INDEPENDENT TECHNOLOGY & CYBER RISK REVIEWS
Get the evidence you need before making your next technology decision.
When leadership needs more than a conversation, Beech Tree provides independently scoped Technology & Cyber Risk Reviews that clarify technology ownership, vendor accountability, cybersecurity governance, access, data protection, continuity, and operational dependencies—without selling products, managed services, or a provider change.
Request Consultation AvailabilityWe'll confirm fit and provide secure scheduling and payment options before requesting supporting materials.
Helpful to have ready: a high-level vendor list, your IT-support model, known concerns, pending decisions, and any existing policies, risk documentation, or prior review materials. Please do not send passwords, credentials, account numbers, client personal information, security logs, system configurations, contracts, or other sensitive information through the website form.
Led by Sterling Unan, CISSP — 25+ years in financial-services technology and operations · Independent, product-neutral advisory
Start with a Technology & Cyber Risk Consultation
$495 fixed fee · 60–90 minutes
A leadership-level diagnostic—not a technical audit or penetration test.
A focused conversation to clarify the immediate question and determine whether broader evidence or a full Technology & Cyber Risk Review would be useful.
YOUR CONSULTATION INCLUDES:
- A focused 60–90 minute leadership-level discussion
- An immediate Technology & Cyber Risk Snapshot
- A concise written Consultation Report within three business days
- Practical direction that can stand on its own
No obligation to purchase a broader review or enter an ongoing advisory arrangement.
Beech Tree does not sell technology products, managed IT services, or cybersecurity tools.
WHEN A DEEPER REVIEW HELPS
When leadership needs evidence—not just more vendor assurances.
Many organizations begin with a focused consultation. A deeper independent review may be useful when leadership is making a significant technology decision, preparing for a major vendor renewal or change, responding to insurer or client questions, considering growth or acquisition, or unable to independently verify what vendors report about the environment.
- Multiple vendors, cloud services, and internal or external administrators with unclear accountability
- Major technology, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365, continuity, vendor, or budget decisions requiring stronger evidence
- Questions about access, ownership, contracts, data protection, recovery, or operational dependencies that cannot be resolved in one leadership conversation
- A need for a written findings report, prioritized recommendations, and a practical plan for leadership and vendors
A full Technology & Cyber Risk Review is separately scoped and priced after the initial consultation. It is discussed only when additional evidence, broader environmental visibility, or more detailed vendor-accountability analysis would be useful.
Discuss a Full Risk ReviewREVIEW READINESS CHECKLIST
7 Questions Leadership Should Be Able to Answer Before a Major Technology Decision
If any of these questions are unclear, a focused consultation can help determine whether a broader independent review is warranted.
Not sure how your organization would answer these questions? Start with a Technology & Cyber Risk Consultation. It can clarify the immediate question and determine whether a broader independent review would be useful.
Request Consultation AvailabilityYour current technology and cybersecurity providers remain part of the solution. The consultation gives leadership clearer questions, ownership, and next steps.
WHAT A FULL REVIEW PROVIDES
Independent evidence for leadership decisions.
A full Technology & Cyber Risk Review is a separately scoped engagement. The precise work depends on the organization, its operating model, vendor environment, critical systems, and the decision leadership needs to make.
During the review
- Leadership and vendor discussions focused on the questions that need evidence
- Review of agreed high-level documentation, responsibilities, and operating practices through secure channels
- Identification of accountability, ownership, access, risk, continuity, and vendor-dependency questions requiring clarification
- Practical discussion with leadership about priorities, constraints, and decision points
What leadership receives
- A written findings report with prioritized recommendations
- A vendor-accountability matrix for leadership
- A technology, cybersecurity, and operational-resilience summary
- A practical plan with vendor questions, ownership, priorities, and next steps
- A clearer distinction between what is verified, what is vendor-reported, and what requires further action
Full reviews are independently scoped and priced after the initial consultation. They are not penetration tests, vulnerability scans, technical configuration audits, legal opinions, formal compliance certifications, product proposals, or managed-services sales engagements.
