Often, when the topic of IT consultants comes up, people can be confused about why you would hire one, especially if you already have an in-house IT team. You can just do the work yourself, right?
There are a lot of good reasons for bringing an IT consultant on board, and they can certainly bring a lot of value to a project. Read on to find out just some of the ways that a consultant could benefit you.
An outside perspective
One great reason to bring in an outside contractor is that they can offer an unbiased perspective.
Often when you are trying to make a decision or move a project forward, it can get railroaded by office politics. It’s difficult to make a decision because naturally when people have been working at a company for any period of time, they are going to have their own biases.
For example, an expert in a certain technology is bound to advocate for that technology being used as part of a new project because it protects their job and guarantees them a good position on your new project.
A contractor has no stake in your company, and so they can offer a truly unbiased opinion based on the facts, which is incredibly valuable.
An expert opinion
IT consultants are experts in their fields. It is their job to make sure that they have up-to-date knowledge of any technology that is their specialism and a good knowledge of competing products and what developments are likely to be made in the future. They are also highly experienced in how to run an IT project, and more importantly, what issues you are likely to face.
This means that they can offer you valuable guidance on which technologies to use and also how to run your project so that it is a success and is a positive change for your business.
An extra pair of hands
If you’re already running a busy IT department, the chances are that your team members will have limited time to get involved with a new project outside of their day jobs!
Contractors can be well utilized as an extra pair of hands to help you to get your project off of the ground and keep your core business ticking over at the same time.
Contractor fees are usually higher than full-time staff members, but you don’t usually need to pay employee benefits. Plus, you usually only hire a contractor for the duration of the project, so they’ll be there while you need them, but you won’t have to worry about having an extra person to find work for once the project is finished. This means that, ultimately, a contractor should save you money.
Teaching
You can use a good consultant to upskill your existing IT team by getting them to deliver training in their specialist area to your existing employees.
By the time they leave, you will have a completed project and a team full of people who have expert knowledge and all of the opportunities and job satisfaction that it brings along with it.