For instance, your company needs to implement additional computing infrastructure to support new applications, but your IT manager has been told to prioritize a cloud migration project instead. Or maybe your human resources (HR) team has been tasked with sourcing top talent for an upcoming data management and analytics project – yet they are struggling to find the right blend of salary range, skills, and cultural fit.
Both of these situations, although very different, are highly dependent on technology and expertise. And this is where technology consulting services become invaluable. You can hire the right firm to meet your needs across your organization and projects.
But where do you begin? The word “technology” is broad and the IT consulting industry itself is worth over $1.3 billion. Without a strategic approach and knowing what to expect, there’s a lot of potential for waste.
Rising graph of technology consulting services & IT outsourcing revenue to 2028
Source: Statista: Revenue of the IT outsourcing market 2019 - 2028
In this article, we’ll explore what you can anticipate when leveraging technology consulting services and how to get the most out of your partnership. Arming yourself with this information helps ensure your technology initiatives are successful and aligned with your business objectives.
Technology consulting services are designed to assist businesses in navigating the complicated world of technology.
But what does that mean in practice? As a comparison, think of flying an airplane. You might have a basic understanding of how a plane works and be able to coast on autopilot, but if you’re not a pilot, you can’t land the plane or plan a route to avoid turbulence.
In today’s world, the importance of technology consulting services rests in the following concepts:
Strategic Planning: Technology consultants work with businesses to develop a strategy and execution plan that aligns with key goals and objectives.
Implementation Support: This involves helping companies select and implement new technologies while ensuring integration into their existing environment.
Operational Improvements: Consultants assist in optimizing existing technological infrastructures for better efficiency.
Innovation and Development: Consulting services can include the development of new applications or capabilities.
Talent Sourcing: Technology consulting can include sourcing the right IT talent for specific projects or organizational needs with both part-time and full-time roles.
Training and Support: Ensuring that a company's team can effectively use and manage new technologies which often includes ongoing change management coaching throughout the organization.
An experienced firm will tailor their solutions to each client and project needs with a specific and detailed plan. Let’s break down what an ideal and well-thought-out process should include the following phases:
Discovery: The engagement starts with a discovery phase using a regimented process to capture business priorities, technical debt, and desired outcomes. This phase is crucial for laying the groundwork for a project. It ensures there is a comprehensive understanding of your needs and objectives.
Assessment: Then, an in-depth assessment is conducted of your current technological assets. This deep dive is vital to developing a long-term roadmap, which guides the project’s direction and the required resources to ensure alignment with your expectations.
Migration: Next, in cases where migration is part of the solution – such as a cloud migration or system upgrades – a migration strategy workshop is necessary. This considers the previously developed roadmap, budget, and proof-of-concept realization. A process is then built with defined milestones.
Optimization: Once the strategy has been implemented, the work truly begins. A firm with experience in technology consulting services will continuously make improvements as new technology and best practices become available.
Technology is a living, breathing organism – so vital for any firm to have these initial conversations and discussions. Successful projects are rooted in getting off on the right foot. When client goals are aligned with their consulting firm, it means that every step in the engagement is productive and moving towards real business results.
Your investment in technology consulting services should see results of the highest value – and your consultant should want this as much as you do.
Forbes argues that businesses that invest in outsourcing can outperform the competition while saving costs:
“There are some things only experts can do, which is where [consulting] comes in handy. This gives you access to these specialized skill sets at a reasonable price point, which allows you to devote more energy and time to other important areas of your business.”
-Forbes Business Council, “How Outsourcing Has Changed The Traditional Way Of Doing Business”
To maximize the value of your potential partnership with a technology consulting firm, consider the following steps.
Understand Current and Future States: Clearly identify where your business stands today and where you want it to be in the future. This understanding is critical to guiding the consulting process and ensuring alignment with your long-term goals. It also reduces the potential for misses that will result in unexpected delays and cost increases.
Define Roles and Resources: Identify the roles and resources needed to transition to your desired future states. This step ensures that the necessary expertise (both internal and external) and tools are in place to achieve your objectives.
Set a Realistic Budget and Timeline: Don’t rush and don’t underestimate. Align your budget and timeline with your team. Your project isn’t going to happen overnight, but it also shouldn’t take years to complete or cost a fortune. Realistic expectations for both costs and timelines are key to measuring success.
Identify Necessary Tools: Determine the tools and technologies needed. This ranges from new infrastructure and applications to specific types of expertise – or both!
Align and Commit: Get everyone on the same page, including stakeholders. This is essential for maintaining focus and early momentum as well as getting adoption that lasts.
Establish Accountability: Put in place mechanisms to keep everyone accountable throughout the consulting engagement. Regular check-ins and progress reports are effective tools for this – and they help keep the energy of the project positive and proactive.
In addition to these steps, adopting best practices like collaboration, strategic thinking, trust, transparency, and being open to different perspectives will further enhance the value. Remember the power of the word no, as well. Learning the reason why things can’t be done can be as valuable as getting them done.
For new clients engaging with a technology consulting firm, it’s important to keep some things in mind.
Focus on finding a partner with a proven track record with the expertise in the area of need. Further, how they communicate from the start will be indicative of the partnership in the future. Take time to assess the firm’s problem-solving approach.
Moreover, it’s vital to avoid common pitfalls, such as misaligned goals and unclear roles or responsibilities. If you don’t think you’re on the same page regarding a project, you probably aren’t – and that will create more work in the future. Then, ensure there’s a framework that keeps all parties engaged and the project on track. That can take the form of different communication tools like email or project management platforms or weekly standups.
A successful project needs a good start. It’s worth spending extra time at the beginning to learn what to expect and foster a positive relationship.
As you consider technology consulting services to help enhance your technology infrastructure, remember the importance of expertise, clear communication, and a firm that takes a true partnership approach.
Technology is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and so supporting your needs should mirror that in both concept and practice.
At CorSource, we’ve been helping our clients navigate the evolving nature of technology for over 30 years. We’ve developed a strong reputation that includes application modernization, cloud migration and optimization, data management and analysis, and software development.
With our decades of experience, our technology consultants offer a tremendous amount of experience and value. We want our clients to not only feel taken care of, but see actual results.
Learn more about what we do and how we can help you today!