THE WHOLE PICTURE
Your vendors are not your technology strategy.
Your MSP, cloud platforms, cybersecurity tools, Microsoft 365 partner, backup provider, communications providers, and business applications may each manage an important part of the environment. But no individual vendor owns the whole picture. Leadership remains responsible for understanding technology, cybersecurity, access, data protection, continuity, vendor accountability, and investment priorities together.
Managed IT provider
Devices, support, selected security operations, and day-to-day technology support.
Microsoft 365 and cloud platforms
Identity, email, collaboration, files, business applications, billing, domains, and service availability.
Cybersecurity, backup, communications, and business-application vendors
Security tools, backup, identity, communications, client/customer platforms, line-of-business systems, and supporting services.
Your organization
Leadership, governance, business priorities, risk decisions, budgets, client or customer commitments, continuity, and accountability.
A broader review is most useful when leadership needs a clear, independent picture across these interdependent areas. The goal is not to manage every technical detail internally. It is to know the right questions, verify critical assumptions, assign ownership clearly, and make informed decisions.
A Review Looks Beyond the Office Network
Cloud services, remote work, personal and mobile devices, third-party vendors, administrator access, business applications, data-sharing practices, client/customer communications, and AI tools can all affect technology risk and operational resilience. A full review considers the operating environment—not only the office network.
INDEPENDENCE
Independent advice. Practical direction.
Independent perspective
Beech Tree does not sell technology products, managed IT services, cybersecurity tools, or vendor contracts. Recommendations are not shaped by product quotas, implementation revenue, managed-services revenue, or vendor referral fees.
Built for leadership
The review is designed for owners, executives, managing partners, administrators, and other decision-makers who need stronger evidence for technology, cybersecurity, vendor, continuity, and investment decisions.
Actionable without pressure
The consultation and any review stand on their own. There is no requirement to change providers, purchase products, or enter an ongoing advisory arrangement.
EXPERIENCE
Experience that connects technology evidence to leadership decisions.
Sterling Unan, CISSP, brings more than 40 years of technology and cybersecurity experience, including more than 25 years supporting financial-services technology and operations. Beech Tree helps leadership teams translate technical complexity into practical questions, clearer accountability, and decisions that fit the organization's operating reality.
Led by Sterling Unan, CISSP, with 25+ years in financial-services technology and operations and more than 40 years of technology and cybersecurity experience.
Financial Services Technology & Operations
Experience supporting technology leadership, security, vendor relationships, business continuity, and the operational systems that support investment and client-service functions.
Technology Review Context
Practical understanding of technology environments, cloud and vendor dependencies, sensitive information, access, business continuity, operating constraints, and the leadership decisions affected by them.
Cybersecurity, Governance & Resilience
CISSP-led cybersecurity experience, including identity security, Microsoft 365 governance, vendor oversight, backup and recovery, incident readiness, and business-continuity planning.
Independent Advisory Discipline
Experience improving vendor accountability, evaluating technology services, reducing unnecessary spend, and giving leadership practical information for better decisions.
Led by Sterling Unan, CISSP, with 25+ years in financial-services technology and operations and more than 40 years of technology and cybersecurity experience.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
A review provides a decision basis—not a forced sales path.
The findings may be sufficient for leadership to work with its existing vendors and internal team. If additional work would materially help, Beech Tree can discuss separately scoped support.
Work with existing providers
Use the findings, vendor questions, ownership map, and priorities to guide current MSPs, cloud providers, cybersecurity vendors, and internal teams.
Focused follow-up advisory
Discuss a limited, separately scoped advisory engagement when leadership needs help resolving a specific decision, vendor issue, governance question, or technology change.
Fractional Technology Leadership
Consider ongoing independent executive guidance only when the organization needs recurring technology direction, vendor oversight, governance, planning, and leadership reporting.
The organization decides whether any further work is useful. There is no requirement to change providers or enter an ongoing arrangement.
