As in most entries in our blog, it is also in this one that we do not want to repeat the definition of terms. There are numerous knowledge bases on the Internet for that. Rather, it is about how we interpret these terms and the answer to questions that our customers ask us.
To answer what IT consulting actually is, several aspects have to be considered.
On the one hand, this raises the question of what functions IT has in the company, and on the other hand, the various areas of IT must also be examined. This results in the different roles of an IT consultant. Subsequently, the overlaps between these roles also become clear.
In addition to what exactly IT consulting is, we would like to address other questions in this text, such as, "What does an IT consultant do?", "How can consulting positively impact your business?" and "Why you should definitely get consulting?"
The different areas of IT cannot and should not be separated from each other. Although there are not always direct connections, the roles and individual functions have an indirect influence on each other. It is important to understand this basic philosophy, because it is part of the core idea according to which we align our consulting and general services.
IT is a core business supporting component, be it directly or indirectly. This statement is debatable and some critics might argue that there may be applications and programs that support accounting, yield, controlling or HR that are not part of the direct core business.
Of course, these areas of a company are not the core business in the narrower sense, but they are also important components without which a company cannot function.
This basic idea of the functions of IT gives our interpretation for IT consulting, a narrower and well graspable space. After we have understood what function IT must have in a company, we can see what IT consulting is.
IT consulting has the task of examining the functions, operation, effectiveness, and processes related to the tasks of IT.
This means that IT consulting must never refer purely to technical functionalities and components, but must always view the overall construct as a whole.
IT consulting can be divided into different areas. This is because IT consulting is also only one part of the complete range of services offered by management consulting. However, this is one of the largest areas of the consulting sector and thus basically a field in its own right, but a historical breakdown makes the interrelationships more understandable and shows that the area of IT consulting must also never be measured purely in terms of individual technical components.
But what exactly does the IT consultant do?
For us, the IT consultant is the controlling instance, the person who primarily answers all IT-focused questions within the company and counteracts occurring problems with internal solution approaches. Our definition can of course be shown with a much finer granularity and can be adapted accordingly in variable bandwidth, which is agreed with the respective customer.
But let's take a specific look at one of the most interesting areas of IT consulting, which is also only a small part of this large overall construct of management consulting. The role of the IT security consultant.
IT security in general is a very specific field, as there are not only interfaces to almost all areas of IT, including IT infrastructure, software development and actually all other areas, but also because IT security is always closely related to physical security and the protection of an object. In practice, this means the following: No matter how good my software-side security is, it is of little use to me if my physical component and the infrastructure of my system are not protected accordingly.
Another factor and the greatest vulnerability from a security perspective, in addition to infrastructure protection, are a company's employees.
Paradoxically, it is often the executives who do not adhere to safety guidelines and protocols. But why is that? Because management employees often take the easy and shorter route, as they are used to doing so. Conversely, this leads to the violation of the established protocols.
In the area of IT security, too, many sub-areas can be identified as a result. As the above-mentioned example shows, the spectrum of IT security services ranges from physical security, through employee security awareness , to safe coding (the IT security-compliant coding of programs). It is quite clear that each component must be controlled and configured accordingly, that there must be an understanding of security within the company, and that a distinction must be made between active and passive security measures.
IT consulting helps to ensure that the budget allocated for corporate IT is used more efficiently and in a targeted manner. Competent IT consulting can increase the productivity of the entire company and save not only the management level a considerable amount of time.
In many cases, companies need a complete overhaul of their IT infrastructure. Here the mammoth task is to ensure that meaningful IT Solutions integrated into the company and that the transformation of the data can be carried out without any problems.
Identifying the interactions between digital technologies, platforms and customer behavior is one of the most difficult tasks that an IT consultant can help with, because it requires a professional view distanced from the system, as well as practical know-how.
Maintenance and expansion of network security, training of employees, an efficient entry into the cloud area or the well thought-out expansion of an already existing cloud environment, are, in addition to the fact of saving time, only a few noteworthy reasons that speak for professional IT consulting .
In addition, besides the options mentioned above and the possibility of entering new markets, the potential cost savings should not be neglected.
But at what point do I reach the point at which it is worthwhile to resort to IT consulting?
Two of the essential business cases here would be: "Can my company save costs in the long term through professional digitization ?" and "Does an upgrade enable the development of new markets, as well as an increase in new customers?". - In most cases, the answer to these two questions is yes.
Author: Gabor Fried - 19.07.2021
