IT Support: Are You Covering all the Bases?

When you start to develop a new IT support business, the owners are usually doing all jobs, including sales, technical work and administrative work. This trend will continue until the company has a large enough collection of clients to be able to pass certain tasks along to a salesperson or some separate technical experts. Wearing so many hats in IT support is necessary at the beginning but can change with time.

WHY SHOULD YOU DO EVERYTHING?

Many IT support professionals are not necessarily comfortable filling every role. Some may not be comfortable in a tech capacity, while others might not be great at administrative support. Unfortunately, those that can’t do all these relatively well are already behind the competition. You firm will be competing for sweet spot clients against single consultants that may be working out of their homes with no overhead, and they will typically have fairly good technical skills and be very good at sales.

WHEN DO YOU DELEGATE?

Just because you currently have a good technical person doesn’t mean you can’t make him into a very good full-time salesperson. But an IT support business takes time to develop, and the owner has to usually be both the salesperson and the technical go-to guy. As your company starts doing more business, you can begin to subcontract out some of your overflow or specialty work to others, allowing more time for sales calls.

When you are at a point where you can deal with the same subcontractors for consistent projects, you can start the process of getting someone on permanent payroll.

Make sure you remember that in the IT support industry some of your competition will be better at sales and technical issues right away than you are. Keep track of them as you grow your business.

Created By: Computer Consulting Kit

Small Business Networking and Even More Tips for Wary Clients

When you are dealing with small business networking clients you will encounter some wary attitudes. Discontinued technical support is very powerful when you are dealing with industry-specific software such as niche applications for accountants, attorneys, doctors, realtors, auto body shops and food service establishments.

OFFER SUPPORT

Eventually the independent software vendor that sells industry-specific software will put limitations on technical support, annual updates and patches for older product incantations. If your small business networking client is an accounting firm that requires new tax tables, often the client will have to upgrade the software and the server. This required upgrade involves a phone call to your firm and several incredibly expensive sales and service opportunities for your firm. Extra opportunities can be a direct result of ISV’s setting strict boundaries.

WHAT IS THE COMPETITION DOING?

Along with the chance of unreliable systems and required upgrades, you can also overcome wary client attitudes towards small business networking by talking to a prospect’s or client’s competitors. If you work with a lot of small business within the same field and you are noticing a new software or technology trend that is changing the industry you should report this immediately to allay any fears of falling behind.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

IT Consulting Firm AEC s.r.l. Partners with Centric Software

California-based leading product intelligence solution provider Centric Software renewed a reseller agreement with AEC s.r.l. Consulting, an IT consulting firm in Italy. AEC s.r.l. is known for its work with European apparel and other goods manufacturers and will now offer customers collection management solutions that will apply to thousands of items and allow for improved tracking, thanks to this new partnership. This will allow a secure web-based area that will allow for shared information, activity coordination and collaboration among employees.

The IT consulting firm is very excited to add Centric’s systems to its repertoire. This partnership will help AEC increase their global presence and speed up the manufacturing process. Demand for more new products drove the IT consulting firm to seek out alternative solutions, and because of the product intelligence technologies offered by Centric, AEC will be able to help choose the best products to bring to market, reduce the cycle times of development and meet increasingly demanding budgets and time constraints.

AEC Consulting recently helped Centric establish a relationship with Artsana, an apparel and children’s clothing manufacturer in Italy. This relationship has already helped the company learn more about how to specifically help AEC Consulting with its fashion work, in turn helping the latest partnership strengthen. The solutions provided by Centric will help expand an online presence to European operations as well as partners in the Far East.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

VARs Magazine Gives New Scanner Glowing Rating

In late May, the VARs magazine VARsBusiness Magazine gave the new Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. scanner, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S500 a top rating. The “two thumbs up” rating is the highest that any product can receive from the popular VARs magazine and is recommended for solution providers and leading vendors.

According to reviewers, the best features of the new product is its speed, compact form and simple-to-use technology. On top of that, the VARs magazine states it is affordable for any type of business. This new product is the first and only high-speed color scanner that can scan double-sided documents and is under $500. The Fujitsu ScanSnap S500 comes with ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap 2.0 and a customized optical character recognition software package. The ScanSnap allows users to convert documents of any type into editable documents in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This scanner also offers file compression capabilities that allows file sizes to be reduced by anywhere from 20 to 50 percent without compromising file integrity.

VARSBusiness Magazine is a nearly 20 year-old VARs publication that provides resources for solution providers. The magazine is known for conducting intensive studies along with hosting channel events and offering web services that help IT professionals make important decisions about their businesses, partnerships and customers.

Fujitsu is a provider of IT and communications solutions globally. The company provides up-to-date technologies that help improve efficiency in businesses that use technology as part of their daily lives.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101

Computer Consulting: The Pros and Cons of Franchise Ownership

There are many benefits and negatives to owning franchise organzations in the computer consulting industry.

THE BENEFITS

The benefits of franchise ownership in computer consulting is that you get all the pluses of being part of a larger company. You will get a support network of your peers built-in along with a series of resources. You will typically find yourself with access to people that can solve problems that might arise.

THE NEGATIVES

The biggest problem computer consulting entrepreneurs run into with franchise ownership is that they need a lot of capital investment to get them going. A percentage of your revenue and profit every month as a franchise owner will be paid to the franchiser, and you will have less freedom in your general business operation.

COMPUTER CONSULTING IS ABOUT TIME

Starting a computer consulting business is not a huge overhead investment. The real investment in starting a computer consulting business is time. You will need three to six months or more to get enough contacts, prospects and project opportunities so that you will get 20 to 24 billable hours each week.

