IT Consulting in Dallas, TX: vCIO and Technology Roadmaps
IT consulting in Dallas gives a company a written technology plan, a priced budget for the next one to three years, and a vCIO who keeps both current. Uprite delivers it as part of our managed IT services in Dallas, so the people who plan the work also do it.
Planning, pricing, and project oversight from a North Dallas team that also runs your help desk.
Get a Dallas IT PlanNo obligation. Bring your vendor list and contract end dates, and we will map out what the next three years are likely to cost.In Texas Since 1999 | MSP 501 Winner 7 Years Running | SOC 2 Type 1 (2023) | 120-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
Map Your Next Three Years
Recognized Across Texas for Managed IT and Technology Planning
The Dallas Problem
Dallas Has Plenty of IT Leaders. Few Mid-Size Companies Can Hire One.
The talent is here. The price is the hard part.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics published its May 2025 wage survey for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, and it counts 30,690 computer and information systems managers in the metro. CIOs and IT directors are counted in that job code, SOC 11-3021. Their mean pay here is $185,720 a year. The location quotient is 1.76, so these managers make up a larger share of local jobs than they do nationally, by about three quarters.
That number cuts both ways.
A deep bench means a Dallas company can find a good IT director. It also means you are bidding against every other employer in the metro that wants one. The BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation release puts total compensation at 1.43 times wages in private industry. At the Dallas mean, one hire runs about $265,600 a year before you pay a recruiter.
A company with 40 or 120 people rarely makes that hire. So the IT plan ends up with the controller, the office manager, or whichever vendor happens to be selling the next renewal.
We see what follows in a lot of Richardson and Addison offices. Laptops get bought one at a time when they fail, software renews in whatever month it was first purchased, and the server warranty comes up only after a drive dies.
IT consulting puts that planning back on someone’s desk. At Uprite, the work runs through our vCIO services in Dallas, and Kimberly Ramos, our Lead vCIO, oversees the practice.
What You Get
What IT Consulting in Dallas Covers
For a company with 25 to 200 employees, an IT plan is less a strategy deck than a dated to-do list with prices next to each line.
Look at your own list and you’ll see what we mean. Which 20 of your 62 laptops need replacing next year? Should the file server in your Las Colinas office move to SharePoint? When does the firewall contract renew? What would Copilot add to the bill for your 15 salespeople? A plan answers each of those with a month and a price.
Picture a distributor with 90 people in Carrollton that opens a second warehouse in Denton County. You sign the lease first. Only then does anyone ask about the network, the new Microsoft 365 licenses, and the phone lines. That work lands in the same quarter as your ERP renewal, and both go over budget.
So what would a plan have done differently?
You’d have a quote for the warehouse network before you signed. You’d move the ERP renewal by a quarter, or you’d budget for both on purpose. Our vCIO writes that schedule with you. Our Dallas engineers do the installs.
Keep one thing in mind as you read. We sell managed IT, so we’re not an independent consultant, and our plans will include work we get paid to do. Hold us to the quoted price on every line. If you’d rather, take the plan to someone else.
Our security planning follows the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, which NIST published on February 26, 2024. Read its Govern function and you’ll see why we budget security with everything else. It puts security strategy and spending on company leadership.
Six Deliverables From a Dallas IT Consulting Engagement
Current-State Assessment
Every PC, server, license, cloud account, and vendor you pay for, listed with its age and whether it’s still supported.
Technology Roadmap
Your changes for the next 12 to 36 months, in order, each with an owner and a month.
Quarter-by-Quarter Budget
Your controller gets hardware and subscriptions on separate lines, split by quarter and ready for the forecast.
Support End Dates
Every warranty, lease, and support date on one calendar, including January 12, 2027 for Windows Server 2016.
Contract Reviews
Vendor contracts get a price, term, and notice-period check at least 90 days before they can renew.
Quarterly Reviews With Ownership
Meet your vCIO every quarter, then get written notes and next quarter’s costs.
Many first meetings start with an old roadmap from a previous provider, usually two or three years old. Part of it got done and the rest no longer fits, which is why we reopen ours every 90 days.
Dates You Don’t Set
Which Deadlines Should a Dallas IT Plan Be Built Around?
Some of the dates in your plan are set by other people, including Microsoft, the Texas Legislature, and North Texas weather.
Windows 10 is the first one. Microsoft ended support for it on October 14, 2025. You can still buy Extended Security Updates for it. The price is $61 per device for the first year. Microsoft doubles it every year, for up to three years. If you join late, you pay for the years you missed. Year One began in November 2025. So if you enroll 30 PCs this month, you pay $183 per PC, or $5,490. You still have to replace those PCs later. Only Windows 10 version 22H2 can enroll. Windows 10 running in Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop gets the updates for free.
