Choosing the Best IT Consultancy

Computers and computer systems can be exasperating and sometimes seem to throw up more problems than they solve. Although modern technology is designed to save time, weve all had days when it feels as if the time being saved is lost in an effort to make the technology do what we want it to do.

To the untrained eye, computers can be as temperamental as children, sitting quietly in the corner of the office one moment and playing up for no apparent reason the next. Over time, however, with computers as with children, the reasons for these acts of defiance become comprehensible. Children often play up because they are tired or hungry, and computers are no different; they get tired if their system is stretched beyond capacity and hungry for new technologies that will improve their performance. However, the solutions arent as easy as carrying them to their cot and giving them a dummy!

You have to be skilled in information technology and up to date with the latest hardware and software developments to get t he most out of them, and the most effective way of doing this is to hire an IT consultant.

But how do you select an IT consultancy that will suit your needs? A consultancy that introduces the appropriate new technologies, advises you on any changes you should implement and offers network solutions to optimise your systems performance? Well, a good start would be to draw up a brief that clearly identifies what your needs are and why you need an IT consultant to carry them out.

This brief should consider the following issues:

• Whether it is your hardware or your software that needs upgraded. If it is your software, was this software developed in-house or is it standardised software that was purchased from a large software company? If your software was bought from a software company, will the consulting agency need official certification to carry out work so the warranty is not affected?
• Does your operating system need an overall health check to see whether it is performing to its potential, or are there specific areas that you feel need improved and upgraded? If there are specific areas, explain what they are.
• Equally, are you looking for a smoother alignment of the various systems running in different areas of your business so that they can communicate better with each other, or are you focused on one programme that is central to all your business operations?
• Can you be sure that your computer systems are being managed as effectively as they can be so that vital information reaches all employees or is available to them at the touch of a button? Is there enough detailed documentation to instruct employees of the services available and the ways they can get the most out of them?
• Are the solutions you require from an IT consultancy generic in nature or more specialist solutions?

Having established exactly what your IT needs are, you are now in a position to draw up a shortlist of consultants to approach.

There are various ways to select the best candidates. You could use an agent or a referral service such as the Approved Index, or you could ask your competitors or clients to recommend an IT consultancy they have used in the past.

The recommendation of a competitor in your field is particularly valuable because this indicates the IT consultancy has some experience of dealing with technical requirements that come up in your field. In drawing up your shortlist, keep in mind that because the work is often done remotely, the geographical proximity of the IT consultancy need not be an issue.

What is critical, however, is that your in-house IT expert or the person in charge of your IT systems make the selection, and maybe even talks to the potential candidates over the phone to determine whether they do the kind of work you require. Technical English is different from everyday English, so you want somebody from your company asking the questions who understand what the terms mean and is able to communicate the companys needs effectively.

Now that you have chosen two or three consultancies that could potentially design, install, support, maintain, protect and improve your business systems, the next factor to consider is how well you see yourself working with them and the level of contact and support you will receive. In this respect, it is worthwhile asking the following questions:

• Will there be somebody in overall charge of my project who I can contact at any time? Will this person give me daily updates of the progress of the work and inform me of any additional charges that I might be incurring?
• How will the consultancy ensure that the work they carry out will leave a lasting impression on my company and that the employees will have firm guidelines about how to get the most out of the new technology that has been implemented? Can the consultancy offer any guarantees for the technology they have installed and upgraded, should any problems arise in the future?

And remember, IT consultancy outsourcing is a buyers market because the sector continues to expand and become more competitive. This means IT consultants are having to offer a greater number of services, including newer service capabilities, and involving different ecosystems and partnerships so they can offer clients more, so make sure you ask enough questions to get the breadth and depth of service you want.