How Does IT Consulting Work?

IT problems are a silent killer. On average, small businesses lose nearly 100 hours per year due to IT challenges. That’s valuable time that could be spent growing your business.

While this amount of waste is alarming, the good news is that IT consultants can help. These experts provide strategic guidance, proactive solutions and the right technology to support your business goals. 

Instead of reacting to issues as they arise, IT consultants help you build a reliable and secure IT environment.

So then, how does IT consulting actually work? And, beyond giving you back those valuable lost hours, how can it streamline your operations and improve your infrastructure? 

These are some of the key questions we will explore in this guide as we aim to bring you completely up to speed on how IT consulting works and the benefits it can offer you.

What is IT consulting?

IT consulting is a professional strategic service that helps businesses improve their technology strategy, infrastructure and operations. It involves working closely with your team to understand your business objectives, challenges and existing technology setup. 

Consultants use this information to assess your current systems, identify gaps or inefficiencies, and recommend solutions that align with your business goals. 

For example, if your business is dealing with slow communication between teams, an IT consultant might suggest moving to a cloud-based platform like Microsoft 365 to make collaboration easier and faster.

Similarly, if you’re experiencing frequent network outages, the consultant might suggest upgrading your infrastructure or switching to a more reliable internet provider to ensure consistent connectivity.

To put it briefly, the goal of IT consulting is to set you up with a secure, streamlined technology system that supports your long-term business growth.

Why businesses seek IT consulting services

Businesses typically turn to IT consultants when they face technology challenges or want to improve their systems and need expert support. Here are some common reasons companies seek IT consulting:

• Outdated systems: Legacy systems can slow down operations and increase security risks. An IT consultant can assess the current setup and recommend modern solutions that boost efficiency and reduce costs.
• Cyber security concerns: With cyber threats increasing, businesses often need expert help to strengthen their defences. Consultants can implement firewalls, encryption and monitoring systems to protect sensitive data.
• Scaling operations: As a business grows, so too do its IT needs. A consultant can recommend scalable solutions, such as cloud-based infrastructure, that grow with the business.
• Compliance and regulations: Industries like healthcare and finance face strict regulations around data handling. IT consultants help businesses reduce regulatory risk without disrupting operations.

How IT Consulting differs from IT Support and Managed Services

Although IT consulting, IT support and managed services all involve technology, they serve different purposes. Knowing their differences can help you choose the right service for your needs. 

• IT Consulting: Focuses on strategy and long-term solutions. Consultants analyse business needs, recommend improvements and guide implementation. 
• IT Support: Provides immediate help with technical issues. If your email server goes down, for example, IT support steps in to fix it. 
• Managed Services: Ongoing maintenance and monitoring of IT systems. A managed service provider takes care of day-to-day tasks like software updates and network monitoring.

Here’s another helpful way to think of these differences:

• An IT consultant helps you build a better house (design and strategy). 
• IT support fixes a broken window (troubleshooting). 
• A managed service provider handles the regular maintenance (upkeep and monitoring).

Exploring the different types of IT consulting services

IT consultants provide a variety of services to meet different business needs. Here’s a closer look at the seven most common services, how they work, and how they can benefit your business:

1. Cloud services and migration

Cloud services and migration involve moving your business's data, applications and IT infrastructure to cloud-based platforms. This shift helps reduce the need for expensive on-premise hardware while also giving your business greater flexibility, with access to your systems from anywhere.

The consultant will help identify the best cloud solution based on your needs. This could be a public, private or hybrid cloud, depending on what works best for your business. They will also manage the entire migration process, transferring all your data and systems without disruptions.

2. Cyber security and risk management

Cyber security and risk management are all about protecting your business from cyber threats and minimising any potential risks. 

IT consultants assess your current security measures, look for vulnerabilities, and create strategies to safeguard your systems and data.

For instance, a consultant might audit your network security and identify the need for firewall upgrades or recommend implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for stronger data protection. 