WHEN DOES THE REVENUE IMPROVE?

Even if you are diligent about all the groundwork, including local networking event attendance, sales calls and follow-up activities, you will not start seeing real cash flow until about three to six months after you start. If you want more than just you on staff, including tech staff members and sales people, you might find that starting a computer consulting business takes years.

In order to get a franchise, you need capital so you can pay business expenses. Just keep your overhead reasonably low to decrease stress.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101

Three Final Steps to Consider in IT Consulting

If you intend to move from part-time moonlighting into a full-time IT consulting job, the following steps are the final you will need to take:

KEEP MEETING NEW PEOPLE

You should go to networking meetings as often as possible and continue to make your IT consulting prospect file larger even when you find yourself with very little spare time. You will always need to have new people on the horizon. Get to know a trade organization’s needs, what kind of speakers panels and programs for education they have and any other relevant information. You should volunteer to speak at a meeting on a topic affiliated with IT consulting. Speaking is an important way to reach prospects and clients, and speaking at a large event can help you gain future IT consulting customers and valuable business contacts.

PLAN THE FIRST COLD DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN

You need to use a targeting method to carry out a good cold direct mail campaign. Pick a list of people within a certain field or industry so your ad copy will directly speak to them. Offer a free analysis with a deadline.
Your direct mail campaign should initially be a 1000 card postcard test to let you gauge the response you will get. If you get a fairly good response and feel you have control over the process, mail 1000-2000 postcards per month. Don’t spend more than $300-$700. You are looking for a one percent response rate, meaning you should be getting 10 to 20 inquiries to add to your IT consulting prospect list.

PUT A FOLLOW UP SYSTEM IN PLACE

As you continue to go to networking events, get the contacts you meet their involved in a structured follow-up system that includes attending regular prospect meetings and mailing until you get a substantial list of leads. You should go to a networking event every other week and send postcards once a month. Within 90 days, the goal should be to get 3 to 5 steady clients to get yourself on the right path to a steady IT consulting income. The events you attend will help you understand what clients’ biggest computer problems are and how you can solve them.
You should keep good track of prospects so you are ready to run to them as soon as they tell you they need you.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit

Solution Providers: HP Partners Experience Boost in Sales

Solution providers acting as Hewlett-Packard business partners have been growing their HP business at a speed twice the rate of other solution providers, according to experts at HP. The partners that are investing more deeply are growing more quickly than those that are being more conservative. Similarly, partners aligned with the TSG sales force are growing faster than other HP partners.

Rich Baldwin, president and CEO of Nth Generation Computing in San Diego, CA is an enterprise partner part of the group of solution providers attached to the TSG sales engagement plan. He states that he’s been able to secure much larger accounts because of the increased closeness of his HP partnership. His business has increased nearly 40 percent in the past year.

HP executives are happy with the progress made with solution providers, and HP’s ability to be more inclusive with enterprise business partners that are part of the TSG sales team. This news comes on the heels of news earlier this year that reported disappointment among solution providers and HP partners over lack of progress as part of the partnership earlier this year. According to experts, the strength of the success is related to an increased understanding among HP enterprise sales representatives of the true value of solution providers.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Computer Business News: Ziff Davis Announces Virtual Trade Show

Computer business and media company Ziff Davis Media stated on Wednesday that it would be holding a SMB Virtual Tradeshow on June 27, 2006 in New York City entitled “The World is Flat – Using Technology to Compete on a Grander Scale.” This live event will help explore ways to modernize business and manage time on strict financial and IT budgets.

Spokespeople from Ziff Davis state that this trade show is unique and interactive, covering every sector of the IT community and featuring computer business leaders that will demonstrate to attendees exactly how technologies can transform and are changing the SMB marketplace.

This special computer business Trade Show will offer a keynote presentation followed by three panel discussions that will focus on improving efficiency, fully using technology, choosing IT support and streamlining workflow using outsourcing strategies. Experts will include analysts, consultants, IT managers, applications specialists and vendor executives that will offer real solutions to participants.

Event speakers will include the following, and many more:

Liz Ryan, CEO, WorldWIT
Francie Dalton, Founder and President, Dalton Alliances, Inc.
Debra A. Dinnocenzo, President, VirtualWorks!
Phil Fersht, Vice President, Everest Research Institute
Paul Hernacki, CTO, Definition 6

For more information about this computer business conference, professionals can visit the ziffdavis.com website.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

Computer Consulting: Proving Ground Projects Can Provide a Good First Step

In the computer consulting business, you can determine whether you and potential clients work well together through proving ground projects. You should use these projects in computer consulting before signing any long-term contracts.

WHAT ARE PROVING GROUND PROJECTS?

Proving ground projects are initial projects completed by computer consulting professionals with new customers that are not long-term or regular clients. These projects are designed to display the knowledge of consultants along with their dependability, people skills and the value of their computer consulting services. These projects also help prove to consultants that customers have reasonable expectations, compatible personalities and are willing to pay for IT services at appropriate rates.

OBSERVATION IS IMPORTANT

If things go well during proving ground projects, a computer consulting professional can be on the road to a new, steady client. But many times consultants forget to watch carefully during the proving ground project and end up beginning a long-term relationship with a difficult client. These problems happen when consultants miss important warning signs, including the following signals:

Constant mind-changing
Lack of punctuality
Verbal abuse of employees
Belief that important rules don’t apply to them.

