IT (Implementation) Consulting

We’re almost a quarter through the 21st century - is information technology (IT) consulting really still a thing?

Yes, because there are always upgrades to make. Be it moving operations to the cloud, implementing a CRM system, or scrambling to catch up with the latest in generative AI, companies big and small (but mostly big) turn to external “experts” to help them put in place a shiny new piece of tech. This keeps them competitive—or at least helps them avoid falling too far behind.

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, for example, aims to be a one-stop shop for managing all interactions with customers, tracking every inbound and outbound touchpoint, and segmenting contacts into sub-groups for targeted communication. Think of it as a massive, hyper-organized phone book on steroids. How does a company go about “adopting” a CRM system? If they have the means, they hire IT consultants to implement the new system.

IT consulting is big business. Unsurprisingly, lots of software engineers are employed by IT consulting firms for the operational or implementation phase of such projects - all that nitty-gritty stuff non-technical people don’t (and frankly don’t want to) understand. That’s why there’s also room for - in fact, a critical need for - lots of non-technical consultants on the “business side” who serve as the bridge between the engineers and the clients—people who can translate technical jargon into something that makes sense to business leaders, keep stakeholders reassured, and minimize confusion and anxiety. (Of course, there often is an IT team within the client organization that works closely with the IT consultants, but don’t assume that the internal team is any better at communicating technical concepts in non-technical terms!)

Big names in IT consulting include Accenture, Deloitte, Cognizant, Slalom, Capgemini, IBM. IT consulting projects—especially those that involve implementation—are known for their sheer scale. They run long, involve massive teams, and often rely on offshore labor to keep costs down and project timelines moving around the clock. Offshore teams, particularly in India, are a key selling point for efficiency and cost savings (the rupee is much cheaper than the US dollar). It does, however, add even more room for error because the chain of communication grows ever longer, and the engineer who ends up writing code becomes ever further removed from the client who sees and touches the end product.

Smaller IT consulting firms exist as well, often specializing in narrower sets of solutions—sometimes even just one particular piece of software. There are companies whose whole business is helping other businesses set up Microsoft Suite (and get the most out of it), same with Google (Google themselves also have Small Business Advisors to do the same kind of thing), and Salesforce relies on a lot of consultants to get their clients to get Salesforce implemented and integrated into their organizations.

IT consulting engagements can take months (if not years) to complete. The big firms run projects that can span multiple phases—initial strategy, software selection, implementation, integration, and ongoing maintenance. It’s common for consultants to roll off one project and immediately get staffed on another within the same client company, extending their stay indefinitely. (And no, you may not even be able to tell that they’re on a “new project” because it’s just a continuation of what they were doing previously.)

Since IT consulting is about making technology work for business, helping organizations navigate the change and get accustomed to new ways of working is often part of the deal. And of course, in a few years, IT consultants will likely get hired again for the next big upgrade.

These are the “digital transformations” of our times.

Keywords for this type of Large-Scale IT-related Lots-of-Coordination Work:

• Digital transformation

• System implementation

• Software integration

• Cloud migration

• Change management

• Enterprise solutions

• Process automation

• Business-IT alignment

What’s in a Day?

IT consultants don’t always travel in the same way that traditional management consultants do. Many projects can be handled remotely, though certain client-facing roles might still require on-site presence for workshops, training sessions, and major go-live events.

Most of an IT consultant’s day depends on their role within the project.

On the technical side:

• Writing, reviewing, and debugging code

• Configuring enterprise software systems (e.g., SAP, Salesforce, Oracle)

• Setting up cloud-based infrastructures

• Running user acceptance testing (UAT) to ensure the system works as intended

On the business/strategy side:

• Hosting client meetings to understand business needs

• Translating technical information into business implications

• Managing stakeholders by keeping executives informed and addressing resistance to change

• Creating training materials and running workshops for end users

• Tracking and mitigating risks (because, inevitably, tech implementations don’t go 100% smoothly)