As part of their cyber security and risk management strategy, IT consultants also offer employee training, such as cyber security awareness programs.

This training focuses on helping staff identify phishing emails and other common security threats. By doing so, consultants help create a robust defence strategy that safeguards your business against the increasing risks of cyber crime.

3. Network infrastructure and design

Network infrastructure and design focus on building a strong, scalable network that can support your business’s needs now and in the future. This includes how your computers, servers and devices connect and communicate with each other, both within the office and across different locations. 

Consultants help design, set up and maintain your company’s network, making sure it runs with fast, secure and reliable connections. Whether it’s a local area network (LAN) for a single office, or a wide area network (WAN) that connects multiple offices, they’ll create a solution that keeps everything operating seamlessly.

If your business is expanding to several locations, the consultant could design a secure, high-speed VPN (Virtual Private Network) to connect all your branches. This would let your employees access files and collaborate safely, no matter where they’re working from.

As part of the service, the consultant will ensure the network is efficient, secure and easy to manage, helping your team stay productive and connected.

4. Software development and integration

Software development and integration services involve building software that’s tailored to your business or connecting your existing systems with third-party solutions. 

IT consultants will team up with your staff to fully understand what you need, then develop software that streamlines your processes, automates tasks or adds extra functionality.

For example, if your business uses separate systems for accounting, inventory and customer management, the consultant might recommend to build a custom app that combines all of them into one easy-to-use system. This integration cuts down on errors, saves time and makes sure everyone has access to the most current information.

5. Data management and business intelligence

Data management and business intelligence (BI) are highly valuable services for businesses that want to make smarter, data-driven decisions. This service involves helping you organise and manage your company’s data, making sure it’s accurate, easy to access and secure. Consultants will also set up BI tools to analyse your data, spot trends and provide insights that guide your business strategies.

For example, a consultant might help a retail business set up a BI dashboard to track sales, customer behaviour and inventory levels in real-time. This allows the business to make informed decisions, such as spotting slow-selling products or predicting when demand will spike.

6. Disaster recovery and business continuity

Disaster recovery and business continuity planning help your business stay on track and bounce back quickly from any unexpected setback. Even major challenges like cyber attacks, natural disasters or system failures are manageable with the right plan in place.

IT consultants make this happen by developing backup strategies to protect your critical data. They put systems in place that automatically switch to a backup if something goes wrong. And they create clear recovery plans, allowing your business to recover quickly after an emergency.

To give you a clearer picture, consider this example. A financial firm is struggling with the risk of losing critical data if something unexpected were to happen to their system. They need a solution that will protect their information and make it easy to recover if disaster strikes.

An IT consultant would address this by setting up a secure offsite backup system. This would guarantee that all of the firm’s critical data is regularly stored in a safe, remote location. In the event of a system failure, the firm could quickly restore its data from this secure backup.

The consultant would also put together a disaster recovery plan, which would include automated steps to restore the firm’s data, along with clear instructions on how to keep things running smoothly during an emergency.

7. IT strategy and digital transformation

IT strategy and digital transformation are about making sure your technology is in sync with your business’s long-term goals. IT Consultants help you streamline processes, boost efficiency and bring in new technologies that match your vision.

They work with you to create a customised IT roadmap that guides your business through digital changes. This ensures your technology investments are focused on growth and innovation, helping you stay ahead of the competition.

What’s involved in the IT consulting process?

When you work with an IT consultant, the process usually follows a few simple steps to help you tackle a challenge or seize an opportunity and turn it into a fully implemented and optimised solution. Here’s a breakdown of each phase of the process to give you a clear idea of what to expect:

1. Initial assessment and discovery phase

The first step in any IT consulting engagement is to get a deep understanding of where your business stands. During the assessment and discovery phase, consultants will evaluate your current IT systems, processes and goals. This is where they gather all the necessary details to tailor the right solutions.

To make this clearer, let’s imagine you run a growing retail business, but your point-of-sale (POS) system is outdated, and your stock management is a mess. 

