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Read moreAI consulting for the mid-market - Texas
Turn your AI budget into results that move the number.
CDO Advisors is an AI consulting and fractional AI leadership firm that helps mid-market and industrial companies in Dallas, Houston, and across Texas turn AI ambition into measurable P&L results - through AI assessments, fractional AI leadership, and fully-managed AI-as-a-service.
Free - 4 questions scored - no sales call
25+ yrs data & AI
100+ implementations
90-day ROI guarantee
Snowflake-native
AI Readiness ScorecardSAMPLE
Data readinessREADY
Use-case ROINEEDS WORK
OwnershipUNASSIGNED
Risk & complianceREVIEW
VERDICTFund with fixes
The mid-market AI gap
You have an AI budget. What you don't have is a plan that survives the CFO.
Most 2027 AI budgets are built on vendor demos and board pressure - not on a real assessment of what's ready, what pays, and who owns it.
A budget with no roadmap
There's an AI line item for next year, but nobody has measured whether the data, the use case, or the ROI is actually there.
Pilots that die after the demo
Impressive proof-of-concept, then nothing. No owner, no path to production, no impact on the P&L.
No one actually owns AI
"The CTO, sort of." The mandate exists; the accountable operator who runs it doesn't.
Can't justify a $400K hire
A capable Chief AI Officer runs $300-550K plus a six-month search - impossible at your size, but you still need the leadership.
Why CDO Advisors
Operators who've run the data - not slideware consultants.
The market is full of firms that hand you a strategy deck and leave. That's exactly where AI stalls. We set the roadmap and run it.
Operator, not advisor
We build, run, and own the use case - the delivery gap where most AI initiatives quietly die is the part we cover.
Deep industry fluency
Real expertise in energy, midstream, manufacturing, and industrial services. We speak your operations, your KPIs, your contracts.
Your data never leaves your walls
Snowflake-native, bring-your-own-environment architecture - AI your compliance and security teams can actually approve.
Accountable to outcomes
A 90-day ROI guarantee and pay-on-acceptance options put the risk on us, not on you.
Where to start
A clear path from AI assessment to fully-managed AI.
Start small, prove one win, and scale what works. Every step stands on its own.
01 - DIAGNOSE
AI Assessment & Roadmap
Blueprint from $5,000Score data readiness, use-case ROI, ownership, and risk before you commit a dollar - so you walk into the budget meeting with a plan a CFO says yes to.
Start an assessmentFastest proof02 - PROVE
14-Day AI Win
$4,950 - pay on acceptanceOne concrete, working result in two weeks. Fixed scope, low risk - the fastest way to see real value.
See the 14-Day Win03 - LEAD
Fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO)
$7,500 / monthSenior, accountable AI leadership on a fractional basis - the board seat and ownership of a full-time CAIO, without the $400K hire.
Explore fractional AI leadershipMost popular04 - RUN
AI-as-a-Service
From $3,000 / monthWe build, operate, and maintain the use case tied to a real number. Tiered Bronze / Silver / Gold, backed by a 90-day ROI guarantee.
See AI-as-a-Service05 - FIND
AI Document Search
Powered by NataeroFind any clause, spec, or file by meaning - not exact keywords - running securely inside your own Snowflake.
Explore document search06 - OPERATE
Enterprise AI for Oil & Gas
Custom scopeProductized AI agents built for energy and industrial operations - from production monitoring to field ops and reporting.
See energy AIYour options for AI leadership
Full-time hire vs. big-4 consultant vs. CDO Advisors.
Most mid-market companies don't need a $400K executive or a Fortune-500 consulting engagement. Here's how the three compare.
| Full-time CAIO | Big-4 consultant | CDO Advisors | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $300-550K/yr + search | $250K+ engagements | From $3K-$7.5K/month |
| Time to value | 6-9 month search | Months of discovery | Weeks - 14-day proof |
| Who runs it | A team you build | Strategy deck, then you | We build, run & own it |
| Risk | Full salary at risk | High fees, no guarantee | 90-day ROI guarantee |
| Best for | Large enterprise | Fortune 500 | Mid-market & industrial |
The foundation
AI is only as good as the data beneath it.
Before we were an AI firm, we delivered 100+ Power BI and Snowflake implementations across five industries. That data foundation is why our AI actually ships - and it's still here, as a service, whenever you need clean, trusted, decision-ready data.