As a computer consulting professional completing proving ground projects, don’t rush a relationship with a client until you are certain the customer is a good fit. Proving ground projects can help ensure both consultants and clients have the right expectations of each other from the beginning of the computer consulting relationship.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Computer Consulting Services and Handling Sensitive Client Information

When you are responsible for providing computer consulting services, you need to communicate to your prospects and customers that those with access to P2P servers can get to any file or folder on that server. Even the Microsoft Windows 9x/Me logon dialog box does not provide enough protection.

STRESSING THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA PROTECTION

If a computer consulting services client does not believe how vulnerable their P2P server makes data, you can show them in about 90 seconds. You can use a boot disk and the Escape key, or boot it up in Safe Mode and show them that someone without any operating system awareness can expose the Microsoft Windows 9x/Me server to problems in a matter of seconds.

A dedicated server can help enforce logon procedures and offer local file security. Each user account can be assigned interactive logon access to the server. Similarly, a dedicated server can be locked when clients step away from their servers, manually or through a screen saver that is time sensitive.

AUDITS OF SHARED FILES AND PRINTERS

Your computer consulting services clients can use a dedicated server to audit file usage on shared files with very little effort and no extra software. Auditing can help track sensitive files such as payroll, credit card data and other important elements. Auditing can also help track the use of resources such as color laser printers and check printers. The Microsoft Windows 9x/Me P2P server does not provide this option.

Make sure that you, a computer consulting services specialist discuss the many benefits of protecting data through use of a dedicated server with your clients to help them make the right decisions about their business networks.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

Data Security is About Prevention

Data security is an important issue in today’s technology world. Just when security seemed to be getting better, news items like the Reuters report of the Aetna laptop theft in May that resulted in the leaking of highly sensitive information on 38,000 members cropped up to question what could be done to make security stricter. The following measures can be taken to help improve security on both portable laptops and traditional desktop PCs.

1. SECURITY EDUCATION: The most important thing that can be done in the business world is to educate corporate users about specific security issues tied to their machines. Organizations can combine security messages with regular security training sessions and even conduct tests to make sure the information is really processing.
2. SECURITY RESPONSIBILITY: Assigning a specific member of the company or an outsourced firm to handle security and make sure company policies are being followed is an important part of keeping information secure.
3. USE POLICIES: Company policies must contain information about Internet use, instant messaging and the use of computers and other company equipment. Many spyware attacks happen when rules are unclear and users go to unsanctioned Internet sites, or receive email or instant messages from unknown senders.
4. FIREWALL: Firewalls should absolutely be a given in any company. The firewall should be designed to look for typical spyware anomalies and virus programs.
5. ANTI-SPYWARE AND ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS: Some anti-spyware programs are actually virus and spyware sources, so top commercial programs from companies such as Norton, Symantec and Trend Micro, Inc. are the best option for companies. They should be set on automatic update.
6. PASSWORD AUTHENTICATION: Passwords can help make sure that only authorized users have control over the computer, but are not useful if they are written on paper and pasted to the screen or too simple. The best password is a combination of letters and numbers, and should be changed regularly.
7. SENSITIVE INFORMATION BELONGS ON THE SERVER: A server is less likely to be stolen than a laptop or a PC, so a secure server is the best place to store important information.
8. SECURITY FIRMS: Outside vendors can provide excellent complex security for companies and can help support a company and its policies.
9. ENCRYPTION: Encrypting files can help create copies of information and ensure it cannot be read if it gets stolen.
10. BACK UP FILES: Backing up files periodically with backup media kept in a separate location can help restore information quickly if a computer is damaged by any means.
11. LAPTOPS AS PCs: Laptop users should follow the same security protocol as those with desktop PCs.
12. PHYSICAL SECURITY: PCs and Laptops need to be protected, meaning building security should include guards, security cameras and most importantly locking down the machines when they are in the office so they cannot be stolen. A traveling laptop should also be in sight at all times.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

Moonlighting Jobs for a Small Business Computer Consultant

Finding good moonlighting jobs can be difficult for computer consultants working ith small businesses because you are usually on duty when these companies are not. You need to be able to conduct moonlighting jobs in the evening and on weekends, and many small businesses will not respond well to that concept because they want you to work on their schedule.

The best way to get small business moonlighting jobs is to pick businesses that fit naturally with your schedule. Restaurants, health clubs and call centers can be perfect choices for you as a computer consultant as well as businesses that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and those that have second and third shifts.

The issue with this way of finding moonlighting jobs is that these clients may not end up being the best full-time customers, unless you are willing to often get called at 2 a.m. The only other option if you can’t work with this type of schedule is to work on your flexibility in working with small businesses.

FLEXIBLE MOONLIGHTING JOBS

You need to create a base of 9-5 clients while having a moonlighting job as a computer consultant because you will probably not want to give up nights and weekends once you get into the full swing of computer consulting. Because you are mostly available on nights and weekends, you have to start thinking creatively and flexibly about your moonlighting jobs. Start thinking about using vacation days, personal days and sick days to work with clients. If you can take long lunches, go in late and leave early, you will have better luck with your 9-5 moonlighting jobs. You can even work in a networking breakfast if you come in late to work. If your day job does not have the potential to be flexible, you will have a very hard time finding the ideal moonlighting jobs to grow your business.

Securing good moonlighting jobs in the small business arena means being flexible and persistent while making sacrifices that will help you create a good client base that can help you more smoothly transition into the world of full time computer consulting.

Added By: Computer Consulting Kit

Experts Say Solution Providers Need to Focus on Customer Relationships and Simplicity

With an economy that is becoming more and more global, solution providers are starting to question their role. According to expert IT marketing consultant Geoffrey Moore, solution providers need only focus on their strengths with customer relationships and keeping it simple.

