Keelson Backbone — Keep it current
Keep the picture current.
The Assessment baseline becomes a maintained Technology Operating Record as acquisitions close, providers report, contracts renew and projects move — without creating another reporting burden for your team. Explore the record below; every figure is illustrative.
02 · Backbone
Eight operating companies. One maintained technology record.
Assessment establishes the complete operating record once. Backbone keeps that same record current every month — spend, contracts, assets, integrations, projects, risks and decisions — through Keelson’s ongoing stewardship.
The record belongs to you. Keelson maintains it. Your leadership team owns the decisions.
01 / 04 · Financial control
Is technology spend under control?
$74k a month across eight companies, running +2.1% against budget.
The managed services agreement — the largest line — renews Dec 1 at +10%. Benchmark in progress.
Signed unexamined, that increase compounds across all eight companies for the length of the term.
Spend by company$k / month · illustrative
- Harbor Air & Heat$14.8k
- Crestline Electric$11.2k
- Blue Ridge Plumbing$8.9k
- Lakeside Mechanical$12.6k
- Piedmont Comfort$9.8k
- Bayside Electrical$7.4k
- North Fork Plumbing$5.8k
- Summit Home Services$3.5k
02 / 04 · Operational control
What do we own — and what is changing?
1,240 devices and 96 applications tracked; two integrations in flight.
Only 61% of computers are identity-joined and 18% of phones under MDM — the standard is all.
Until Summit's identity milestone lands (due Oct), its email migration waits and the company runs on two systems.
Acquisition integrationsTwo in flight
Summit Home ServicesAcquired Q2 2026
Beginning — baseline underway
1 of 4 milestones · next: Identity joined to platform · Oct 2026
Blue Ridge PlumbingAcquired Q2 2024
Final stage — closeout
3 of 4 milestones · next: Closeout review against criteria · Nov 2026
03 / 04 · Exposure
Where are we exposed?
Four risk domains — one at risk, two actions open. Staff satisfaction baselined at 4.1 / 5.
Bayside's server backups have not been verified since the purchase. Restore test due Oct — owner: COO.
Until that restore test passes, recovery at Bayside is an assumption, not a tested fact.
Risk domainsEvery one owned
- Security postureMFA missing at two companies; endpoint coverage 92%Action openTech leadership
- Backup & disaster recoveryBayside backups unverified since the purchase; restore test due OctAt riskCOO
- AI policyPersonal AI chatbots used with customer data — policy drafted this monthIn progressCEO
- Warranty exposure23 devices unknown warranty; 41 past replacement windowTrackedCFO
04 / 04 · Decisions
What needs a decision?
Five ranked decisions queued — three due this month, every one with a named owner.
№ 1: the managed services renewal at +10% — owner CFO, due Dec 1.
Undecided by Dec 1, the agreement renews itself on the vendor's terms.
Decision queueRanked · prepared by Keelson, decided by leadership
- 1Managed services renewal — sign at +10%, or benchmark firstIf delayed: Undecided, it renews at the vendor's price across all eight companies.ContractCFODec 1
- 2Legacy dispatch software — renew or replaceIf delayed: Auto-renews Nov 1 for 36 months, terms unreviewed.ContractTech leadershipThis month
- 3Hardware replacement spend — approve $14k for Q4BudgetCFOThis month
- 4Temporary server running without backup — accept risk or remediateRiskCOOThis week
- 5Bid out internet across all locations to standardizeProjectCEONext quarter
Need someone to own what this record surfaces? Helm includes everything in Backbone and adds the accountable technology leadership to move it forward.
The complete picture
- $74k Monthly technology spend
- +2.1% Vs budget
- 8 Operating companies
- 1,240 Devices tracked
- 96 Applications
- 9 Open items — all owned
$162k one-time across four quarters. Run rate easing to $71.1k/mo as identified savings land.
Every renewal on the calendar. Two renewal decisions inside 90 days — neither will auto-renew unexamined.
Every device and application counted. Remaining unknowns recorded as gaps — none hidden.
Summit Home Services: four dated milestones, dispatch cutover Jan 2027 — on plan.
Five ranked decisions queued — top: managed services renewal at +10%. Owner: CFO, due Dec 1.
Summit Home Services baseline 3.6 / 5 · portfolio 4.1 / 5. The mark improvement is judged against.
Backbone
The maintained technology operating record for companies built by acquisition.
Backbone keeps the operating record current, so leadership does not have to reconstruct the truth for every decision.
The record belongs to you. Keelson maintains it. Your leadership team owns the decisions.
If your team has the technology leadership to act on that record, Backbone equips them. If it does not, Helm includes the complete Backbone service and adds the leadership seat.
Visibility is only valuable if someone can turn it into progress.
Technology should not get harder every time you buy a company.
If the portfolio has grown faster than the technology operating model behind it, that is the conversation Keelson was built for.
Thirty minutes. No deck. No pitch.