Texas SB 2610 sets the state date. It took effect on September 1, 2025, for businesses with fewer than 250 employees. Suppose one of them has a data breach. If it kept a security program based on a recognized framework, a court can’t award exemplary damages against it. The program depends on headcount. A company under 20 people needs a password policy and staff training. A company with 20 to 99 people needs the 56 safeguards in CIS Controls Implementation Group 1. A company with 100 to 249 people needs a full framework, such as NIST CSF or ISO 27001.
Microsoft has two more dates for you. Exchange Server 2019 and Office 2019 lost support on October 14, 2025. Windows Server 2016 loses support on January 12, 2027.
Weather sets the last dates. NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 1,100 reports of hail an inch or larger in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton counties from 2016 through 2025. Of those, 88.5% came between March and June. In February 2021, the winter storm cut power to about 4.5 million people in Texas, some for up to four days, according to the FERC and NERC review. We plan server work, office moves, and backup tests around those months. Our Dallas severe-weather continuity guide has more detail.
Windows 10 PCs
Upgrade to Windows 11 if the PC has a TPM 2.0 chip. Otherwise expect to pay $61 for year one of updates, $122 for year two, and $244 for year three.
SB 2610 Headcount Tier
Count your employees. Under 20, 20 to 99, and 100 to 249 each call for a different program.
Hail and Winter Season
Most large hail hits North Texas from March through June. We keep big cutovers out of those weeks when we can.
Server and Contract End Dates
Mark January 12, 2027, when Windows Server 2016 support ends. Then check your copier, phone, and firewall contracts, since each one ends on its own date.
How It’s Built
What Goes Into an IT Roadmap for a Dallas Company?
Every roadmap we write starts with an inventory. An IT roadmap for a Dallas small business can’t be better than the count underneath it.
We take the count from your device management console, your Microsoft 365 admin center, and a year of vendor invoices, not from anyone’s memory. For each item we want to know its age, whether it’s still supported, and whether it can reach company data. With fewer than 250 employees, the security items also follow your SB 2610 tier.
Give each change a price, a month, and a reason. Let your owners read the whole plan before anything is ordered. Build the budget from the plan, not the other way around, even if last year’s number was smaller.
Six Steps Behind Every Uprite Roadmap
Count
Every device and license goes on the list with its age and its warranty and support end dates.
Flag
We note what is out of support. We also note accounts without MFA and logins that people share.
Rank
We start with systems that touch payroll, customer data, and billing. Spare equipment goes to the bottom.
Schedule
We lay the work out month by month for 12 to 36 months. We plan around your busy season, year-end close, and hail season.
Price
You get capital and operating costs for each quarter. Your controller can copy them into the forecast.
Revisit
Every 90 days we close finished items, move late ones, and price the next quarter.
Has Uprite done this work for a Texas company?
Yes. The closest example we have published is our oil and gas modernization case study. A Texas operator had old servers and weak backups. We did vCIO and vCISO planning first. The rebuild then followed the order in that plan. Our guide to what a vCIO does in Texas covers the seven tasks a vCIO repeats each year.
The count takes the most time. It is also what makes the numbers after it reliable.
Service Lines
Assessments, Roadmaps, Budgets, and Contract Reviews
Most Dallas managed IT contracts pay for the help desk, patching, antivirus, and backups. Planning usually is not part of the deal.
So no one picks a date to retire the 2018 server. No one checks the Microsoft 365 price before it renews. No one tests whether a new estimating program runs on the laptops you have.
Our consulting work has five parts. The table lists the question each part answers. The assessment tells you what you own. The roadmap orders the changes, and the budget prices them. Contract reviews hold vendors to the plan. The quarterly review reports progress to ownership.
What Each Part Covers
| Service line | What Uprite delivers | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment | A yearly record of devices, licenses, servers, cloud accounts, and vendors | What do we own, and what has lost support? |
| Roadmap | Changes for the next 12 to 36 months in sequence, each with an owner and a target month | What happens next, and in which month? |
| Budget | Capital and operating costs per quarter, with each per-seat subscription itemized | How much, and when does it hit? |
| Support-date calendar | Warranty, license, lease, and vendor support end dates on one schedule | What runs out before we have planned for it? |
| Contract review | Price, term, and cancellation window checked ahead of every renewal | Which agreements renew, and should they? |
| Quarterly review | A written report to ownership with the next quarter priced | Are we on track, and what changed? |
We repeat the assessment every year, so you can compare one year with the next. For example, you can see if the number of PCs over five years old went up or down.
