Could Your Company Benefit From IT Consulting? - Pinnacle
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Could Your Company Benefit From IT Consulting?

IT ConsultingA company’s IT infrastructure represents its lifeblood – a range of critical tasks and activities can only be completed with the support of information systems and applications. This makes the business’s technology incredibly important, and efficient and effective management of these solutions even more imperative.

However, some organizations run into issues when it comes to deploying new systems, upkeeping their current platforms or overhauling their IT to provide improved performance or cost savings. These problems can extend to not having the right expertise in house, or being unsure of what the organization needs and what it can afford.

In these, and a range of other instances, it might be best to call in the help of experts. An IT consulting firm can support certain, critical advantages for today’s enterprises and their information technology systems. But how can decision-makers be sure if this is the right choice for their business?

What does an IT consulting firm do?

In order to make the right decision for their companies, business leaders should take a closer look at IT consulting services, including what these firms bring to the table and the benefits they can offer.

IT consulting firms can differ in their exact offerings, but often the purpose behind hiring this type of service provider is to enable a higher level of expertise when it comes to the company’s IT systems. Some important things to look for with an outsourced IT services company include:

  • Project management for initiatives that impact the company’s IT infrastructure, including the deployment of a new platform, rolling out necessary updates, or other IT-centered activities.
  • App development, including for web apps or custom apps using .Net, Java, PL/SQL or other programming languages.
  • Database management and administration, and ensuring that all apps integrated with key databases function and can draw from stored information as they should.
  • Application implementation, upgrade or integration for enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other platforms.
  • Managed IT services, including hosting, to fully support the underlying IT infrastructure.
  • Remote monitoring to ensure that applications and infrastructure provide a high level of performance and operate properly.
  • Staff augmentation, including assistance with searching and hiring tech talent, or bridging current gaps in the internal IT department.

 

A service provider can consult with the company about its existing infrastructure, and also offers a full portfolio of technology solutions in areas like:

  • Big data and analytics
  • Cloud
  • Data protection and disaster recovery
  • Networking
  • Virtualization
  • Information security
  • Unified communications

 

Firms that fit this description are some of the best organizations to partner with for IT consulting. This level of service provider can support the business objectives set by the chief information officer, as well as the overarching business goals as a whole.

Benefits of IT consulting services

Some providers are more hands-on, and provide and deploy solutions for the business. Other projects simply require a consultant’s expertise, advice and guidance. In either case, an IT consultancy company can support not only day-to-day operations from an information technology perspective but can help ensure that the business is also poised to take advantage of emerging technologies in artificial intelligence and digital transformation solutions.

Supporting the internal IT department

In addition to ensuring that the company is on the right path from an application and infrastructure stance, supporting the internal IT team in this way also helps offload certain non-critical IT functions. Elements like remote monitoring, rolling out scheduled updates and managing the hosting infrastructure can be taken care of by the consulting firm’s IT experts and software engineers. This means that the business’s internal tech team can focus their time, effort and engagement on more pressing initiatives.

Outsourcing staff needs

This benefit is amplified for businesses that may not have a fully staffed or well-defined IT team. Smaller organizations, for instance, may not have the budget or resources for internal IT workers.

“Implementing new technology, fixing IT-related crises and researching solutions is very inefficient for a non-IT professional,” Network Depot pointed out. “Engaging the services of an IT consultant allows internal staff to focus their time on the revenue-generating activities for which they are better skilled.

In these cases, hiring an IT consultant can help ensure they get the support they need.

Preventing IT project failures

IT-focused projects fail about 14 percent of the time, according to 2017 research from the Project Management Institute. What’s more, 31% of projects that didn’t fall into the complete failure category did not end up meeting their business goals. Another 43% exceeded the initiative’s stated budget, and 49% weren’t completed on time. Overall, the costs and consequences associated with an IT initiative that missed the mark can really add up and impact the organization as a whole.

Bringing an expert IT consultant service partner on board, though, can help businesses avoid project failures like these and instead ensure that their initiatives meet their key objectives without going overtime or over budget.

Considering IT consulting? Here are a few signs you’re ready

The advantages of partnering with an outsourced IT consultant are considerable. These professionals can help maintain your company’s current IT infrastructure while putting you on the path toward advancement. An experienced consultant can expertly guide critical information technology initiatives to drive reward results while helping to save the business money.

If your company is experiencing any of the following, it’s time to reach out to an expert consulting service provider:

  • Your infrastructure is aging, and you need to upgrade.
  • Your current infrastructure systems and applications don’t deliver the performance and return on investment that you and your IT team had hoped for.
  • You regularly exceed your IT budget and need to lower costs.
  • You don’t have the right individuals on staff to provide the IT knowledge and expertise your infrastructure requires.
  • You don’t think your IT systems can support business processes in the long term.
  • You need help navigating emerging technologies and concepts like digital transformation.

If these sound familiar, or you simply need to access to a team of experts to help guide your IT decisions, consulting services could be right for you.

Reach out to us today at Pinnacle to learn more.