Click here to get this post in PDF
Pearl Lemon Consulting is a multi award winning consultancy agency which offers its services to any team in any niche.
What are IT Consultants?
If you understand the basics of information technology, then you know that IT Consultants are an integral tool to IT businesses, and almost every business that isn’t related to IT requires it. An IT consultant is an experienced person who provides expert advice to their clients for a fee. They may either work for independent contractors as independent consultants or work as an employee for a company offering such services, which are chargeable.
Types of IT Consultants
- VARS(Value Added Resellers)
IT consultants work for such service providers who offer consulting services along with other offers. VARS partners with them for the purpose of sales engineering. The job of IT consultancy agencies in this case is to examine the clients business and technology needs as well as recommend products, services and any other IT related solutions.
- MSPs(Managed Service Providers)
IT consultancy agencies which work for them have the responsibility of creating IT plans and managing technology refreshment projects. MSP clients are usually small businesses such as start ups who lack the technological expertise which IT consultants have to offer, which is why they take their assistance.
- Cloud Computing
Cloud computing focused IT consultancy services include helping clients with bringing their requirements into more clarity, selecting public cloud services, building private clouds and managing data and application migration. IT consultants usually specialize in popular cloud platforms like Microsoft, Google etc.
Pros and Cons of Working with IT Consultants
Specialized Knowledge- This is considered as an important and useful asset of an IT consultant since they have an abundance of information and advice to offer their clients and are a cheaper alternative to hiring a full time employee for expertise that is only required temporarily.
On the downside, it can also be a tough job to convert what an IT consultant says into a real working and functioning model. IT consultants can only offer advice and assist their clients in the areas they feel where they are lacking, but at the end of the day it is up to the client to follow through with this advice and if the client lacks the skills to efficiently execute their plan, it may never gain traction.
IT consultants can also be hired to oversee the entire implementation of a client’s plan, so there is that option as well. However, this might become a more expensive ordeal as well as constant dependency on outside help.
Independence- IT consultants are also useful for helping with troubleshooting problems in complex systems. They are unique in this sense since they have the independence to propose solutions and make implementations which employees already working in the company are restricted to do so.
You may also like: What Do IT Consulting Companies Do?
Image source: Shutterstock.com