The IT Consultant Role Explained

The elevator pitch for an IT consultant is that they are experienced technology professionals who help a customer organization achieve change. A procuring organization usually looks for people who have achieved what they must do for other organizations. This might involve meeting business goals or solving business problems.

The IT consultant role is wide-ranging, as explained in the section on the various types of roles. For example, an IT consultant could be internal or external to the organization (so either an employee or charge a fee), offer guidance that aids decision-making or fulfill a more “hands-on” role during projects, and offer specialist help across various technology and change-related areas.

The role of an IT consultant can be wide-ranging. This range can be highlighted through some of the reasons why a customer organization would engage an IT consultant, for example:

• To receive specialist advice and recommendations related to IT and business opportunities and problems
• To independently assess the needs of corporate opportunities and problems
• To drive new ways of working and the implementation of new technology that supports them
• To provide help within projects where the required skills and experience are unavailable and hiring a permanent employee (with the capabilities) is unviable.

An external or independent IT consultant must make a positive difference to the customer organization and their required change(s). There are usually specific responsibilities related to the desired outcomes and how these are achieved.

There are also responsibilities related to customer organizations’ expectations of independent consultants. For example, they are genuine specialists in the required areas and can quickly understand the needs of and status quo within the customer organization.

There are, of course, IT consultant responsibilities related to their professionalism and delivering the required outcomes (no matter the role they play). For example, meeting high standards of performance, which could relate to how they interact with others, time management, or creativity and problem-solving.

Skills that an IT consultant needs

The bottom line for successful consultants is that they need to know more about the area they’re hired to help with than the customer organization’s employees. But this alone isn’t enough. Key skills or personal attributes are also required to help an IT consultant achieve what’s needed. For example:

• Interpersonal skills – no matter the technology area being addressed, there’s still a need to work with people, from sourcing business insight to selling recommendations for change.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving – importantly, a solution that worked for one organization is unlikely to work as-is for the new customer organization.
• Broad technology knowledge – while an IT consultant is engaged for their specialist knowledge, they also need to understand the broader technology landscape and where their area fits in and is impacted by technology change.
• A focus on delivering quality outcomes on time – with effective time management playing a big part in this.

This is the traditional approach to configuration management, where the CMDB is updated with CI configurations within the IT infrastructure. Modern IT management practices, where automation is heavily leveraged, also allow for an alternative approach called “infrastructure as code.” This uses the CMDB to drive change – so the infrastructure reflects the CMDB rather than the reverse. The CMDB view prevails if there’s a difference between the CMDB data and the IT infrastructure. This infrastructure as code approach is returned to in the next section.

When looking at the role of an IT consultant, there’s a need to appreciate that there are many types of IT consultants. Two key factors play a part. First, the organization the IT consultant works for. They could work full-time as an employee of the customer organization. Or they could work for a service-provider organization and be “charged out” based on a day rate. Second, they usually have an IT specialism. This could relate to cybersecurity, IT service management (ITSM) processes, or other IT areas. Alternatively, they could be experts in change – for example, software implementation or the organizational restructuring of IT teams.

Examples of independent consultant types include:

• Employees of focused IT consultancy firms. These companies can range from single-person organizations specializing in a particular technology management area to large organizations focusing on organization-wide business and digital transformation.
• Employees of systems integrators, value-added resellers (VARs), and other service providers. These companies provide consulting services, such as software implementation, as part of a broader portfolio of IT offerings. They offer guidance and might be involved in bringing about the required change(s).
• Employees of managed service providers (MSPs). These IT consultants are usually focused on achieving a specific change as part of the services provided by the MSP. For example, managing a technology refresh project.