100+Implementations
80%+Adoption vs 26% avg
5Core industries
SnowflakeNative architecture
Proven outcomes
Real results, delivered fast.
Oil & Gas - Midstream
One executive view of mission-critical data
Crestwood's reporting lived in disconnected platforms requiring manual queries. We unified it into a single executive dashboard.
Manual queries eliminated - under 8 weeks
Read case studyOperations - Call Center
Automated exec reporting, no more Excel
AGR Group's leadership pieced reports together from multiple apps and separate Excel files. We automated it into real-time dashboards.
Real-time ops access - 5 weeks
Read case studyRetail - E-Commerce
80% less time on finance reporting
Manual reporting consumed 20+ hours a week. We cut it to four and removed the errors that came with it.
20+ hrs/wk to 4 hrs/wk - full ROI in 6 months
Read case studyClient feedback
What clients say.
★★★★★
"CDO Advisors provided us with the technical expertise we needed to implement data and analytics. They assessed and partnered with our team to deliver value quickly."
Operations Director
Midstream Energy Company
Midstream Energy Company
★★★★★
"CDO Advisors led our successful new BI solution with a Data Vault and Power BI. Derek and his team truly understand our business and delivered exactly what we needed on time."
VP of Technology
Healthcare Organization
Healthcare Organization
★★★★★
"What we loved most was the flexibility. We could pause the project when budget was tight and resume with zero friction. No other firm offered that."
CFO
Manufacturing Company
Manufacturing Company
FOUNDER
Derek Wilson
Founder, CDO Advisors
25+YEARS
100+PROJECTS
AuthorPUBLISHED
Meet your advisor
An operator who's actually shipping AI - not theorizing about it.
Derek Wilson has spent 25+ years in data and AI, published books on modern data platforms, and currently leads AI and analytics inside a private-equity-backed company. CDO Advisors gives mid-market and industrial companies in Dallas, Houston, and across Texas that same operator-grade AI leadership - assessment, direction, and delivery - without the enterprise price tag or the six-month executive search.
Common questions
AI consulting, answered.
What is an AI assessment, and what does it include?
An AI assessment is a short diagnostic that scores your organization on four things before you invest: data readiness, use-case ROI, ownership, and risk. CDO Advisors delivers it as an AI Blueprint that tells you which AI initiatives to fund, which to cut, and what to put in your budget.
What is a fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO), and how much does it cost?
A fractional CAIO is an experienced AI executive who owns your AI strategy, governance, and delivery part-time, for a fixed monthly retainer instead of a $300,000-$550,000 full-time hire. CDO Advisors provides fractional AI leadership at $7,500 per month for mid-market companies that need accountable AI ownership without building a department.
What is AI-as-a-Service?
AI-as-a-Service means CDO Advisors builds, runs, and maintains an AI use case for you - tied to a measurable business outcome - so you get the result without hiring an AI team. It starts at $3,000 per month across tiered Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels and is backed by a 90-day ROI guarantee.
How is CDO Advisors different from a large consulting firm?
Big firms hand you a strategy deck and leave - which is exactly where AI initiatives stall. CDO Advisors is an operator, not just an advisor: we set the roadmap and run it, with deep industry expertise in energy, manufacturing, and industrial services, at mid-market pricing rather than enterprise rates.
Will our data stay secure and private?
Yes. CDO Advisors uses a Snowflake-native, bring-your-own-environment architecture, so your documents and data never leave your own systems. This makes AI approvable for regulated and compliance-sensitive organizations that cannot send data to third-party tools.
How quickly can we see results from AI?
Our 14-Day AI Win delivers a concrete, working result in two weeks, and fully-managed engagements target measurable ROI within 90 days - backed by a 90-day ROI guarantee.
How do I get started?
Start with a free AI assessment. It sizes the opportunity, names the owner, and gives you a roadmap your CFO can fund - with no sales pressure and no obligation.
What industries and locations do you serve?
CDO Advisors serves mid-market and industrial companies across oil & gas, midstream, manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services, with a physical presence in Dallas and Houston, Texas, and clients nationwide.
Planning season is here
Budgets lock this quarter. Get your AI roadmap first.
A free assessment sizes the bet, names the owner, and gives you a plan your CFO will fund. No pitch - just a clear read on where you stand.
Backed by a 90-day ROI guarantee - pay-on-acceptance options available
Insights & tips
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