What Is IT Consulting?

Consulting is when a business brings in an outside person with expertise in a specific field to help objectively evaluate where the company is and to design a plan that helps it achieve its goals. So, what is IT consulting, then? In IT consulting, the consultant does exactly that, but with a specific focus on the business’s technology infrastructure.

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Often a company brings in an IT consultant to work with the internal IT staff and offer advice and insights from a fresh perspective. They may design systems, suggest hardware and software to invest in, or identify security risks. The consultant may even help the company connect with other specialists who can assist with the project.

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Types of IT Consulting Services

Though IT consulting includes anything and everything related to information technology, nearly all of the work in information technology consulting falls under six main categories:

• Strategy: creating a long-term plan that defines how IT will support the business

• Architecture: designing the plans and guidelines to build IT systems

• Implementation: overseeing the execution of the IT plan

• Systems integration: connecting different parts of the IT system and ensuring they work together

• Data analytics: capturing, processing, and analyzing data to help answer business questions

• Software management: planning and leading software projects, including scheduling, tracking, and delivery of code