Security is part of the same roadmap. Some customers and insurers want a named security lead. For those companies, our vCISO services in Dallas provide one.
How much can a small price change cost you? Take 85 seats and a $4 monthly increase, and you’re paying $4,080 more a year. That’s why we keep hardware and subscriptions apart and give every per-seat subscription its own line. IT budget planning in Dallas also needs a growth line. Opening an office in Frisco or a second site in Fort Worth means another network, more licenses, and more phones. Our IT plan for relocating to Collin County covers that kind of project.
Copier leases are a good example. Many carry a 90-day notice clause, and if nobody calls in time, the lease renews at the vendor’s new rate. We put those dates on the calendar and review the contract before the window closes.
The quarterly review goes to whoever approves spending, which could be an owner, a CFO, or a board, along with written notes and next quarter’s numbers.
Most of this work is routine, and it slips mainly because nobody owns it.
By the Numbers
The Numbers Behind IT Consulting in Dallas
Want to check our numbers? You will find a source for every figure in the table below. Most come from BLS, Microsoft, NOAA, and Texas law, and we did the math on a few.
$265K
What you’d pay each year for one Dallas IT manager at the BLS mean wage, with benefits.
30,690
Computer and information systems managers employed in Dallas-Fort Worth as of May 2025.
$183
What you’d pay per PC for Windows 10 security updates if you enroll in Year Two.
88.5%
Share of large-hail reports in four DFW counties that came between March and June.
5 min
Uprite’s measured average time to first response on support requests.
| Metric | Data Point | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Computer and information systems managers working in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, the job code that covers CIOs and IT directors | 30,690 (May 2025) | BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, SOC 11-3021 |
| Average yearly pay for that job code in the metro | Mean $185,720 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Concentration of those managers in DFW compared with the U.S. | Location quotient 1.76 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Total compensation as a multiple of wages, private industry | 1.43 ($46.89 versus $32.82 an hour, Q2 2026) | BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation |
| Loaded yearly cost of one manager at the Dallas mean | About $265,600 | Uprite arithmetic, $185,720 times 1.43 |
| Reports of hail one inch or larger in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton counties, 2016 to 2025 | 1,100 reports on 133 days, 88.5% of them March to June | NOAA Storm Events Database |
| People in Texas who lost power in the February 2021 winter storm | About 4.5 million, some for up to four days | FERC and NERC report on the February 2021 cold weather event |
| Date Microsoft ended Windows 10 support | October 14, 2025 | Microsoft Learn |
| Windows 10 Extended Security Updates price for organizations | $61 per device in Year One, doubling each year for up to three years, with missed years charged to late buyers | Microsoft Learn, ESU program page |
| Per-PC cost when a company enrolls in Year Two | $183 ($61 plus $122) | Uprite math from Microsoft’s posted price |
| Windows Server 2016 end of extended support | January 12, 2027 | Microsoft Lifecycle |
| SB 2610 safe harbor scope | Fewer than 250 employees, with tiers at 20 and 100 | Texas Business and Commerce Code chapter 542 |
| Safeguards in CIS Controls IG1, the benchmark for 20 to 99 employees | 56 | CIS (Center for Internet Security) |
| Uprite starting prices in Dallas | $138 fully managed with a vCIO, $100 co-managed, $40 MSSP security | Uprite pricing page, November 2026 |
| Average first response at Uprite | 5 minutes | Uprite, measured across support requests |
Pricing
What Does IT Consulting Cost in Dallas?
Are you on fully managed IT? Then planning costs you nothing extra. The vCIO, the roadmap, the budget, and the quarterly reviews come with the plan, which starts at $138 per user per month on our published pricing page.
Have your own IT staff? Our co-managed plan starts at $100 per user per month and adds strategy work next to your team. If you only want security, our MSSP Security Focus plan begins at $40 per user per month, with quarterly security reviews and strategy planning.
| Plan | Starting price | Built for | Where planning fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully Managed IT | From $138 per user, per month | Dallas companies without an IT department | Help desk, on-site and remote support, cloud, security, and a vCIO who owns the roadmap, budget, and quarterly reviews |
| Co-Managed IT | From $100 per user, per month | Teams that already have an IT manager | Strategy and support shared with your IT lead, with duties agreed in writing up front |
| MSSP Security Focus | From $40 per user, per month | Firms keeping their own IT staff | Around-the-clock security monitoring plus quarterly security reviews and strategy planning |
| Assessment and Roadmap | Fixed fee, quoted by scope | Companies wanting a plan before picking a provider | A 4 to 6 week project ending in a written roadmap and budget that you keep |
You can also buy only the plan. We sell the assessment and roadmap as a fixed-scope project. The project runs four to six weeks. We quote it after a scoping call. A 30-person office in Addison and a manufacturer with three sites in Arlington are different jobs. You can read the details on our IT consulting services page.