Moore feels that VARs and solution providers need to get more creative about marketing, and that up until recently American IT companies have had the advantage. If a foreign company wanted to compete in the industry, it had to create a U.S.-based branch of its business. The increase of broadband service throughout the world is quickly changing the landscape for solution providers and IT professionals, forcing American companies to expand their reach and foreign companies to find their businesses more in the game.

Moore states that American companies that focus on their customers and not just technology advancements will have the advantage in the new marketplace. Solution providers that are diligent about maintaining and strengthening relationships with their clients will thrive.

Moore spoke at the Citrix Online launch seminar of GoToWebinair in New York City last Thursday on this subject and others. His assessments were consistent with reports that research and development spending among competitive IT companies has been reduced recently.

More information on Moore’s commentary about solutions providers and their role in the current economy can be found in the attached link.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101

IT Consultants: IBM Gets Outsourcing Contract with Arla Foods

IT consultants from IBM are set to take over the development and management tasks of operations in Denmark and Sweden-based company Arla Foods starting on July 1. As part of this agreement, IT consultants will provide consulting services, development and facility management for IT operations for seven years. 130 members, 100 Danish and 30 Swedish members of Arla’s IT staff will move to IBM. Approximately 30 It consultants will stay with Arla in order to assess the company’s needs and report them frequently to IBM, acting as negotiators between the two companies as part of the outsourcing agreement.

Experts are not surprised Arla chose IBM, as the food services company has already worked with the computer business by allowing it to run its servers. IBM is currently the leading provider of IT services in Denmark, having overtaken the Danish provider Maersk Data in the summer of 2004. In the past two years, IBM has secured deals for IT consultants with companies including Carlsberg and Lego.

Arla is a global company with production centers in Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Poland, Canada, the U.S. and even the Middle East and China. Because of its scope, company leaders were looking for a more globally-minded IT service provider. The current deal with IBM is mainly a method to support IT infrastructure at Arla’s headquarters, but the company hopes to be able to apply IT support strategies to other regions and areas as well.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

What Types of IT Certifications Will Benefit Your Clients?

Small businesses have very specific needs in terms of support needs, including desktop support and LAN skills. So what specific IT certifications are necessary in order to best serve your sweet spot small business clients?

TASKS FOR CLIENTS

Small business sweet spot clients will be looking for your expertise regarding popular desktop applications, including the following items: Microsoft Office; Intuit QuickBooks; Interact ACT! and others. They will also need help completing hardware upgrades and setting up shared folder backup systems as part of a plan to keep antivirus and firewall software current. They may also need PDA support and network help.

THE NEEDS OF MICRO SMALL BUSINESSES

Micros small businesses, those with less than 10 PCs of the P2P variety don’t need a lot of IT certifications from their support staff. To them IT certifications are status symbols that mean they must pay more for simple support from someone that is overqualified.

IT CERTIFICATIONS AND REAL IT MANAGERS

When you are selling your services to an actual IT manager in larger small businesses with 50 or more systems, you will find that IT certifications become incredibly important. A real IT manager knows first-hand details about IT certifications and is typically certified. He will look for you to be a very deep specialist to compliment and fill in the gaps of his general work.

For example, the IT manager might have a Microsoft Exchange Server installation, and will want to bring your consulting firm in if the IT certifications reflect skills in forms development or hooking up Java-based applications. Your IT certifications in this instance will be vital.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

The Computer Consulting Business and Client Issues with Cost

In order to ease clients through the process of accepting your solutions in the computer consulting business, you have to stress value and return on investment (ROI) instead of presenting your services as an expense. Even though each client will have different ideas of what is “expensive” or “affordable” with your computer consulting business, you need to make sure they all understand, regardless of their ideals, that your networking solution is worth it.

AN EXAMPLE

As an example, if you are working with an insurance agency, it might have 11 employees and PCs running Microsoft Windows 98, Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional desktop and notebook PCs. The agency might be attempting to hire three new independent contractors (either part-time or virtual employees). Each agent at the company might currently have their own modem line, modem and dial-up account once with the company for 90 days. This means every agent costs approximately $25 per month to support plus message units.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE COSTS

With 40 hours per week of Internet access, the cost of the analog line will go up to $60/month. Then $20/month will be added for a dial-up account, meaning that for 14 agents and employees, your computer consulting prospect will spend over $1,100 per month for analog lines and dial-up ISP accounts. Even if your computer consulting client or prospect uses no component of your networking solution aside from the centrally managed, shared secure high-speed Internet connection, his investment will only take a few months to show noticeable improvement.

COMMUNICATING BENEFITS

Besides monetary gains, your computer consulting business prospect will gain more control over his business, administration and Internet usage monitoring. These benefits are almost priceless in the long-run, so the prospect can already afford your computer consulting business’ solution because they will see a return on their investment both monetarily and structurally within just a few months.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101

IT Consulting Firm CITI Gets Department of Defense Contract

Leading IT consulting firm Creative Information Technology, Inc. (CITI) announced last Thursday it would be providing IT consulting and management services to the Department of the Navy through a Seaport-e IT contract. CITI will offer system engineering, design, software development, network support and many other services to the Department of Defense through this contract.

IT consulting company CITI’s CEO Sunil Kolhekar states that this contract is a major step forward for the firm. The company has worked with several civilian agencies, including State, HUD, Commerce and others in the past ten years of business, but looks forward to serving the Navy and expanding its scope.

