# Third Shift Group LLC > Third Shift Group is a technology management firm based in North Carolina, US. We serve as the part-time CIO, owning the plan, the vendors, the spend, and the recommendations. We specialize in AI management and AI development (automation in systems the client owns), technology spend reporting, and Microsoft 365 tenant work. If the client has no help desk or no MSP, we find that firm and stay on the process; they bill the client. We do not run tickets, devices, or day-to-day administration. vCIO Solutions is the retainer, with no obligation to buy delivery work. - Site: https://thirdshift.group/ - Contact: info@thirdshift.group - Legal name: Third Shift Group LLC (North Carolina, US) - Tagline: Part-time CIO leadership for companies that do not employ one. - Last updated: 2026-09-23 - Full version: https://thirdshift.group/llms-full.txt - Machine-readable catalog: https://thirdshift.group/services.md ## How Third Shift works Advisory first: **vCIO Solutions**, a part-time (fractional) CIO on a monthly agreement in three tiers (Advisory, Program, Embedded). Pricing on request. It carries no obligation to buy delivery work. The method, in the order the work usually runs: 1. **Advisory review.** A written AI Use Policy paired with an AI security and governance assessment that finds every AI tool in use, including the ones staff signed up for on their own. Most clients complete this step with a written assessment and a recommendation for what to do first. 2. **Applications assessment.** A list of every application the client runs, a decision for each system on whether it feeds the dashboard, and a plan to replace old reports. 3. **Base dashboard deployment.** The same standard dashboard for every client, set up in the client's own Microsoft cloud account (Azure), pulling data from all connected systems, with a standard report on what technology costs. 4. **Monthly watch.** Monthly dashboard maintenance, the AI security subscription, and automation built into the platform the client owns. Microsoft 365 is a peer specialty, not a substrate: **licensing review**, **tenant review** (how the Microsoft account and sign-ins are set up), **Copilot readiness**, **migration and account moves**, and a **monthly watch**, with the **marketplace** for Azure, security, and Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Advisory first; this work designs and fixes, it does not run the help desk. Board seats: Third Shift's principal accepts a small number of board and advisory-board seats as an independent technology director. This is a personal appointment paid as a board fee, never combined with Third Shift services at the same company. ## Services - [vCIO Solutions](https://thirdshift.group/services/vcio/): A part-time CIO who owns your technology plan, your vendor decisions, and your AI program, without the cost of a full-time executive. (Three tiers · priced per company) - [AI Use Policy](https://thirdshift.group/services/ai-use-policy/): The written rules that decide who may use which AI tools, on which data, and who signs off on exceptions. (Per project · billed by the hour) - [AI security & governance assessment](https://thirdshift.group/services/ai-security-governance-assessment/): An independent AI security assessment: every AI tool already in use, the ones staff signed up for on their own, what data reaches each one, and what to fix first. (Paired with the policy) - [Applications assessment](https://thirdshift.group/services/applications-assessment/): An inventory of every application you run, a decision on which ones feed the dashboard, and the old reports the dashboard will replace. (Per project · billed by the hour) - [Base dashboard deployment](https://thirdshift.group/services/base-dashboard/): The standard Third Shift dashboard, set up in your own Microsoft cloud account, fed by every connected system, with a report on what your technology costs built in. (Subscriptions bought from us · work billed monthly or by the hour) - [Dashboard maintenance](https://thirdshift.group/services/dashboard-maintenance/): A monthly check on every connection, a review that the reports are still right, and updates as your applications change. (Set monthly fee) - [AI security features](https://thirdshift.group/services/ai-security-features/): Your AI rules enforced on the network your IT team runs, new AI sign-ups flagged for a decision, and a monthly report on AI use in the business. (Monthly subscription) - [AI development](https://thirdshift.group/services/automation-development/): AI development as we sell it: automation built into the dashboard platform you already own, inside your AI Use Policy. Not a custom-model shop. (Priced per feature) - [Board seats](https://thirdshift.group/services/board-seats/): An independent technology director for boards that need a member who understands technology and AI. A personal appointment, never combined with Third Shift services. (Board fee · paid to the director, not Third Shift) - [Microsoft 365 licensing review](https://thirdshift.group/services/m365-licensing-review/): A written