Other providers that sell a vCIO alone usually charge $3,000 to $10,000 a month. IT consulting rates in Dallas vary even more for hourly and project work. The price depends on the person doing the work and on whether the job includes the install.
You can also compare it to a hire. One Dallas IT manager at the BLS mean costs about $265,600 a year with benefits. Fully managed IT for 75 users at $138 costs $124,200 a year. That includes the help desk, security, and the vCIO.
We charge no hidden fees on any plan. We lock your rate for the first year. We also give a 120-day satisfaction guarantee.
The table shows where planning fits in each Dallas plan.
Send us your vendor list, your contract end dates, and a rough PC count.
We will send back a one-page estimate of the costs coming in the next 12 months. No commitment is required.
Get My Dallas IT PlanGetting Started
How Does an IT Consulting Engagement Start With Uprite?
Most engagements start with a short call about timing. Construction firms usually ask us to avoid bid weeks, and retailers ask us to stay away in November and December, so we book interviews around that.
Step 1. Pull the Records
Your device list, a Microsoft 365 license report, and twelve months of IT invoices. Those records become the starting inventory.
Step 2. Interview the Users
Thirty minutes each with the owner, the controller, and two or three department heads, covering what slows them down and what’s coming next year.
Step 3. Price and Rank the Gaps
Every gap gets a cost and a reason. Then the list is trimmed to the cash you actually have.
Step 4. Walk Ownership Through the Plan
The roadmap and quarterly budget are presented to your owners in person, and nothing is ordered until they approve it.
Step 5. Do the Work and Report Quarterly
Under fully managed IT, our engineers handle the work. Or they work with your team through co-managed IT services in Dallas. In both cases, the vCIO reports progress each quarter.
A 30-person office that runs entirely in the cloud can usually finish in a few weeks. A company with three sites, an on-premises ERP, and its own phone system will need all six, and we’ll tell you which group you’re in on the first call.
Who It Fits
Dallas Companies That Get the Most From IT Consulting
| Right fit |
|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth companies with roughly 20 to 250 employees and no full-time IT director |
| Owners and CFOs who sign off on IT spending but can’t predict next year’s purchases |
| Offices still running Windows 10, older servers, or a firewall nearing end of support |
| Companies whose IT manager spends every day on tickets with no time left to plan |
| Distributors, builders, professional firms, and healthcare practices opening a new site or moving north into Collin or Denton County |
| Businesses holding a roadmap from a previous provider that never got updated |
Do you see your company in the table? Book a short call. Have your headcount and next three renewal dates ready.
Before You Decide
What Stops Dallas Companies From Paying for IT Planning?
Four objections come up on most first calls, and here’s how we answer them.
“Our IT provider already meets with us every quarter.”
Ask for the notes from the last meeting and next year’s budget. Was the meeting about ticket counts and uptime? If so, you got a service report. A planning review prices the next four quarters and changes the plan when your headcount, a lease, or a customer requirement changes.
“We’re too small for this.”
A 30-person company still renews Microsoft 365, replaces several laptops a year, and fills out a cyber insurance form, so it still needs a plan, even a two-page one. Below about 10 people on simple cloud tools, good support matters more than a roadmap, and we’ll say so on the first call.
“We bought a roadmap before and it sat on a shelf.”
That happens when the company that writes the plan does not do the work. We give our roadmap to the engineers who will carry it out. At each quarterly review you see the finished items and the late ones, with dates.
“We’ll hire an IT director once we grow.”
Waiting makes sense. Just know that at the Dallas mean, the BLS numbers above put that hire near $265,600 a year. Your contracts will keep renewing and your PCs will keep aging in the meantime. Give your new director a current roadmap on day one and they’ll know where things stand.
Definition
What Is IT Consulting?
3 Reasons Dallas Companies Choose Uprite for IT Planning
The Same Team Plans and Builds
Your vCIO, our engineers, and the help desk all sit under one contract. Ask who owns any roadmap item and you’ll get a name.
Published Prices
$138 per user per month fully managed with a vCIO, $100 co-managed, and $40 for MSSP security, all listed on our pricing page and held for year one.