EXAMPLE FINDING
Example finding
EXAMPLE: A SMALL ORGANIZATION
- The managed IT provider held administrator access to the organization's Microsoft 365 environment, including email, SharePoint, and business-critical applications. Leadership had not confirmed whether it held emergency administrative access independent of the provider.
- The organization did not maintain a current inventory of privileged accounts, a documented process for reviewing vendor access, or a clear offboarding checklist for departing employees, contractors, and former service providers.
- Leadership could not identify a complete inventory of technology vendors, key service commitments, administrator responsibilities, renewal dates, or exit/transition considerations for several cloud and business-critical services.
- Multi-factor authentication was not consistently enforced for all administrative and remote access. The IT provider confirmed MFA was enabled broadly, but leadership had not independently verified the scope, exceptions, or configuration.
- There was no documented plan for how staff would communicate with clients, customers, vendors, or employees and continue priority operations if email, a cloud platform, a core business application, or a vendor became unavailable.
Why it mattered:
Leadership could not independently verify technology ownership, access, vendor accountability, and continuity readiness across several critical areas. The concern was not that a provider was acting improperly—it was that the organization lacked a documented, independent basis for deciding what risks, vendor questions, and priorities required attention.
Practical next steps:
Document privileged access and establish recurring access reviews. Build a vendor-accountability inventory that includes service ownership, administrative access, renewal dates, and escalation paths. Confirm MFA enforcement scope and exceptions. Create a basic communication and continuity plan for technology disruptions affecting priority operations.
Illustrative example based on common patterns. The Snapshot distinguishes what is known, what is reported by leadership, what requires vendor confirmation, and what may warrant a separately scoped review. Details are generalized and do not describe a specific client engagement.
READY TO CLARIFY WHAT LEADERSHIP NEEDS TO KNOW?
Start with a focused, independent conversation.
Tell us the technology, cybersecurity, vendor, continuity, growth, acquisition, budget, or operational question your organization needs to answer. We will confirm fit and recommend the most appropriate next step—whether that is the $495 Technology & Cyber Risk Consultation, a separately scoped full review, or discussion of ongoing Fractional Technology Leadership.
$495 fixed fee · 60–90 minutes · Payment is collected when scheduling · No recurring contract
What happens next
- Request consultation availability
- Receive a secure scheduling and payment link
- Meet confidentially for 60–90 minutes
- Receive your Technology & Cyber Risk Snapshot immediately after the consultation
- Receive a written Consultation Report within three business days
A useful starting point
You do not need a complete technology inventory or assessment package before booking. Come prepared to describe your IT-support model, key vendors, current concerns, pending decisions, and any upcoming renewals, growth plans, acquisition activity, insurance requirements, or technology changes. The consultation will help identify what should be verified next.
The initial conversation can proceed without documents. If high-level supporting materials would be useful after scheduling, Beech Tree will provide secure instructions. Do not transmit passwords, credentials, account numbers, client personal information, security logs, contracts, configurations, or other sensitive information through the website form or unsecured email.
You do not need to change technology or cybersecurity providers to work with Beech Tree. The consultation helps leadership understand the current environment, ask stronger questions, and make more informed decisions with existing vendors.
Immediate Deliverable: Your Technology & Cyber Risk Snapshot
At the end of your consultation, you receive an immediate Snapshot summarizing priorities, risks, options, and vendor questions. The Snapshot distinguishes what is known, what is reported, what requires vendor confirmation, and what may warrant a separately scoped review. Your written Consultation Report is delivered within three business days after the consultation.
Request Consultation Availability
Tell us a little about your organization and the technology, cybersecurity, vendor, continuity, or decision question you are trying to answer. We will confirm fit, scheduling options, and secure next steps.
INDEPENDENT TECHNOLOGY & CYBER RISK ADVISOR
Sterling Unan, CISSP, brings more than 25 years of direct experience in hedge fund technology and operations, including technology leadership, security, vendor relationships, business continuity, and the operational systems that support investment and client-service functions.
Sterling Unan, CISSP · Founder, Beech Tree Technology Advisors · 25+ years in hedge fund technology & operations