Example IT consultant specialist areas include:

• Project management – where the IT consultant is a project management specialist who can help plan and manage an IT project or fulfill specific project management roles such as budget management.
• IT security – an IT security consultant or cybersecurity is usually engaged to identify security vulnerabilities, assess security-related risks, and develop IT security strategies. They can also have further specialisms related to technology areas such as network security, cloud security, information security, data breach management, compliance, etc.
• ITSM – an ITSM consultant can offer a range of related services. For example, ITSM tool implementation, ITSM process design, ITSM maturity assessments, and ITIL adoption.
• Cloud computing – a cloud consultant helps organizations use cloud technologies, whether public, private, or hybrid. This includes cloud strategy creation, platform selection, solution implementation, and infrastructure management. For some of these services, the IT consultant must be a specialist in a particular cloud platform (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, etc.)

How much does an IT consultant make per annum?

In some ways, asking How much an IT consultant makes per annum is akin to asking, “How long is a piece of string?” IT consultant remuneration will depend on a variety of factors, including:

• Whether they’re internal to the organization or a bought-in resource
• Their area(s) of IT specialism
• Their level of experience
• The employing company
• Their geographical location.

Employment websites such as Glassdoor highlight the broad salary range for IT consultants. For example, a relatively junior IT consultant working for a small IT consultancy firm could earn US$40,000 annually. A “self-employed” and experienced IT consultant could charge over US$1000 per day for their specialist help.

As already outlined, what an IT consultant does can be wide-ranging. While at a high level, most IT consultants will help customer organizations to identify and address technology-related opportunities and problems; how they do this will differ based on the customer needs and IT consultant capabilities.

In the case of project management, an IT consultant could be responsible for (or involved in):

• Defining project objectives
• Project planning across budget, resources, and timescales
• Gathering business and technical requirements
• Business, technical, and risk analysis
• Technology selection
• Technology design, testing, and installation
• Post-implementation review

In undertaking these project elements, the IT consultant will work with customer employees and potentially other IT consultants (whom they may or may not know).

Whereas an ITSM consultant might be engaged in a short-term assessment of particular ITSM practices such as incident management. They will review documentation, conduct workshops, assess the capabilities of the incumbent ITSM tool, and make recommendations as to how incident management capabilities can be improved. Of course, ITSM consultants (like any IT consultant) can also be involved in larger ITSM improvement initiatives run as projects.

Pros and cons of working with IT consultants

The main benefit for organizations that use IT consultants is the access they give to relevant knowledge, skills, and experience. It’s usually quicker and cheaper than recruiting a permanent employee who might have little to do that fits their skillset once the required changes have been made.

For example, an IT consultant who helps with ITSM tool selection brings a wealth of ITSM tool market knowledge that will facilitate tool selection. Then, a different IT consultant might work on implementing the ITSM tool based on their in-depth understanding of the tool, with yet another working to optimize ITSM processes based on service management best practices and the available ITSM tool capabilities. Not only does this use of IT consultants avoid the need to recruit full-time employees, but it also pulls in the most relevant knowledge, skills, and experience for each customer need.

Another benefit for customer organizations is the IT consultant’s independence. They aren’t aligned with internal politics or hindered by the baggage of past corporate mistakes. They recommend and do what’s best for the customer organization, whereas an employee might be reluctant to do so. They also offer the proverbial “fresh pair of eyes” that potentially see the status quo differently and in the light of industry best practices.

Finally, using third-party resources prevents employees from being distracted from their day-to-day responsibilities.

There are downsides to using IT consultants, though. One of the most relevant is that the IT consultants finish their work and then leave, with employees left to turn the consultants’ ideas into reality or to manage what the consultant has created on a day-to-day basis. In both instances, employees might struggle to deliver what was expected. It’s, therefore, essential to ensure that relevant knowledge is transferred before an IT consultant departs. The reverse is also true, where a consultant is needed for longer than the project duration. This can incur costs that wipe out the earlier financial benefits of using temporary resources rather than recruiting a new employee.

Another con is that the IT consultant might recommend changes beyond the corporate capability (this can relate to people, processes, and technology). For technology, this could relate to the current state of the IT infrastructure and the inability to easily integrate new solutions.