A Dallas Office Near the Galleria
Visit us at 5757 Alpha Rd, Suite 530. We make on-site visits across Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties.
What Clients Say
What Texas Clients Say About Working With Uprite
Hector and Kareem are super helpful! They are always willing to take on my computer problems even if its small. I had my mouse disappear off my screen, it was an user issue but Hector didn't make me feel small or "dumb" for this error. We love uprite!
Gerardo Sanchez was very helpful & professional. Uprite Services has great customer service and outstanding technicians. We have used them for several years and will continue our business with them.
I had been having trouble with an IT matter that I didn't think would be fixed but Arvin Ebueng from Upright took his time with me and worked with me until we were able to resolve the issue. The issue was an internal issue with the way the program was written, but Arvin came up with a great work around so that I am now able to do what I need to do at my job. Long story short, he got me access to both things that I need access to simultaneously and daily. Thanks 😊 Arvin, you are much appreciated 👏 💐 🥳.
I’ve been extremely satisfied with Uprite Services and would recommend them without hesitation. They consistently deliver reliable, high-quality work and truly feel like a true partner rather than just another vendor. A special thank you goes to Arvin Ebueng, he is always quick to respond to our needs and incredibly easy to communicate with. No matter how busy things get, Arvin makes sure we’re taken care of promptly and with a smile. His responsiveness and clear communication have made every interaction smooth and stress-free. Thank you, Arvin and the entire Uprite team, Peerless Equipment is a customer for life!
I'm am not a "tech" person, however the team at Uprite gets me through the technological side of computers and software so that I can function on a daily basis... but the most enduring quality is that they care. Special shoot out to Mary, Sergio, Eufemio, Hector, and Jeff just to name a few... I appreciate each of you and the help you give me.
Great service by Juan and Jacob. Always helping us out at Alamo City Trailer Sales. We have been using this company for over 10 years and always happy with the work they do.
FAQ
What Dallas Companies Ask First About IT Consulting
You get a current-state assessment, a 12 to 36 month roadmap, a quarterly budget, a calendar of support end dates, vendor contract reviews, and a quarterly meeting with your owners. Kimberly Ramos leads the vCIO practice that writes the plan. The Dallas engineers who already support your systems carry it out.
If you’re on our fully managed plan, nothing extra. The $138 per user per month covers it, plus the help desk and security. Want only the assessment and roadmap? We quote a fixed fee after a scoping call. Firms that sell a vCIO alone often charge $3,000 to $10,000 a month.
Ask yourself whether you need a plan or someone to keep the plan current. A consultant writes a plan, and the engagement ends. A vCIO stays, updates the roadmap, and meets with you every quarter. When you compare a vCIO vs IT consultant, ask who will own your plan in month nine.
Plan on four to six weeks. If you’re cloud-only with no servers, it goes faster. Three locations, an on-premises ERP, and your own phone system take the full six.
Replace or upgrade most of them, but check each PC first. You’ll pay $61 per device for Extended Security Updates in Year One, and the price doubles every year. Enroll late and you pay for the missed years, so a PC enrolled in Year Two costs $183. If a PC can’t run Windows 11, replace it.
It gives a Texas business with fewer than 250 employees a money reason to keep a written security program. Say your program follows a recognized framework and you have a breach. A court can’t award exemplary damages against you. The requirements go up at 20 and at 100 employees. Ask your lawyer how the law applies before we put controls on the roadmap.
Yes. Co-managed IT is designed for this, and it starts at $100 per user per month. Your staff keeps the day-to-day work. Our vCIO owns the roadmap and budget work. We put the split of duties in writing before the contract starts.
Yes. You can buy the assessment and roadmap as a separate project. When it is done, give the plan to your current provider, run it yourself, or hire us to do it.
Review it every quarter and redo the full assessment once a year. Leave a roadmap alone for nine months and it won’t match your business anymore, because your headcount, prices, and contracts keep moving.
Call (469) 699-8765, or schedule a Dallas IT planning call. Have your vendor list and contract end dates ready. We will tell you what we would take on and what we would not. Our measured average first response time is 5 minutes.
Next Step
Find Out What Next Year’s IT Will Cost
The assessment shows which machines are due for replacement, which contracts renew in the next 12 months, and what each change will cost by quarter.
It all comes back in writing. You get the inventory, the changes in ranked order, and a quarterly budget.
Your vendors will send renewal notices whether you plan or not.
See next year’s IT costs in writing before the first bill comes.
Rather talk it through first? Our Dallas office answers at (469) 699-8765.
