Almost every business, public sector organisation, church or charity is heavily dependent on ICT in today’s technologically advanced world. As the digital revolution continues to drive the economy, it’s crucial to have efficient, specialised ICT support on hand to look after your needs.
This support can take three forms – either a dedicated in-house ICT department, an independent ICT consultant or a mix of the two.
An independent ICT consultant works as either a short- or long-term addition to your team.
They bring specialist skills and niche expertise and help provide innovative solutions.
Here are five reasons to choose an independent ICT consultant.
1. Specialist skills
The primary benefit of an independent ICT consultant is the specialist skills they’ll bring to your organisation.
For example, suppose you already have a dedicated in-house ICT department. You might not need your employees to have specialist skills (such as cybersecurity expertise or deep knowledge of Microsoft 365). You’re more likely to need staff that can handle basic support tasks and change management.
When it comes to the specialist stuff, an external ICT expert means you can get all the skills you need for the specific project/time period you need it. This is much more effective than keeping a highly trained, skilled and experienced staff member on-site, ready for if, not when, you need them.
2. Cost effectiveness
As alluded to in the previous section, external ICT consultants usually work out cheaper than dedicated employees. They can usually be brought in and instructed at short notice and dedicate an appropriate amount of time to resolving the specific challenge you are facing. If you wish, they can also leave as soon as the job’s complete (or whenever you deem necessary).
As such, you’re simply paying for the value they’ll bring to your organisation. It’s much easier to create ties with consultants than employees, with no need to get employee contracts or HMRC involved. All of this makes independent ICT specialists an attractive possibility in comparison to hiring staff.
3. A fresh pair of eyes
While it might sound like a small thing, a fresh pair of eyes can make a huge difference. Bringing in external expertise can offer a unique perspective into areas of high productivity and bottlenecks.
An independent ICT consultant will dedicate the necessary time to getting to know your organisation and its processes. They’ll have the time to sit down with you after a detailed analysis to explain what you can do to improve productivity and efficiency. This time and separation is something you and your in-house employees will often inevitably lack. Staff are often too used to how things have aways been done, or the ineffective way a system works, to notice it and don’t feel empowered to affect change.
After identifying the problems and benefits of your current processes, plans can be made to work through the issues and enhance the strengths.
4. The latest skills, knowledge and expertise
An independent ICT consultant naturally comes with specialist skills and experience in the particular issue or project you’re dealing with.
One of the difficulties associated with ICT is the fast-moving technology landscape. Staff members within an existing business often find it challenging to keep up with new training and practices since they need to focus on the immediate jobs in front of them.
An ICT consultant, however, should always be up to date with the most recent software, hardware, processes, terminology and trends. They can bring these straight into your SME without the need for in-depth, expensive employee training.
5. Improved cybersecurity
Technology is constantly updating. At the same time, new threats emerge. Security is continuously developing rapidly to counter these new threats. In turn, the methods criminals use to infiltrate systems again evolve, and the vicious cycle continues.
Cybersecurity is an ongoing and never-ending process. Coupled with tighter data protection regulations (GDPR) and initiatives like Cyber Essentials, it requires an almost constant eye. That’s where independent ICT consultants can really make a difference, especially in small businesses and charities. They’ll do this work for you, so you can maximise the time you spend on what your organisation’s really all about.
AMDH Solutions Ltd is an independent ICT consultancy
AMDH Solutions Ltd provides an independent ICT consultancy service. Based in Derby in the East Midlands, we partner with our clients and invest time in getting to know them and their needs. Once we’ve identified any issues, we’ll assist in your creation and implementation of a new digital strategy to improve efficiency and performance.
We also offer a wide variety of other services, including cloud service design and cybersecurity solutions and much more besides. These all come with the many benefits of an independent ICT consultant, as listed on this page.
If this blog post has piqued your interest and you’re wondering if we can offer any assistance to your SME, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We can be reached at info@amdhservicesltd.com or on 01332 322 588. All our chats will be completely informal so we can get to know each other and understand how best we can help.
We look forward to hearing from you.
