Fractional PMO / PMaaS: The Quiet Power Move Most Businesses Are Missing

Karlien Miles
Nov 13
3 min read

Updated: Nov 14

You know that feeling when your team is drowning in project admin, while leadership keeps asking, “Can we PLEASE just see what’s going on?”

That gap, between strategy at the top and work on the ground, is exactly where a Fractional PMO or PMaaS (Project Management as a Service) lives.

And it’s becoming a bit of a secret weapon.

So, what is a Fractional PMO, really?

Think of it as a strategic PMO on subscription, instead of a full internal team.

You get:

A strategic PMO function, not just “project admin”
Processes, governance and templates, already tried and tested
A work management platform with automation, dashboards and real time views
Experienced PMO professionals, without needing to hire them permanently

You plug it into your business for:

Structure for SMEs without hiring a full time PMO team
Extra support for larger organisations in transformation, enablement strategies, mergers, major rollouts or restructures
Interim or ongoing PMO capacity that can scale up or down as your portfolio changes

Plus, an independent PMO sits in a unique spot,

👉 Between the executive layer and the delivery teams

👉 With a neutral, objective view across departments and agendas

That means better prioritisation, less politics, clearer decisions.

“Take the robot work away from humans”

Most PMOs are stuck doing “robot work”,

Chasing updates
Updating spreadsheets
Building reports and slide decks
Sending reminder emails

With smart automation, a lot of this disappears, not by replacing people, but by freeing the same people to do more valuable work in less time.

Smartsheet’s research shows that,

Around 40% of workers spend at least a quarter of their week on manual, repetitive tasks
Nearly 60% believe automation could save them six or more hours every week(Source, Smartsheet: “Workers Waste a Quarter of Their Work Week on Manual Tasks”)

Case studies also show automated workflows saving dozens of hours per person per year and tens of hours per week at team level.

That extra capacity can go into,

Strategy and prioritisation
Managing risks and dependencies
Supporting teams and unblocking delivery
Better, faster decision-making

Real time dashboards replace status-chasing and endless update meetings, so your team spend more time progressing work, not just reporting on it.

Why clients love Fractional PMO / PMaaS

💡 Strategic alignment

The PMO sits between the boardroom and the delivery teams, so your portfolio is shaped around real business goals, not just a busy list of projects.

💡 Flexibility and cost control

You scale support up or down as needed and only pay for what you use, instead of carrying permanent PMO headcount through quieter periods.

💡 Platform and automation included

You get access to proven tooling, automation and reporting as part of the service, rather than sourcing, configuring and maintaining it all yourself.

💡 Independent and objective

A Fractional PMO brings an external, impartial view across the organisation, helping prioritisation, risk decisions and portfolio choices stay focused on balanced insight and business need.

💡 More ROI from your change spend

With less time spent on admin, the PMO can concentrate on value, benefits and outcomes, making it easier to see and measure the return on your project and change investments.

Why this matters right now

The pace of change isn’t slowing. Remote work, new systems, regulatory change and growth are layering complexity onto already busy teams.

If any of this sounds familiar,

Reporting feels heavy and slow
Leaders never quite trust the latest status
Teams are updating trackers instead of progressing work
You know you need PMO capability, but don’t want to build a large internal function

…then a Fractional PMO / PMaaS model is a very smart next move.

Want to explore what this could look like for you?

We help organisations set up lean, automated, strategically aligned PMO services that free humans from robot work, improve visibility, and keep every project anchored to what really matters for the business.

📩 Get in touch with us here to find out how we can help your PMO get AI-ready and future-fit.

This article was put together with a little help from AI tools for editing, but all the ideas, insights and opinions are my own.

It’s shared for general information only and shouldn’t be taken as legal, financial or technical advice. The stats mentioned come from publicly available articles and case studies on Smartsheet.com, and of course, every organisation is different, so your results will depend on your tools, culture and readiness for change.