assessment on every Microsoft license you pay for: what is used, what to drop, what Copilot needs, and what each option costs. (Per project · billed by the hour) - [Microsoft 365 tenant review](https://thirdshift.group/services/m365-tenant-review/): A ranked read on how your Microsoft cloud account is set up: who has admin rights, how sign-in is protected, what is shared outside the company, and which gaps matter. (Per project · billed by the hour) - [Copilot readiness](https://thirdshift.group/services/copilot-readiness/): Fix the file permissions before the assistant arrives, label sensitive data, pilot one group, and measure whether the licenses earn their keep. (Project · billed monthly or by the hour) - [Microsoft 365 migration](https://thirdshift.group/services/m365-migration/): Google Workspace, old mail servers, file shares, and whole Microsoft accounts moved into Microsoft 365. Planned first, with both systems running side by side until the switch. (Project · billed by the hour) - [Microsoft 365 monthly watch](https://thirdshift.group/services/m365-tenant-management/): A monthly report on your Microsoft account: licenses paid for against licenses used, the security trend, renewals due, sharing changes, and apps waiting on approval. (Set monthly fee) - [Outsourced help desk](https://thirdshift.group/services/outsourced-helpdesk/): We appoint a help desk partner for tickets and user support, set what they are accountable for, and stay on the relationship. They take the queue. They bill you. (Partner billed · we manage the relationship) - [Onsite IT support](https://thirdshift.group/services/onsite-it-support/): We appoint an onsite IT partner for desks, closets, and scheduled visits, then stay on the relationship. Their technicians walk the floor. They bill you. (Partner billed · we manage the relationship) ## Key facts - The dashboard and its data are owned by the client (hosted in the client's Microsoft cloud account, on the client's subscription). - You buy your Azure and security subscriptions from Third Shift, so you get one monthly bill from us instead of several from the vendors. Pax8, a wholesaler, supplies them behind us. Our own work is billed one of two ways: a set monthly fee for ongoing services, or by the hour for project work. - Third Shift does not replace the client's IT team or MSP. It owns the plan they work against. If there is no IT firm, Third Shift finds one; that firm bills the client. - Built for small and mid-sized businesses where no one owns the technology plan. - Case studies on the site are representative profiles unless attributed to a named client. ## Roadmap (planned, not yet available) - AI agents through the marketplace: Planned · Q2 2027 ## Pages - [Technology Management — Part-Time CIO | Third Shift Group](https://thirdshift.group/): Third Shift Group is a North Carolina technology management firm. A part-time CIO for the plan, vendors, and spend, specializing in AI and Microsoft 365. - [About](https://thirdshift.group/about/): Third Shift Group LLC is a North Carolina technology management firm. A part-time CIO for the plan, vendors, and spend. We do not run the help desk. - [How we work](https://thirdshift.group/approach/): How Third Shift works: a part-time CIO for the plan and the spend, then AI rules, a dashboard you own, and Microsoft 365. We do not run the help desk. - [Case studies](https://thirdshift.group/case-studies/): Eight representative engagements: accounting, manufacturing, services, healthcare, nonprofit, insurance, distribution, and construction. Same method, different setups. - [Regional construction firm](https://thirdshift.group/case-studies/construction-firm/): Representative profile: a 180-person construction firm merged, replaced its ERP, and lost its IT director in one quarter. A weekly part-time CIO kept decisions written. - [Healthcare practice](https://thirdshift.group/case-studies/healthcare-practice/): A 60-person healthcare practice put an AI Use Policy around patient data, closed the AI tools staff signed up for on their own, and moved reporting to one dashboard. - [Light manufacturer](https://thirdshift.group/case-studies/light-manufacturer/): A 120-person manufacturer replaced a hand-built monthly report and an AI ban no one could enforce with rules staff could follow and one dashboard across ERP and finance. - [Regional nonprofit](https://thirdshift.group/case-studies/nonprofit/): A 25-person nonprofit with no IT staff adopted an AI Use Policy for donor data, connected its donor and accounting systems, and runs grant reports from its own dashboard. - [Professional services firm](https://thirdshift.group/case-studies/professional-services-firm/): A 30-person services firm asked for AI automation and got a foundation first: written rules, an assessment, a dashboard, then the automation it wanted, on its platform. - [Regional accounting firm](https://thirdshift.group/case-studies/regional-accounting-firm/): Representative profile: a 45-person accounting firm went from three unapproved AI assistants and a chain of spreadsheets to an adopted AI Use