The Seaport-e contract was developed by the NAVESEA Warfare Centers with a web-based e-business procurement portal and was created to help service acquisition, improve buying power and general business. Several other Navy groups use this contract in order to help support a variety of programs and services. Through this contract, CITI and other IT consulting firms and vendors can support agencies outside the Navy Department.

Added By: Computer Consulting Kit

Solution Providers Partnership: Juice Media Joins with LEI Financial, Inc.

Quickly expanding solution providers at Juice Media announced on June 15 that they would be partnering with LEI Holdings, including all its different divisions: LEI Financial; LEI Mexico; LEI Financial Services and Lyons Realty.

Juice Media is one of few solution providers today offering advanced marketing technologies. LEI hopes this partnership will help communications, tracking and the company’s online message, ultimately increasing revenues. The two companies are also working to create custom video messages and video tours for existing clients to help increase awareness of properties and investments available in both the U.S. and Mexico. LEI has always had a very customer-driven plan and is making plans, thanks to this partnership with solution providers at Juice Media to better their already excellent services.

Solution providers at Juice media combine automated messaging with online video, creating a package that allows for very detailed tracking and business analysis. The San Diego-based company hopes to work together with LEI to find new methods of using online resources and customer information. Juice’s philosophy centers around education, motivation and solutions that help achieve realistic goals that create, overall, a better marketing experience for clients.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Staying Away from Small Business Computer Consulting Moochers

Even when you are just starting out in the small business computer consulting business you will find yourself confronted with a lot of moochers. Whether you call these computer consulting problems vampires, cheapskates or freeloaders you have to cut them off from the beginning to save your business.

WHAT’S THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM?

You need to make your mission clear to prospects that have unrealistic visions of the cost of professional computer consulting services. It is your job to convince them that hiring your firm is an investment towards their future business rather than just an expense. Highlight the concrete benefits of what your computer consulting firm can deliver and how this outweighs any out-of-pocket costs prospects or clients might find painful.

MAKING PREDICTIONS IN SMALL BUSINESS COMPUTER CONSULTING

Because you are selling very specialized computer consulting services, your mission and value predictions will be different from your competitors. To convince potential moochers and regular clients that your firm is the best option, the following tool is important.

Look for small business decision makers that pay for other B2B services, including accountants, legal services, PR services or marketing efforts. These prospects will already be accustomed to paying for highly skilled professional services that cost $100 per hour , so the idea of having a retained professional services provider at $1,000 per month or more will not be surprising.

SMART WORK

Your sales staff will find it more efficient to go after leads and prospects that are qualified than to try to talk potential freeloaders or those without a clue about computer consulting value into accepting your solutions. In your area there will most likely be hundreds, if not thousands of leads and prospects that understand the value of computer consulting services, leaving you no excuses to go after small businesses that might suck you dry of time and resources.

Added By: Computer Consulting Kit

Computer Consulting Services is About Selling Peace of Mind

For many small business clients, your computer consulting services will be an important part of an insurance policy. Your service agreement will tell them what is covered as part of this policy and what is not and will give them boundaries. Each month, quarter or year you will collect a deposit from them that is like a premium payment.

COMPUTER CONSULTING SERVICES AND VALUE

Small business owners will be likely to pay you premiums on time because they want to ensure you will stand behind them when they need you. Your computer consulting services will be treated as security, and you should acknowledge clients see them this way by stressing the value of your services. You can even add security and data protection as part of your major selling points.

THE BEST FOUNDATION FOR SECURITY

You should emphasize security and data protection measures into all computer consulting services sales presentations. A P2P network is definitely not as secure as the client/server network you are pushing. Therefore, a P2P network only allows for “share-level” access, meaning anyone that connects to it has the same username and password combination and there is no control over how much access users get and no way to end access once an individual leaves the company.

STRESSING COMPUTER CONSULTING SERVICES

A dedicated server, as opposed to a P2P network offers more control over access and sharing. Every person can have a password and username, and pointing out this feature to prospects and clients will strengthen your case. Security with this type of network also offers greater flexibility; with P2P networks, security can be controlled only in the area of sharing, whereas with a dedicated service, control can be exerted down to the level of specific files.

As part of your computer consulting services presentation, ask the following hypothetical question of clients and prospects: would you rather give employees free access to an entire room full of filing cabinets or just some hanging folders in specific drawers that are important to their specific jobs?

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

Client Responsibilities in IT Support

There are many tasks involved when providing IT support to clients. The following responsibilities are the most important part of your services.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS COORDINATION

You will probably have to coordinate IT support with the local phone company when handling sweet spot clients. It could be a competitive local exchange carrier or an incumbent local exchange carrier, and you will want to research the types of connections you need and some basic dial-up networking ideas. Many IT support departments also coordinate tech support with ISPs for Internet access.

TESTING EQUPMENT AND APPLICATIONS

Your firm will probably eventually be tied into vertical industry-niched applications, either brought in by you or already in your clients’ plan for future investments. They will ask you to test the application before they make the investment and will want your IT support firm to find out how the vertical application will work with their existing network.

TRAINING

Your firm will need to be involved in training, and it will take many forms. Sometimes it will be formal end-user training, and other times it might be training conducted in small groups. You will also have to train the guru so he/she can perpetuate training in the routine daily tasks of the company.

PREPARING FOR DISASTERS

As part of IT support, you will have to be involved in planning for disaster recovery and checking out the data backup system, antivirus software, power protection and security along with maintenance.

Your best asset in terms of clients is your problem solving and strategic planning. You need to write everything down, get it organized and know what needs to be done right away and what can wait until the future.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101

IT Consulting Roads to Success

You need to be ready for challenges before you start your IT consulting business. The following steps can help get you started.

