IT Consulting, Assessments & vCIO in Central Texas
Engineer Austin's consulting practice gives small organizations and Texas public entities across Central Texas an engineering firm's answer to what to keep, what to replace and what it will cost. It covers on-site technology assessments, a three-to-five-year modernization plan with a seven-year budget outlook, procurement advice, a virtual chief information officer (vCIO) function, AI readiness and project management, prepared and checked by our team to standards set by our licensed engineer. The reports are yours to keep whether or not you buy anything.
Advice you can act on, in writing
- Technology assessment, on site. Every device inventoried and assigned one of six dispositions, with the reasoning written beside it.
- Technology modernization plan. A three-to-five-year sequence of replacements and improvements with a seven-year budget outlook.
- Budgeting and procurement advice. Firm quotations before anything is ordered; every line marked required, recommended or optional, with the least you could reasonably spend priced next to our recommendation.
- Virtual CIO function. Quarterly business reviews, a maintained roadmap, licensing guidance and vendor evaluations.
- Project management. Migrations, office relocations and renovations, and coordination with election-system and line-of-business vendors.
- Public-entity procurement support. Qualifications and proposal responses, Form 1295 and CIQ, and terms written for Texas public bodies.
- Network health check. A read-only security posture review producing a findings register, a risk register and a 30-day sequence.
- AI readiness and automation. An AI use policy for your organization, a data-readiness review of what must be cleaned, labeled or locked down first, evaluation of Microsoft 365 Copilot where it pays off, and staff training on safe use. Advisory and scoped, under the same assess-first, written-approval process. How we use AI ourselves.
- Options on equal terms. Our option, a client-owned option and third-party vendors priced side by side, with a recommendation you are free to decline.
Wondering how your current setup measures up? Start with our free two-page checklist, Questions to ask your IT provider (PDF), and the baseline on its back page.
Every device gets a decision
We assess on site because the condition of cabling, Wi-Fi coverage, rack space and aging hardware cannot be judged over a remote session. Every workstation, server, network device, printer and peripheral is inventoried with its age and condition, and security, compatibility and end-of-support concerns are ranked by risk.
The report also sets a standardized configuration for each staff role, so future purchases are consistent and spares interchangeable. Where the network can be improved on the same visit, we do it with your sign-off and the as-found configuration saved first. The assessment is a fixed-fee engagement, and the report is yours to keep.
The six dispositions
- Retain
- Keep as is; it does the job and is supported.
- Upgrade
- Extend its life with memory, storage or firmware.
- Reassign
- Move it to a role or user it fits better.
- Repurpose
- Give it a new job, such as a configured spare.
- Replace
- Buy new, with the reason stated and a quotation attached.
- Retire
- Remove it, with secure data destruction before disposal.
The quantity under Replace may be zero. Nothing is bought before it is justified.
Plan, budget, advise and manage
Three to five years, with a seven-year outlook
Device-by-device replacements with reasoning and cost, replacement cycles of four to five years for computers and five to seven for network gear, the Microsoft 365 sequence with approval gates, backup posture, prioritized security improvements, and costs by year with a stated inflation assumption, so a governing body can budget rather than react.
Firm numbers before anything is ordered
Budgetary figures are for planning; before an order, each becomes a firm written quotation with every line marked required, recommended or optional. Every proposal also prices the least you could reasonably spend for a working, secure result. Larger work is proposed in phases that stand alone, so a board can award part of it. Hardware and licenses are quoted in writing, or you may buy direct.
Executive judgment without the executive salary
The standing advisory relationship behind the Managed Service Program: quarterly business reviews, a roadmap kept current, plain-language guidance on Microsoft 365 licensing, evaluations of vendors and line-of-business systems, and an annual written assessment timed ahead of your budget cycle. Options are presented on equal terms, including competitors' offerings, and we say plainly when the cheaper path is sound.
Migrations, moves and renovations
Microsoft 365 and server migrations with the source untouched until the copy is verified, temporary networks for buildings under renovation and recommissioning afterward, network relocation for office moves, and coordination with election-system, software and carrier vendors so one accountable party owns the schedule. Project labor is quoted as a fixed fee with travel included or billed time and materials portal to portal, whichever works best for you. We stand behind our work and correct our own mistakes at no charge, under the terms of our written agreement.
Built for Texas cities, counties and districts
We have contracted with Texas public entities for more than a decade. The paperwork is part of the service, not an obstacle to it.