The consultant would begin by assessing your current system, interviewing key team members, and identifying the pain points. They’ll take a look at how your technology is affecting your bottom line and then come up with recommendations for improvement. Taking this approach helps set a clear baseline before moving forward.

2. Strategy development and planning

After completing the initial assessment, the next step involves strategy development and planning. 

In this phase, the IT consultant takes all the details collected during the discovery phase—such as the current state of your technology, business goals and challenges—and uses that information to create a detailed, actionable plan.

For example, if your company is expanding into new locations, the consultant might suggest adopting a cloud-based system for inventory management. This would allow you to access real-time stock levels across all locations and avoid the issues that come with managing separate, local systems. 

The consultant will then break down the plan into clear steps. This includes:

• Timeline: Defining how long each part of the project will take and when it should be completed.
• Budget and Resources: Detailing the budget required for the solution and any additional resources—for instance, training or new software—that will be needed.
• Risk Management: Identifying potential roadblocks and creating a plan to address them.

3. Implementation and integration

With the strategy in place, it’s time for implementation and integration. This is the phase where the rubber meets the road.

The consultant works closely with your team to install new systems, integrate software and make sure everything works smoothly together. They’ll oversee the technical setup, often coordinating with other vendors or service providers as necessary.

Let’s imagine your strategy is to switch to a new customer relationship management (CRM) tool. In this phase, the consultant will coordinate the installation and make sure it integrates with your email system, website and sales platforms.

He also ensure that the new system is set up to your exact specifications and that any existing data is transferred without issues. During this phase, your consultant is there to provide minimal disruption to your day-to-day operations.

4. Ongoing support and optimisation

Once the new systems are up and running, ongoing support and optimisation is where the real value comes in. 

IT consultants won’t just walk away and leave you to handle your new systems after the project is complete. They stay involved, making sure everything functions as it should. 

This phase involves regular check-ins, monitoring, and adjustments to make sure your technology is evolving with your business needs. For example, if your customer service team struggles to adapt to the new CRM, the consultant might offer additional training.

Or, if your website’s performance starts to dip, they’ll look for ways to optimise it—whether it’s updating the software, improving security or tweaking your site for better performance.

By the end of the process, your business will not only have improved IT systems, but also an expert partner for ongoing support. This ensures that your technology stays relevant and productive long into the future.

The top benefits of IT consulting

Now that you’ve learned how IT consulting can set your business on the right path, let’s explore the top benefits you can expect from working with an expert IT consultant:

• Boosts efficiency and productivity: IT consulting helps streamline your operations, making your team more efficient and freeing them up to focus on what they do best.
  
• Saves money with smart tech investments: Consultants help you choose the right tools and solutions that fit your business needs. This means you avoid wasting money on unnecessary software or hardware and instead invest in technology that works better and delivers more value.
  
• Strengthens security and data protection: IT consultants implement the latest security measures, protecting your business from cyber threats and keeping sensitive information safe.
  
• Supports growth with scalable solutions: IT consultants help you plan for future growth by implementing flexible systems that can easily be upgraded or expanded. Whether adding new users, locations or services, they ensure your infrastructure can scale without disturbance.
• Gives you access to expert knowledge: With an IT consultant on your team, you get insights from industry experts who know the best practices and strategies to keep you ahead of the curve.

Partner with ADITS for expert IT consulting

Now that you’ve learned how IT consulting can transform your business, why not see how it could work for you? 

When it comes to IT consulting, you need a long-term partner who truly understands your business and can tailor solutions to drive success. 

With ADITS, our expert consultants help you plan for the future with a customised technology roadmap, aligning your IT strategy with your goals to improve efficiency and scalability.

We strengthen your cyber resilience by safeguarding your systems and supporting compliance with data security laws. Plus, we oversee IT projects from start to finish, keeping them on time, within budget, and aligned with your needs. 

And, with access to our Virtual CIO/CTO services, you’ll receive high-level guidance to make smarter technology decisions.

Let’s build a smarter, more secure future for your business—get in touch today.