget may be used?
- Which responsibilities remain internal?
That matters more than whether the engagement is called IT Manager, Head of IT, CIO or IT manager as a service.
The first 30 days should be about control
An interim IT manager needs to build a picture of the current state relatively quickly. Not a six-month analysis project, but enough to be able to lead. An initial current-state review can cover:
- Services and systems. What does the business depend on?
- Suppliers and contracts. Who delivers what, and when do the contracts expire?
- Costs. What does IT cost and where are the largest items?
- Risks. Where are the biggest operational and security risks?
- Incidents. What goes wrong repeatedly?
- Projects. Which changes are under way?
- Organisation. Who does what internally?
From there the role can start to prioritise.
The IT manager needs to be the bridge between business and technology
The CEO rarely needs to know which firmware version the firewall runs. But may well need to know that the firewall reaches end of life within six months, that a failure could stop the business, and that an investment decision is needed in the fourth quarter.
That is an important part of IT leadership: translating a technical problem into business risk and a decision. Equally, the technical team needs to understand the business priorities. It works in both directions.
Supplier management is often a large part of the role
Outsourcing does not remove the need for governance. Quite the opposite. If the organisation has several suppliers, someone is needed who can assess delivery quality, SLAs, incidents, costs, roadmap, security requirements, contractual matters and dependencies.
Otherwise the familiar situation arises where supplier A says it is supplier B’s problem, and the customer ends up coordinating the troubleshooting themselves. An IT management function should be able to hold that responsibility together.
Strategy needs to be concrete
An IT strategy does not have to be a forty-page document about technology trends. It can be considerably simpler.
The next twelve months
- replace the firewall
- standardise the client platform
- complete the identity and MFA work
- consolidate backup
- review the IT contracts
- migrate the legacy server
- improve the service desk
The next two to three years
- replace the business system
- reduce on-premises infrastructure
- develop the data platform
- strengthen cyber capability
What matters is that the IT investments connect to the goals of the business.
IT manager, CIO or CISO?
The roles sometimes overlap, but the focus differs.
- IT manager. Usually more responsibility for day-to-day IT delivery, suppliers, team and the technical roadmap.
- CIO. A more strategic focus on how information and technology support business development.
- CISO. A focus on information security, risk and security governance.
In a smaller company one person may carry several perspectives. In larger organisations the roles normally need clearer separation. We have written more about that boundary in our insight on interim CISO or ongoing GRC advisory.
Handover should start on day one
An interim engagement should not create a new dependency. Documentation and structure therefore need to be built continuously: decisions, the contract picture, supplier contacts, roadmap, risks, budget, project status and technical documentation.
When a permanent IT manager later starts, that person should not have to begin from scratch. We treat structured handover and knowledge transfer as part of the engagement, not as something dealt with in the final week.
When is an adviser enough?
Sometimes a management mandate is not needed. The organisation may already have a CEO, COO or finance director who clearly owns the IT question but needs someone senior to test ideas with. Ongoing IT advisory can then be entirely sufficient.
So the question is not whether you need to buy an interim IT manager. The question is which responsibility is missing today.
How Kristensson i Skåne can help
Kristensson i Skåne offers both IT consultancy and interim IT leadership. That can mean:
- interim IT manager
- interim CIO
- IT manager as a service
- IT strategy
- supplier management
- budget and cost control
- IT risk
- roadmap
- project prioritisation
- security
- ongoing management reporting
- handover to a permanent post-holder
That makes it possible to adapt the support to the organisation’s actual needs. Sometimes a specialist is needed. Sometimes a project manager. And sometimes what is needed is someone who genuinely owns the whole.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an interim IT manager and an IT consultant?
A consultant often solves a defined specialist need. An interim IT manager receives a broader mandate to lead and coordinate the IT function, including suppliers, budget and risk.
Does an IT manager have to work full time?
No. The scope should be based on the organisation’s size, complexity and needs. It can be one day a week or a few days a month.
Can an interim IT manager direct external suppliers?
Yes, if the mandate is defined that way. Supplier management is often a central part of the role.
What happens when a permanent IT manager starts?
A good interim arrangement should include documentation and structured knowledge transfer, so the permanent role does not have to begin from scratch.
Wondering which IT leadership responsibility is missing in your organisation? Read more about our IT manager and CIO as a service offering or contact us for an informal conversation.
Sources: ISO/IEC 38500:2024, Information technology – Governance of IT for the organization (third edition), with the principles of responsibility, strategy, acquisition, performance, conformance and human behaviour. Verified 9 September 2026.
This text is general information. The right arrangement always depends on the individual organisation’s size, maturity and needs.