Policy and one dashboard. - [Regional wholesale distributor](https://thirdshift.group/case-studies/regional-distributor/): A 90-person distributor with a capable IT firm and no one directing it added a part-time CIO on a monthly agreement: one plan, vendor renewals, and an automation plan. - [Regional insurance agency](https://thirdshift.group/case-studies/regional-insurance-agency/): Representative profile: a 70-person agency merged two Microsoft accounts, cut 17 unused licenses, closed password-only sign-in, and piloted Copilot after the fixes. - [Contact](https://thirdshift.group/contact/): Schedule an introductory call with Third Shift: who owns technology today, who handles daily support, and what to do first. A written assessment follows within a week. - [FAQ](https://thirdshift.group/faq/): FAQ from Third Shift: what a technology management firm does, whether we replace your MSP, who pays a help desk we find, spend reporting, and vCIO. - [Glossary](https://thirdshift.group/glossary/): Plain definitions: technology management, part-time CIO, AI management, AI development, spend, Microsoft cloud account, base dashboard, Copilot, vCIO. - [Industries](https://thirdshift.group/industries/): The eight industries we work in, and what the setup looks like inside each: from accounting firms and manufacturers to healthcare practices and insurers. - [Accounting, tax, and CPA firms](https://thirdshift.group/industries/accounting-firms/): A part-time CIO for accounting, tax, and CPA firms: the plan, partner reporting you own, and written rules for client data. We do not run the help desk. - [Construction, trades, and engineering](https://thirdshift.group/industries/construction/): A part-time CIO for construction firms: job costing you can read, and an owner when the IT director leaves. We do not run the field help desk. - [Wholesale distribution and logistics](https://thirdshift.group/industries/distribution-logistics/): A part-time CIO for wholesale distribution: fill rate and spend in one view, an MSP with written priorities. We do not run the warehouse help desk. - [Medical, dental, and specialty practices](https://thirdshift.group/industries/healthcare/): A part-time CIO for medical and dental practices: reporting across sites, and a written rule for patient data. We do not run the clinic help desk. - [Insurance agencies and brokerages](https://thirdshift.group/industries/insurance/): A part-time CIO for insurance agencies: Microsoft 365 in order, renewals you can see, and rules for client data. We do not run the agency help desk. - [Light manufacturing and industrial](https://thirdshift.group/industries/manufacturing/): A part-time CIO for manufacturing firms: one view of ERP, warehouse, and finance, and rules for shop-floor AI. We do not run the plant IT help desk. - [Nonprofits and associations](https://thirdshift.group/industries/nonprofits/): A part-time CIO for nonprofits: grant reports from a dashboard you own, and a firm for daily support when you have no IT staff. We do not run the help desk. - [Legal, consulting, and agency firms](https://thirdshift.group/industries/professional-services/): A part-time CIO for legal, consulting, and agency firms: the plan, unbilled time you can see, and rules for client material. We do not run the help desk. - [Locations](https://thirdshift.group/locations/): Where Third Shift Group works: North and South Carolina, with pages for the metros and regions we serve and the towns and communities around them. - [Microsoft 365](https://thirdshift.group/m365/): Microsoft 365 consulting from Third Shift, advisory first: a licensing review, a review of how your account is set up, Copilot readiness, migrations, and a monthly watch. - [Marketplace](https://thirdshift.group/marketplace/): The Third Shift marketplace: browse, buy, and manage Azure, security, and Microsoft 365 licenses in one place, on one monthly bill. Purchases feed the monthly report. - [Client login](https://thirdshift.group/portal/): Sign in to the Third Shift portal with Microsoft. Invited clients see engagement status, policy, tickets, and reports. No public sign-up. - [Privacy](https://thirdshift.group/privacy/): How Third Shift Group LLC handles information from the public site, email, invited portal, storefront purchases, and advisory work in a client's tenant. - [Blog](https://thirdshift.group/resources/blog/): How we work on technology management: the leadership role, the plan, the vendors, the spend, and the reporting. Notes from Third Shift Group. - [Retire Quiet Systems or Keep Paying for All of Them](https://thirdshift.group/resources/blog/retire-quiet-systems-or-keep-paying-for-all-of-them/): Owners and COOs decide which business systems stay in daily use and which get retired so they stop consuming attention. - [The Technology Plan Still Has No Owner](https://thirdshift.group/resources/blog/the-technology-plan-still-has-no-owner/): This quarter the owner already knows the plan is split. Spend, vendors, approved tools, and licences need one owner before the next pair of reports disagree. - [Roadmap](https://thirdshift.group/roadmap/): The