MAKE A DATABASE OF CONTACTS THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE YOU MEET

When making an IT consulting prospect/contact database, use a preexisting package like ACT of Goldmine to simplify the process. You should contact each person and tell him about your IT consulting company. Make sure all contacts know you would appreciate any referrals they can send your way, or to keep you apprised of any computer problems about which they hear.

You should balance personal visits with professional visits. In-person visits to contacts have the most strength, followed by phone calls, then emails and postcards. Give each person you meet some IT consulting business cards with your mobile number on them and also some tech support stickers so they can place them on computers and give them out to others.

DECIDE WHEN TO CHARGE AND HOW TO SET UP BILLING

You should think carefully about your hourly billing rate and make sure not to undercharge. Think about whether you want to charge for travel or the trip, or if you want a call fee or a flat fee on top of an hourly billing rate. You should also establish minimum onsite hours, of which 2-3 is typically the standard. You need to go to quite a few places per day in order to make a living, so efficiency is important.

Also think about methods for billing in regards to telephone support and remote support. With a new IT consulting business or any IT consulting business, you don’t want to give anything away for free. You should also think about how you will charge for an off-site project.

GETTING THE FIRST PAYING CLIENT

The most important thing to focus on in IT consulting is to do an excellent job with your first client. You should go above and beyond the call of duty and deliver more than they expect. When you get paid, and while your customer is extremely happy with your work, get a testimonial that can help you gain future clients.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

VARs News: Ingram Micro Named Most Important Distributor

Global technology distributor Ingram Micro, Inc. was recently recognized by VARs publication VARBusiness Magazine in its VARBusiness 500 as the “Most Important Distributor” for the third consecutive year. VARBusiness 500 lists the IT industry’s top VARs, solution integrators, IT consultants, service organizations and other professionals in North America based on their yearly gross revenues.

Spokespeople from Ingram stated that they were working hard to make sure that their solution providers and IT professionals would provide clients and IT channel partners with business resources and innovative solutions based on market expertise to allow businesses to excel and grow.

Editor of the VARs publication asserts that the VARBusiness 500 is the best method for measuring revenues in the IT industry, and has been very pleased with Ingram Micro’s ability to stay on top in the past few years. The VARBusiness 500 is a project led by a team of researchers and supported by Answers Research. Results of the survey are put together based on top solution providers between February and April 2006 and are based on the gross 2005 revenue. The survey also tracks market trends among the VARBusiness 500 companies.

Added By: Computer Consulting Kit

IT Consultants in UK Warn U.S. of Internet Security Risks

Top IT consultants in the UK are advising the U.S. military, government and other critical agencies that their commercial software outsourcing is leaving them open for serious security risks and possibly a major cyber terrorist attack. Experts at the Cyber Defense Agency (CDA) feel that gas, electricity, telecommunication companies and banks could find themselves under attack by those hoping to take advantage of some software code weaknesses, leading to “life-cycle” attacks, which happen when one line of code out of millions gives access to problems with the software and open it up to infiltration.

An IT consultant spokesman confirmed the rumor that CDA had warned the U.S. government of national security threats, but had not yet shared this information with the UK government, mainly because the Agency is not in direct contact with it. When informing the U.S., IT consultants backed their statements with fresh Department of Defense research conducted by national security experts. The report stated that the less expensively-built software created by overseas labor is most vulnerable. Many experts feel these outsourced projects are helping terrorists to plan an organized attack against the U.S. The longer U.S. IT consultants and government officials wait to address these coding problems, the greater the threat will become.

UK IT consultants are advising that large software companies insist on organized security reviews of their own code as well as even on third party code and open source code. An in-depth security review by experts would help detect life-cycle attacks and decrease the risk of serious damage to major organizations. Many of these reviews could be done automatically by secure software.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Are Consulting Contracts with National Service Organizations Smart?

Simply put, consulting contracts with national service organizations are a really bad idea. You will most likely spend a great deal of time and money with certifications and learning platforms and technologies, but hardware repair is just a commodity and does not have a large margin of growth. As hardware items become cheaper and easier to replace than repair, consulting contracts with national service organizations become less useful.

REPLACEABLE COMPUTERS

Computers depreciate at a rapid rate, and consumers would often rather replace a PC that is now significantly less valuable than when first purchased with a better, newer model than spend money to fix the old one. For example, a $600 consumer-grade PC out of warranty or a $400 laser printer are not often worth the money and effort to repair, and many small businesses would rather simply buy a new machine than go to the trouble of fixing the old one for either the same price or just a small amount less.

CONSULTING CONTRACTS AND LOW LABOR ALLOWANCES

National service organizations will most likely be facing warranty repairs on inexpensive hardware, and they therefore have a small amount of labor allowances, particularly on items such as $1,200 notebooks. Many larger hardware vendors are in such need of money that they are always dealing with the prospect of going out of business. Dell, HP and IBM are really the only major hardware providers that are still financially healthy.

PROFIT MARGINS ON CONSULTING CONTRACTS AND REPAIRS

A repair will probably only bring in $150 to $200 at the most, so you would be better looking for small businesses in the area that need more sophisticated professional services regularly.

LACK OF PROFIT IN CONSULTING CONTRACTS WITH NATIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS

If you act as a subcontractor for a national service provider, you will always struggle to run your computer consulting business. With more sophisticated, long term contracts, you will be in one or two offices per day rather than two, and you will be billing more in the short and long term. You will be paid for your time no matter how long it takes you to complete the project.

In short, consulting contracts with national service providers are a bad move for someone looking at long term success and should not be a part of a conscientious business plan.

