Every Company whether they are successful or not, seems to have an IT Consultant in their locker. Information Technology promises untold riches, but how to harness the potential? In this review, the role of an IT Consultant will be discussed, as well as the need for such expertise for your company. The pertinent question here is — Does your company need an IT consultant?
Information Technology
IT, or Information Technology, can be loosely defined as the engineering science of computer and telecommunications based systems for transmission, retrieval, manipulation, or storage of Information. The special application focus of IT is in the context of Business Operations. This is as opposed to the entertainment or personal domains. IT involves the use of computer based systems, software and networks for processing and distribution of data. Some typical examples of IT are software support for office automation systems, processing of data, word processing and spreadsheets etc.
There are a large number of types of Information Technology, and some are listed below:
- e-Commerce
- Configuration Management
- Content Management
- Capacity Management
- Customer Relationship management
- Artificial Intelligence based learning software
- Decision Support Systems
Information Technology has become a large industry in itself, and includes huge numbers of software packages.
Who is a Consultant?
A Consultant is generally a person who has in-depth experience in his field of consultancy. He provides his expertise for fees which are generally agreed beforehand. The Consultant may be an employee of a company, that offers Consulting Services to an industry, or the Consultant may be an independent contractor, for which he is directly paid by the consulted organization on a job-to-job basis. An IT Consultant creates a partnership with his Customers, and provides his expertise on the proper use of Information Technology to satisfy business objectives of the Client Company, or solve outstanding or predicted problems. Thus, the IT systems already existing in Parent Organizations improve their structure and efficiency. IT Consultants need to be properly qualified for Clients to place trust on their knowledge of the subject. A minimum Bachelors Degree in Information Technology or a major Computer Science subject is essential.
Additional certification indicating that the Consultant has kept abreast with the latest applicable advancements in IT, are always welcome news for the Employers. A minimum of 5-7 years of experience, of the Consultant, is generally looked for. In the case of a Bachelors Degree, it is expected that the Consultant has majored in Accounting, Finance, Business, Marketing, Management or similar field. Courses studied during Bachelorship must include Communications, Accounting, Statistics, Ethics, Project Management, and Leadership. There are basically six essential types of Consultants within the industry, namely, in the fields of Management, Strategy, Operations, Human Resource, Financial Advisory and Information Technology. A special area of Consultancy, named Risk and Compliance Consultancy, is also on high public demand. An IT Degree Applicant must remember that the following preparatory subjects are needed to apply for the degree – English, Mathematics, Sciences, Humanities, Public Speaking and sometimes Foreign Languages.
Need and Benefits for IT Consultant
There is an enormous demand in industry for IT Professionals and Consultants. Some of the largest IT Consulting Firms are – PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG Consulting, Deloitte Touche Consulting, and Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting). IT Consultants, unless they work for a Consultancy Firm, are often hired as a third-party contractor and usually works with a business or Individual, on a short term or part time basis on specific problems and issues. When one of our clients LSA Networks decided to employ IT solutions specifically for their hookup site LocalSexApp. Being and online adult dating platform necessitates unique solutions specific to that asset and that industry. At the end of the day Local Sex App saw improved efficiency and grew there user base which was ultimately positively reflected in their profits. The benefits to the mother company are multiple. Some of the benefits on hiring an IT Consultant are:
- An IT Consultant creates a new focus on core business functions.
- The help from a specialist IT Consultant can clear away many myths and misunderstandings about company operations and information management.
- Processing of information, to an IT pattern, creates cost consciousness and effective control.
- Security of information can be in-built into routine operation processes.
- Productivity and efficiency can be suddenly operated to a higher benchmark.
- An IT Consultant not only brings an outside view, on internal problems, but also gives independent advice.
- Hiring the Consultant entails no extra taxes, benefits or human resource issues to be borne by the Employer.
The question — Does your company need an IT consultant? (benefits of it consultant) is thus answered.