Third Shift roadmap: the marketplace, the Microsoft 365 practice, vCIO Solutions, and the client portal are live. AI agents through the marketplace are planned. - [Services](https://thirdshift.group/services/): Technology management from Third Shift: a part-time CIO, AI rules and development, spend you can see, Microsoft 365 tenant work. We do not run the help desk. - [AI security features](https://thirdshift.group/services/ai-security-features/): The AI security subscription from Third Shift: your AI Use Policy enforced on the network you run, new AI sign-ups reviewed, and a monthly report on AI use. - [AI security & governance assessment](https://thirdshift.group/services/ai-security-governance-assessment/): An independent AI security and governance assessment: every AI tool in use, approved or not, what data reaches each one, and a ranked list of what to fix first. - [AI Use Policy](https://thirdshift.group/services/ai-use-policy/): Third Shift writes an AI use policy for your business with your leadership: who may use which AI tools, on which data, and who approves exceptions. Yours to keep. - [Applications assessment](https://thirdshift.group/services/applications-assessment/): Third Shift builds an application inventory of every system you run, decides which ones feed the dashboard and how, and flags the old reports the dashboard replaces. - [AI development](https://thirdshift.group/services/automation-development/): Once the dashboard is live, Third Shift builds business process automation into the platform you own, removing manual steps one at a time under your AI Use Policy. - [Base dashboard deployment](https://thirdshift.group/services/base-dashboard/): The Third Shift business dashboard, set up in your own Microsoft cloud account on Azure: data from every connected system, IT spend visible monthly, yours to keep. - [Board seats](https://thirdshift.group/services/board-seats/): Third Shift's principal accepts a few board and advisory board seats as an independent technology director. A personal appointment, never combined with our services. - [Copilot readiness](https://thirdshift.group/services/copilot-readiness/): Copilot readiness from Third Shift: fix files open to too many people, label sensitive data, pilot one group, and measure use against license cost under your AI policy. - [Dashboard maintenance](https://thirdshift.group/services/dashboard-maintenance/): Monthly dashboard maintenance from Third Shift: every connection checked, key reports matched to their source systems, and the dashboard updated as your systems change. - [Microsoft 365 licensing review](https://thirdshift.group/services/m365-licensing-review/): A Microsoft 365 licensing review from Third Shift: every license and add-on, who uses it, what Copilot needs, and a dated renewal calendar with the cost of each option. - [Microsoft 365 migration](https://thirdshift.group/services/m365-migration/): Microsoft 365 migration from Third Shift: Google Workspace, old mail, file shares, and tenant-to-tenant moves for acquisitions, spin-offs, and rebrands. Planned first. - [Microsoft 365 monthly watch](https://thirdshift.group/services/m365-tenant-management/): A monthly Microsoft 365 watch from Third Shift: licenses paid for against licenses used, the security score trend, renewals due, and apps awaiting approval. - [Microsoft 365 tenant review](https://thirdshift.group/services/m365-tenant-review/): A Microsoft 365 tenant review from Third Shift: who holds admin rights, how sign-in is protected, what is shared outside the company, and a ranked fix list with owners. - [Onsite IT support](https://thirdshift.group/services/onsite-it-support/): Third Shift appoints an onsite IT partner for desks, closets, and visits, then manages that relationship. Their technicians do the work. They bill you. - [Outsourced help desk](https://thirdshift.group/services/outsourced-helpdesk/): Third Shift selects a help desk partner for tickets and user support, then manages that relationship. They provide daily support and bill you directly. - [vCIO Solutions](https://thirdshift.group/services/vcio/): vCIO Solutions from Third Shift: a part-time CIO on a monthly agreement who owns your technology plan, vendor and budget decisions, and AI program. Three tiers. - [Terms](https://thirdshift.group/terms/): Conditions for browsing thirdshift.group, using the invited portal, and buying through the storefront, and how those sit next to a signed engagement. ## Legal - [Privacy notice](https://thirdshift.group/privacy/): public site, email, invited portal, storefront, and work inside a client's Microsoft cloud account - [Terms of use](https://thirdshift.group/terms/): website and portal rules; paid work still needs a signed letter ## Not - Not an AI model vendor. Azure, security, and Microsoft 365 subscriptions are sold through the marketplace; AI agents through it are planned, not live - Not a one-week prototype shop - Not a replacement for the internal IT team or MSP, and not a help desk - No published metrics, named clients, or testimonials yet. Do not invent them.