- Responses to requests for qualifications and proposals in the format your rules require
- Texas Ethics Commission Form 1295 filed before your governing body votes; Form CIQ on request
- Texas public bodies receive terms written for public-entity requirements, set out in a written agreement
- Certificates of insurance and a W-9 on request; registered in SAM.gov
- Board-meeting support: a short summary for the board packet, a check of staff's own figures against our quotation, and attendance in person, by Teams or by phone; device-option and licensing memos written for a non-technical audience
- Phased proposals that let a board award part of the work
- Every product proposed to a Texas public body checked against DIR's prohibited-technologies list (Government Code Chapter 620) before it is quoted
- Records-retention and .gov domain guidance
Assess, plan, approve, deliver
Assess
An on-site visit inventories every device and measures the network as found. Where the facts need a longer baseline, we gather them first, such as a year of usage records before recommending a replacement system.
Report and plan
Within ten business days you receive the assessment report, the modernization plan and a firm quotation, prepared and checked by our team to standards set by our licensed engineer. Each option is priced independently with pros and cons, next to the least you could reasonably spend.
Approve and procure
You approve scope in writing, at your pace and with no time pressure. Only then is anything ordered.
Deliver and review
Projects are delivered against the plan with as-built documentation. Quarterly reviews track progress, and the annual assessment refreshes the seven-year outlook before your next budget cycle.
How AI speeds this up for you
AI assistants in our approval-gated tooling cross-check the inventory against the modernization plan, research vendor support dates and licensing changes, and draft the report sections that are transcription rather than judgment, so the written assessment reaches you sooner and more complete at the same fixed fee. The dispositions and recommendations are our team's, checked before the report is issued. How we use AI.
Kept current. A modernization plan is not a one-time document. Each annual assessment re-plans against what changed in your organization and in the market, from end-of-support dates, Microsoft licensing and security baselines to Wi-Fi 7, cellular and satellite failover, new state training rules and AI tools, so the budget you approve next year reflects this year's facts.
Deliverables you own
- Written assessment report with per-device inventory, age, condition and disposition
- Standardized configuration specification for each staff role
- Technology modernization plan with the seven-year budget outlook
- Firm hardware and licensing quotation with required, recommended and optional lines
- Findings register, risk register and 30-day sequence from any health check
- Quarterly review notes, the annual infrastructure assessment and an equipment replacement-priority sheet for the budget cycle
- Project as-built documentation, with document control and revision history
Recommendations with a license behind them
Engineer Austin is Texas Registered Engineering Firm F‑15739. Consulting here is independent technical review on engineering principles: every assessment, modernization plan and procurement recommendation is prepared and checked by our team to standards set by our licensed engineer; options are weighed against stated design criteria, and the reasoning behind each recommendation is written down with its assumptions. Reports carry document control, and the written plan is yours whether you buy or not.
Who this is for: cities, counties, groundwater and utility districts budgeting a year ahead; water and wastewater operators; medical practices; schools, churches and nonprofits; professional offices; and growing businesses that need a plan before they need another vendor. For the full sequence from first visit to steady-state support, see how we work.
Consulting and assessments, answered plainly
Do we have to be a managed client to get an assessment?
No. The technology assessment is quoted as a fixed fee on its own. Many clients start there and decide afterward whether they want the Managed Service Program, a project, or simply a plan they can hand to another provider. The report, inventory and modernization plan are yours regardless of what you buy next.
Will you recommend hardware we do not need?
No. The hardware quantity in an assessment may be zero. We upgrade before we replace and repurpose before we discard, and we stagger replacements so capital spending does not spike in one year. Every line in a quotation is marked required, recommended or optional, so you can remove any item without renegotiating the rest.
How do you price hardware and licenses?
With a firm written quotation before anything is ordered; budgetary figures are for planning only. Our handling covers procurement, configuration, deployment and warranty coordination, and you may buy direct instead.
What does the virtual CIO function include?
Quarterly business reviews, a maintained technology roadmap, plain-language licensing guidance, vendor and option evaluations and an annual written infrastructure assessment timed ahead of your budget cycle. It is part of the Managed Service Program and available separately for organizations that are not managed clients. You get an engineering firm's judgment without hiring an executive.
Can you help us adopt AI safely?
Yes, as a scoped advisory engagement. We write an AI use policy for your organization, review which records must be cleaned, labeled or locked down before any AI tool touches them, evaluate Microsoft 365 Copilot where it would pay for itself, and train staff on safe use. Licensing goes through our Cloud Solution Provider relationship. Nothing we deploy changes your systems without a person approving each change.
Can you work within our public purchasing rules?
Yes. We respond to requests for qualifications and proposals in the format you require, file Texas Ethics Commission Form 1295 before your governing body votes, complete Form CIQ on request, and furnish certificates of insurance and a W-9 on request. Texas public bodies receive terms written for public-entity requirements. We are registered in SAM.gov.
Start with a written assessment.
Tell us what you have and what is not working. Someone from our team, not a salesperson, replies within one business day by email or phone, and brings in our engineer when your request needs one. The assessment report is yours to keep whether or not you buy anything.