Most IT consulting services providers can help you answer a lot of questions on many topics. If you're not sure which conversations you should have with your friends in IT consulting, here are 5 ones they commonly confront.

Upgrade Cycles

Even at a small operation with few machines, upgrade cycles can become absolute nightmares. Timing is a major issue because you'll likely need to minimize disruptions to your operations. Likewise, you'll have to ensure that all of your hardware and software will play nicely with each other when the upgrades are finished. This can take a lot of planning, and most businesses will need several decision-makers in the loop.

Adopting New Systems

Every few years, the IT world witnesses the introduction of one or two game-changing technologies. Just as mobile devices changed the world over a decade ago, companies are now moving to adopt technologies like cloud computing, blockchain, and IoT devices.

For many businesses, the ITA consulting discussion on these topics starts with the absolute basics. What are these technologies? Do they have any bearing on your business model? Is making the transition now a case of being too early or late to the party?

Training

Establishing an IT training regime at your organization is a big deal. While few IT consulting services firms handle the training process, they can help you understand what your business team does and doesn't need. For example, a company moving from using spreadsheets to performing more sophisticated analysis may need training that builds on existing Excel skills while also teaching something like PowerBI.

Standardization

Particularly at businesses that have cobbled together their IT systems, it can be painful to get everything standardized. You may have machines that are running different hardware, software, and even operating systems.

Moving toward a single ecosystem can make a huge difference. Using standardized software will make upgrade cycles simpler to execute. Likewise, team members will train on the same applications and standardized versions of those applications.

You may also want to standardize hardware. This will make it easier to perform repairs because you'll have a standard set of parts to order. Also, it can iron out software problems because anything that runs on one machine at your organization will run on all.

Cost Analysis

Eventually, money dictates how most of this work goes. IT consulting professionals understand the pricing models for all of these categories of concerns. They can help you produce estimates and prepare your budget.

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