Gartner defines IT Consulting:

• • IT consulting services are advisory services that help clients assess different technology strategies and, in doing so, align their technology strategies with their business or process strategies.

  • These services support customers’ IT initiatives by providing strategic, architectural, operational and implementation planning.

  • Strategic planning includes advisory services that help clients assess their IT needs and formulate system implementation plans.

  • Architecture planning includes advisory services that combine strategic plans and knowledge of emerging technologies to create the logical design of the system and the supporting infrastructure to meet customer requirements.

  • Operational assessment/benchmarking include services that assess the operating efficiency and capacity of a client’s IT environment.

  • Implementation planning includes services aimed at advising customers on the rollout and testing of new solution deployments.

The IT consulting industry can be viewed as a four-tier system:

• Professional services firms which maintain large professional workforces and command high bill rates.

• Staffing firms, which place technologists with businesses on a temporary basis, typically in response to employee absences, temporary skill shortages, and technical projects.

• Independent consultants, who are self-employed or who function as employees of staffing firms, or as independent contractors in their own right.

• Information Technology security consultants

There are different reasons why consultants are called in:

• To gain external, objective advice and recommendations

• To gain access to the consultants' specialized expertise

• Temporary help during a one-time project where the hiring of a permanent employee(s) is not required or necessary

• To outsource all or part of the IT services from a specific company.

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