Added By: Computer Consulting Kit

Handling Customer Fears in the Computer Consulting Business

Internet security is an important element in the computer consulting business. As a computer consulting professional, your clients will need you to explain Internet security by describing how your networking solution will work with firewall, antivirus and encryption techniques.

ACKNOWLEDGE CLIENT CONCERNS

Connecting to a system of any kind, such as a workstation or a server can be incredibly risky. Security concerns will offer many complex challenges for those in the computer consulting business. Not fully employing complicated security resources when setting up a client network means continuing to use individual dial-up accounts and modems, which can leave a system vulnerable and compromise company IT assets.

TIPS FOR OVERCOMING SMALL BUSINESS OBJECTIONS

As a professional in the computer consulting business, you don’t want to make any decisions without talking through prospects’ or clients’ concerns about networking and security issues. If you think you missed a small point, ask questions to clarify. Asking a lot of questions will help establish a trusting relationship with clients and prospects, because they will notice that you were concerned enough to be as clear as possible about their needs. Repeat questions as issues arise and listen carefully to objections. This is also your opportunity to give them more information about what your computer consulting business can offer them.

MAKING CLIENTS SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF A NETWORKING SOLUTION

As a computer consultant and virtual IT director, your job is to help clients see the benefits of a networking solution. A small business network is more than just a set of hardware and software; it is a long-term management tool and growth opportunity.

If you use some of the above skills when handling misconceptions about small business networks, you will help clarify your solution and overcome objections that might reduce your chances of closing a deal with clients.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

Computer Business News: Accenture Makes New Deal with Unilever NV

Accenture confirmed recently after an announcement in Computer Business Review that it was accepting a seven-year human resources outsourcing deal with Unilever NV, a consumer goods company.

The contract, worth over $1 billion states that computer business Accenture will offer HR services including recruitment, payroll administration, performance management, workforce reporting and third-party provider management. The company will also provide many different learning tools and services including content sourcing and development, program planning and many others.

The contract stipulates that Accenture will offer these tools to 200,000 Unilever employees globally, including those from centers in India, the Philippines, China, Romania, the Czech Republic and Brazil. Computer business Accenture also claimed that less than half of Unilever’s 3,300 worldwide HR staff would be affected by this contract.

Accenture has also chosen a Belgian outsourcing vendor, Arinso International NV to be a subcontractor as part of this deal, providing payroll processing and systems maintenance to those offices of Unilever in need. This entire HR outsourcing deal is part of Unilever’s larger plan to try to cut costs and try to save $900 million by the end of 2006.

In April, Accenture signed an outsourcing contract with Unilever to offer European-based application development, implementation and maintenance services. The computer business also called in IBM Global Services to run its North American offices and important parts of its financial transaction services in 20 countries. Unilever also lengthened its contract for network management with BT Group to three more years.

As for Accenture, the company has released information about two other business outsourcing deals within the past month, including a deal with Crestline Hotels and Resorts and a seven-year contract with New Century Financial Corporation.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101

Solution Providers Merge to Create Large Managed Services Firm

Three New England solution providers recently announced a merger, giving birth to a $50 million firm offering managed services, VoIP, security and business continuity services. Netivity Solutions, Woods Network Services and NetTeks Technology Consultants joined to create NWN, a company that possesses high-level certifications from major players such as Cisco Gold, Microsoft Gold and Novell Platinum.

Mont Phelps, president and CEO of NWN stated that this channel consolidation of the solution providers into a Cisco and Microsoft VAR will help them become more balanced in the areas of products, professional services, and managed services. This new entity combines the strength of Netivity’s managed services, security and software skills, Woods’ enterprise VoIP knowledge and NetTek’s SMB-centric IP telephony services.

Spokespeople from the new firm feel that this three-solution providers merger will give them greater command of the commercial market than other Gold partners that are not paying attention to that segment. Thanks to the merger, NetTeks will go from a company of $10 million to a member of solutions providers that will make $50 million in revenue. NWN employs 100, mostly engineers and is set to work with clients in New England and some regions in New York and New Jersey.

Spokespeople for NWN state that the timing is perfect for this type of solution providers consolidation because there are so many others following suit to keep up with changing times. Cisco VoIP solutions are especially popular at the moment, as new technologies prove themselves to be incredibly critical to business.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit

What Computer Skills Do Your Rivals Possess?

Your virtual IT business is very dependent upon computer skills, but you may not be aware of which skills you really need to be successful. Knowing what computer skills your rivals have can help you determine what you should be developing.

NETWORKING PLATFORMS

Most of your rivals that have success with sweet spot clients know about the following platforms: Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS); Novell Small Business Suite or NetWare; Linux (usually RedHat) and Mac OS.

Some larger competitors in your market with several employees may gravitate towards the higher end. They will begin by addressing companies with 25 to 50 PCs and then move onto those with 50 to 100. They might also decide to take on some medium-sized companies with 100 to 500 systems. These larger companies will get involved in very complex solutions that are unnecessary for your business.

LARGER COMPETITOR COMPONENTS

Larger rivals will typically have expertise in the following advanced systems: Network Attached Storage (NAS); Storage Attached Networks (SANs); complex security solutions; CheckPoint firewalls; Citrix Terminal Solutions; High-end Wi-Fi solutions; managed hardware. These advanced certifications are not necessary until you are ready to sell an IT manager at a larger small business.

NECESSITIES

For sweet spot small businesses having 10 to 50 PCs, you should look for virtual IT staff that has one or two entry-level certifications. Members of your staff should be working towards a certification such as an MCSE.

