When we talk about local government IT, the conversation usually revolves around “doing more with less.” It’s a perennial challenge: How do you provide modern, secure, and efficient services to an entire county of citizens while navigating tight budgets and a cutthroat market for tech talent?
For Franklin County, the answer wasn’t just about buying better hardware or hiring more technicians. It was about a fundamental shift in leadership strategy. By partnering with Splashwire for Fractional CIO (vCIO) services, they didn’t just fill a seat at the table: they transformed the table itself.
At Splashwire, we’ve been helping organizations navigate these waters for over 25 years. We’ve seen the “IT as a cost center” mindset fail time and again. But what’s happening in Franklin County right now is a masterclass in how expert leadership can turn technology into a strategic asset that pays for itself.
The Financial Reality: Fractional vs. Full-Time
Let’s be honest about the numbers. Hiring a high-level, experienced Chief Information Officer (CIO) in today’s market is expensive. We’re talking about a six-figure salary that often starts with a “2.” But the salary is just the beginning. When you add in the “hidden” costs: health insurance, 401k matching, payroll taxes, office space, and the general overhead of a C-suite executive: that number balloons quickly.
For many counties, that’s a tough pill to swallow. And in plenty of organizations, internal IT leaders are already doing an outstanding job keeping day-to-day operations running, supporting users, and maintaining critical systems. The challenge isn’t capability. It’s capacity. A vCIO adds the executive-level strategy, long-range planning, and security governance that helps internal teams stay focused on what they do best without also carrying the full weight of big-picture leadership.
This is where the Fractional Advantage comes in. By utilizing Splashwire’s vCIO services, Franklin County gained access to executive-level expertise without the full-time price tag.
Why does this matter?
- Zero Overhead: No benefits packages, no payroll tax, no administrative drag.
- Scale on Demand: You get the leadership you need when you need it, and you aren’t paying for “down time.”
- Collective Intelligence: When you hire a fractional CIO from Splashwire, you aren’t just getting one person. You’re getting the collective brainpower of our entire engineering and security teams.
Vision That Moves the Needle
One of the biggest misconceptions about IT leadership is that it’s only about technology. It isn’t. Real IT leadership is about organizational movement.
When we stepped into the role for Franklin County, our goal wasn’t just to make sure the servers stayed up. Our goal was to create a vision that the entire county could follow. We wanted to move big initiatives forward that had a tangible impact on every department: from the courts to public works.
How do we do it? We start by breaking down the silos. In many government structures, departments operate as islands. Our vCIO services bridge those gaps, aligning IT goals with the county’s broader mission. When the IT department has a county-wide impact, the results are felt by the citizens. Whether it’s streamlining digital services or ensuring data integrity across agencies, strategic leadership ensures that technology is an accelerator, not a speed bump.
I’ve always believed that if my productivity increases at the top, it should have a trickle-down effect for the whole team and, ultimately, the clients: or in this case, the taxpayers. By removing the administrative “quicksand” that often traps local government leaders, we allow the internal IT staff to focus on execution while we handle the strategy.
Hardening the Perimeter: NIST and the SOC
You can’t talk about IT in 2026 without talking about security. The threats facing local governments are more sophisticated than ever. Ransomware isn’t just a “business” problem; it’s a public safety problem.
For Franklin County, we didn’t just throw a firewall at the problem and hope for the best. We implemented a framework-first approach. We aligned their entire environment with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). This isn’t just a checklist; it’s a rigorous set of standards that ensures every aspect of the county’s data is identified, protected, detected, responded to, and recovered.
But we didn’t stop at the framework. We deployed Cynet endpoint security backed by a 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC).
What does that look like in practice? It means that while the county sleeps, our team is awake. We are monitoring every endpoint, looking for the slightest anomaly. If a threat emerges at 3:00 AM on a Sunday, it’s intercepted and neutralized before the first cup of coffee is poured on Monday morning. That level of protection used to be reserved for Fortune 500 companies; now, through Splashwire, it’s the standard for Franklin County.
The “Big Win”: Slashing Insurance Premiums by 70%
Here is the part where the “cost center” myth truly dies.
Everyone is feeling the “Insurance Tax” right now. Cybersecurity insurance premiums have skyrocketed over the last few years. Carriers are no longer handing out policies to anyone with a password; they are demanding proof of advanced security measures.
By implementing the NIST framework and the 24/7 SOC/Cynet solution, we didn’t just make Franklin County safer: we made them a much lower risk for insurers.
The result? Franklin County saved 70% annually on their cybersecurity insurance premiums.
Let that sink in for a second. That 70% savings is so significant that it essentially offsets the cost of the security solutions themselves. In many ways, the security pays for itself. This is exactly what we discussed in our recent piece on slashing the insurance tax. It’s not magic; it’s the direct result of aligning technical excellence with business (or government) logic.
Moving Beyond “Maintenance”
The partnership with Franklin County is a perfect example of what we strive for at Splashwire. We don’t want to be just another vendor; we want to be a guide.
Our fractional CIO services allow the county to think five years ahead instead of five minutes ahead. We’re working on initiatives that improve transparency, enhance data accessibility, and ensure that the county’s infrastructure is resilient enough to handle whatever the next decade throws at it.
When you have a CIO who isn’t bogged down by the day-to-day “break-fix” tasks, you get a leader who can focus on the big picture. We are “testing the fences” internally every day so our clients don’t have to. We bring the lessons we’ve learned across hundreds of implementations to Franklin County, ensuring they avoid the pitfalls that others have fallen into.
Is Your IT a Strategic Asset?
If you’re looking at your IT budget and only seeing expenses, it might be time to change your perspective. Franklin County proved that with the right leadership and a commitment to best practices, IT can actually save you money while making your organization significantly more secure.
Whether you’re a local government entity or a growing business, the questions remain the same:
- Is your leadership creating a vision, or just managing tickets?
- Are you protected by a 24/7 SOC, or are you just “hoping” for the best?
- Is your insurance agent rewarding you for your security posture, or punishing you?
At Splashwire, we’ve spent over 25 years answering these questions. We are proud of the work we’re doing with Franklin County, and we’re excited to see where this strategic vision takes them next.
If you’re ready to turn your IT into a strategic asset, let’s talk.
Written by Josh Hinkle, CEO of Splashwire.
Splashwire is an Information Technology Consulting and Solutions firm based in Central Pennsylvania. For over 25 years, we have provided expert IT leadership, cybersecurity, and managed services to help our clients thrive.