Why your small business needs a professional IT consultant
If your small business in Salt Lake City is like most, then its core proposition is not delivering top-notch IT services. If this is the case, it’s still likely that some of your first purchases would have been computers, and installing Wi-Fi routers may have been among the most critical tasks of your office setup. In other words, IT has become an indispensable business necessity, and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that plan to grow create IT strategies to make this happen.
This makes sense, considering businesses make plans for everything else, be they for marketing and sales, manufacturing, or distribution. The question then becomes, “Who creates the IT strategies?” Here are seven reasons why a professional IT consultant is the best person for the job.
IT has become an indispensable business necessity, and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that plan to grow create IT strategies to make this happen.
1. A professional IT consultant is cost-effective
For non-IT startups, a full-time IT specialist will be too costly. The specialist’s salary will likely be too high, and they won’t accomplish much since funds will be allocated to functions that directly fulfill the business’s core proposition instead of IT-centered initiatives. On the other hand, a professional IT consultant’s fees will be commensurate with the value they provide.
2. A professional IT consultant provides custom-tailored IT services
The IT needs of an online store will be different from that of a brick-and-mortar one. The first store will likely need more digital marketing tools than the second, whereas the second will require on-premises security systems more than the first store ever will.
A professional IT consultant will be able to help determine your company’s needs and recommend projects that will address those needs.
3. Professional IT consultants often offer services that help implement their recommendations
Managed IT services providers or MSPs are able to put their money where their mouths are. They are composed of teams of specialists who share decades of diverse knowledge and experience between them, which is why they can solve problems that in-house IT teams can’t. Additionally, they help businesses leverage the latest and best tech into their operations to achieve greater efficiencies, competitive advantages, and significant business growth.
4. Top-notch IT consultants are able to take the long view
More than being able to address a business’s short-term needs, professional consultants can envision how IT will support the company’s mission-vision for the long haul. With this mindset, their first projects are aimed toward creating a solid foundation upon which the business can build and grow.
5. Expert IT consultants optimize IT investments
Torn between prolonging the life of your existing IT infrastructure or installing new tech? Professional consultants will provide you with sensible options that factor in present conditions as well as considerations for the foreseeable future.
For example, sunsetting Windows 7 PCs may now be a much easier decision to make than it was a few years ago, but the tough question is what do you replace them with? Will you bring staff back to their workstations post-COVID-19 and provide them with thin or zero clients? Or will you let team members continue to work remotely and issue them laptops instead? These are the types of questions your IT consultants can help answer for you.
6. A professional IT consultant can help keep your data secure
Cybersecurity is an ever-expanding field, and in-house IT specialists will likely have difficulty keeping up since they’re bogged down by day-to-day tasks. An external IT consultant specializing in cybersecurity keeps tabs on the latest cyberthreat developments and is therefore better equipped to maintain your data’s accessibility, integrity, and security.
7. Professional IT consultants can anticipate shifts in the tech industry
With a finger on the pulse of cutting-edge IT advancements, IT consultants can anticipate trends in business technologies and advise companies accordingly.
Case in point: the Biden administration has unveiled plans to install countless roadside charging stations, while the private sector is taking care of edge computing and 5G connectivity. All of this points to the near-foregone conclusion that self-driving electric vehicles will replace combustion engine-powered vehicles in a few decades.
Beyond this, the spread of edge computing and expansion of 5G networks may mean many disruptive shifts in business, such as the increased use of land-based robots or drones for last-mile deliveries. Households, shops, and offices will have countless smart devices that collect and process data — and businesses will vie for that data to know their customers and anticipate their needs better. There are likely more disruptive developments than these, and IT consultants are the ones most capable of imagining these disruptions — as well as how your business can take advantage of them.
Businesses of all sizes in Salt Lake City trust the IT expertise of NetWize. For unparalleled professional IT consulting and services, request a free consultation or call us at 801-747-3200 today.