There are two main routes to becoming an IT consultant. For many IT consultants, the consultancy role comes after a significant career in IT, with the IT consultants leveraging their years of IT experience to help others. The other route is where university graduates start in junior consultant roles and learn on the job, relying on their employer’s methodologies to deliver what some might call “cookie-cutter” consultancy services. This second route is less likely, though.

Customer organizations need to trust that the consultant can recommend or implement the right solution based on their previous experiences as well as their specialist knowledge. This makes two factors critical to IT consultant credibility:

• A CV or equivalent that articulates the IT consultant’s relevant achievements well
• Relevant IT certifications – for example, the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Project Management Professional (PMP), or ITIL ITSM qualifications.

Organizations might consider outsourcing specific IT capabilities through IT consultants as a recession-resilient approach. Financially, it reduces operational costs compared to full-time employees. This converts the fixed employee costs into variable costs, with the customer organization only paying for services when needed. This includes access to specialist skills and knowledge unavailable within the employee base. These IT consulting services are flexible, with customer organizations able to scale service use up or down based on demand and budget constraints.

Outsourcing IT functions also enables customer organization employees to focus on strategic priorities and core competencies, delivering higher efficiency and productivity levels organizations need in times of recession. IT consultants can also introduce new practices and technologies that enhance operational efficiency and innovation, providing a competitive advantage for the customer organization.

Selective outsourcing is often recommended, not only identifying which IT functions can be outsourced without compromising core business activities but also taking a hybrid approach that combines in-house and outsourced services to improve business resilience.

Hiring an IT consultant vs. hiring an MSP

As stated earlier, IT consultants can work for consultancy firms and MSPs. When planning IT outsourcing, it’s important to know the difference between hiring an IT consultant to flexibly fill a specific need and sourcing MSP services.

A key difference is the scope of the offered services. An IT consultant is usually hired for specific tasks, such as software implementation, IT security assessments, or IT strategy development. The engagements are likely short-term. An MSP engagement is longer-term, providing ongoing IT support and management – with an MSP acting as an outsourced IT department rather than an independent resource.

So, for example, an IT consultant might be engaged to develop an IT strategy plan, help implement a new CRM system, undertake an IT security audit, or migrate existing IT operations to the cloud. Conversely, an MSP is best focused on ongoing capabilities such as IT help desk support, network monitoring and support, and managing data backups and disaster recovery.

Within this, the key differences are that:

• An IT consultant provides deep expertise in a specific area or technology. While an MSP provides broad expertise across various IT functions.
• An IT consultant offers customized solutions tailored to specific business needs. While an MSP provides standardized services with some ability to tailor packages to suit business requirements.

One of the best ways to at least start the selection process for engaging the right IT consultant for your organization’s needs is to leverage your personal network to identify individuals or consultancy companies that have successfully delivered against the needs of other organizations.

However, this isn’t always possible, and a more formal vetting process is needed to identify the best possible IT consultant(s) for your organization’s needs.

The first step is to advertise the need in order to receive declarations of interest. This can be focused on specific consultancies or left open for any consultancy firm to show interest. At this point, the consultancies can also provide indicative pricing and timeframes relative to the work specification.

The consultancy vetting that follows might relate to the consultancy firm as a whole or individual consultants:

• Assess the IT consultant’s related depth of experience and breadth of industry knowledge
• Investigate the IT consultant’s vendor relationships to gauge their access to new technology solutions
• Ensure the IT consultant holds relevant industry certifications
• Request and review examples of the IT consultant’s previous work
• Gain insight into key success elements, such as how they monitor and report success and their approach to training
• During this process, assess the IT consultant’s communication skills.

If your organization is looking to hire an IT consultant to fill a short-term need, hopefully, this webpage has provided helpful insights on how to progress. First, it will help you understand whether an IT consultant fits your organization’s needs. Second, it will help you select the right IT consultant for the job(s) at hand.

If it’s a short-term need, then the alternatives of hiring or training for the right knowledge, skills, and experience or procuring MSP services are probably not the right approach. So, look to your personal network to identify individuals or consultancy companies that have successfully delivered against similar business requirements in other organizations.