Back when the Dot-Com bubble was still growing, there were a number of IT consulting services that had developed a nice little hustle of a business model.
They would hire recent college graduates and pay them peanuts, but then hire them out as consultants to big corporations at an insane cost. If these contract consultants were inexperienced and in over their heads, so much the better. That just meant more problems the consulting firm could charge.
Of course, that was back when most business owners were completely ignorant of digital technologies, and were blindly throwing money at anyone claiming to be a computer expert. Now, IT consulting services fill a vital gap in digital infrastructure.
So what are IT consulting services in 2016, and what value do they offer? IT consulting services are sometimes called business technology services, business IT consulting, or business technology consultants, terms that are slightly more self-explanatory. While Fortune 500 companies can afford to hire a team of IT experts in-house, most companies can’t afford a full-time IT staff of their own. Yet they still need networked computers, broadband internet, telephony services, data backup and recovery, and IT compliance solutions.
That’s where IT consulting services come in. While “consulting” sometimes has a bad reputation, IT consultants help thousands of businesses of all sizes keep up with changing technology. When a company needs to expand or update their technology, IT consultants come in and make recommendations for their IT needs. Some IT consultants simply provide a detailed action plan, while others will help with the purchase and installation of all the software, hardware, and server space the company needs.
The best IT consulting firms also offer ongoing IT support and maintenance, while also providing the expert cyber security companies need to keep their network and data secure.
The fact is, most business owners and entrepreneurs don’t have the digital expertise to build, install, and service their own IT network, but they also don’t want to waste money on a full-time IT staff. Instead, they hire business technology services to fill this gap. Business owners benefit from having an entire team of IT experts on call for them, without the expense that comes from full-time salaried employees.
Today, it’s simply not possible to run a business without computer technology. There was a time when you could just buy a bunch of Windows PCs and call it a day, but today every business will have a unique set of IT needs. All over the country, IT consulting firms provide the kinds of managed IT services that businesses of all sizes need to survive, thrive, and grow.