By the Numbers: The Growing Trend of IT Consulting

For years, IT departments have been stereotyped as an antisocial bunch hiding in the shadows of server rooms, only coming out when a fellow employee experiences a problem with their workstation or a new gadget is released. Today, thanks to the prevalence of technology in every aspect of business, technicians are on the forefront of major business decisions and this stereotype is no more!

There will always be a need to have IT technicians work behind the scenes to fix computer issues, but now IT is coming full circle and being roped into business decisions. This comes as executives are understanding the value of having IT professionals take a more proactive role in business initiatives, seeing as there are a host of technology solutions available that can enhance the effectiveness of every company project. Having an IT professional on board as a consultant to inform you of your technology options is a natural transition.

The growing trend of IT consulting is backed by a recent survey of 1,003 companies released by Avandade. As reported by ZDNet.com:

A majority, 83 percent, said they are comfortable with IT staff interacting directly with important clients and partners in a consultancy role. This percentage is highest in the C-suite — 90 percent of C-level executives would put IT staff in front of important clients in this consultancy role. And 66 percent of companies plan to expand the role IT plays as business advisors in the next year.

The same survey found that the areas of technology expertise that are in the most demand from executives are cloud services (44 percent) and systems integration (43 percent). The high demand for these technologies are because organizations recognize their usefulness in helping their company to better serve the needs of customers, employees, and partners. Due to the high demand of cloud computing and systems integration, both of these techs are advancing rapidly and new solutions are constantly being developed for them. Having an IT partner on your side that's in the know about the latest developments of these important technologies will help your business take full advantage of them and increase profits!

If you don't have a staff of IT technicians that you can call up from the server room to help you make such business-critical decisions, or if your current IT crew is too busy overseeing your company's IT infrastructure to have the time to advise you on which cloud computing model will work best for your business, then give us a call at 586 258-0650 and have SMART Services be your IT advisor.

A recent study shows that outsourcing IT for consultation and other services is on the rise. In fact, 37% of company's technology budgets are now controlled by outsourced IT companies like SMART Services. This trend is a major increase compared to ten or fifteen years ago when few businesses outside of the technology sector even knew that remote IT services existed. The reason a trend like this is increasing so rapidly is because it works. All you have to do is enter into a service contract with SMART Services (which is much easier to budget around than doing IT with the break-fix model) and you're business will be equipped with powerful IT services and expert technology advice that will propel your organization to the next level! Reach out to us today to learn more.