GOOD SOLUTIONS MEAN HAPPY CLIENTS

Typically clients are more interested in problem-solving computer skills than other types of skills. They want your company to know about their specific industry and for you to be able to apply your IT skills to solving their business problems.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit

IT Sales Techniques: Servers and LANs for Clients

A major part of running your own IT consulting firm is developing at least basic IT sales techniques to get your clients on-board. Because many small businesses resist change, you have to be prepared to find effective and persuasive ways to communicate differences between installation of a dedicated server and other less efficient alternatives.

KNOW CLIENTS’ FEARS

When developing IT sales techniques for small business decision makers, you need to think about their greatest fears and hot buttons. You should overcome their objections and give them a strong message about investment return and potential savings.

IT SALES TECHNIQUES

Experts vary in their opinions about whether or not IT sales techniques can be taught and learned. Some believe that you are simply born with a gift to sell, and can’t be taught to do it more efficiently. Others feel the opposite and believe that while some have a natural talent for IT sales, those that do not can be trained to improve.

Small business computer consultants and staff have to use IT sales techniques within their comfort zone even if they are initially aversive to selling. The goal is to gain the tools to succeed, whatever your personality.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Computer Consulting: How Do I Find Paying Clients in the Beginning?

If you are just starting your computer consulting business with very basic support level technical skills, you should be sure your firm gets paying clients that fit in with what you can deliver.

You should work with home offices and small businesses or companies with really small P2P networks in the beginning in order to get some paying clients and references to help with future marketing endeavors.

USING THE ONE-SHOT DEALS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

While in the beginning these first one-shot deal clients will be important, you will eventually need to move past them to gain strength in the computer consulting business. You want a small business computer consulting firm designed around recurring revenue, on-going service agreements and more advanced server solutions. The key to success is in long-term client accounts.

NEVER STOP LEARNING

If you think your lack of technical training is keeping you from getting clients that need more complex work done, create some time each week for training. If you run through tutorials and resource kits and install not-for-resale software to practice breaking installation and troubleshooting the setup process you will become more comfortable with different technical solutions.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101

A Good Website is Critical in the IT Consulting Business

When you are just starting out in the IT consulting business, you need a website. Potential clients will know whether you are full time and in the IT consulting business for the long haul or just trying it on for size by the quality of your website.

SIMPLICITY IS KEY

You should keep your website in IT consulting very simple, which means you shouldn’t use flash and other advanced design techniques because you will not get good search engine spidering and also annoy people in the process. It should only be four or five pages in the beginning.

WHAT’S IN THE WEBSITE?

Your IT consulting website should have a homepage, then a page that talks about the benefits and solutions your firm offers. You should also include a bio page detailing your background.

MAKE YOURSELF VISIBLE

You should not hide your face when designing an IT consulting business website. Make sure your name is attached to the site, and even consider putting your picture in plain view. Audio options can also build a stronger connection with prospective clients. The most important idea is to make sure your website says who you are as the owner of the IT consulting business.

EASY CONTACT INFO

When starting an IT consulting business and designing the website, you should make sure you have a contact form on the site, and even a links page where you can share links with other businesses in your area. You can also add a hidden referral page on the site to make it easy to point prospects and others in the proper direction.

When designing your IT consulting business website, write it in a way that will appeal to the small business owner. You should focus on the benefits you can bring to their business plan.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

Computer Business Microsoft Offers New Enterprise Help

Computer business Microsoft recently re-released a clarified security advisory about Word XP and Word 2003 to help enterprises, stating that it would provide a permanent fix for the problem on June 13 and offering another way for users to protect themselves. This advisory was released Friday and now has more details about how corporations can protect themselves against security problems by running Word in safe mode.

Spokesperson and program manager for the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) Stephen Toulouse approved the process of editing the Windows registry so Word will run in a restricted mode, an approach that was discovered by an independent researcher that released an unapproved fix for the problems two weeks ago.

With most of the malicious attacks, computer business Microsoft experts have discovered that using the “Basic User” Software Restriction Policy is the best way to prevent malware because it works for many different types of malware.

A January 2005 article on the computer business Microsoft’s official site explains how to run specific applications in restricted mode. While this procedure certainly is not meant to be a permanent solution, it is a good interim quick fix to use until permanent solutions to the problem are released.

This latest vulnerability, called the “zero-day” vulnerability is not a universal threat because it has only so far been used in extremely targeted attacks.

Created By: Computer Consulting 101

Solution Providers News: PGP Releases New Data Encryption Technology

On Monday PGP announced the coming release of a new product for solution providers and professionals, PGP NetShare, data encryption technology that is set to automatically encrypt files from the moment they are saved to a specific folder. This application allows users to access files from across networks.

The current PGP product, Universal offers the ability to encrypt data in many different forms, such as e-mail, instant messages and data in mobile PCs. NetShare gives specific folders and directories protection and automatically encrypts them. The files stay encrypted even if the file is moved to a different location at a later date.

With this new product, solution providers and professionals encrypt and decrypt the data on the computing device rather than the server, and this process does not affect the server’s performance. The technology also can be configured to allow more than one user to access stored and encrypted files, including IT administrators, allowing easier backups and restorations of data. The application makes it easy for separation of roles within companies and for a company to keep specific practices and defined jobs in place.

PGP uses channel partners to deliver its applications to over 30,000 commercial customers globally. Solution providers are allowed to sell the PGP NetShare software and offer services to customers and companies of all sizes. Solution providers can work with a customer’s storage or security specialists or with the whole company without having to wait for one or the other. Roles can remain separate and security higher.

NetShare will go into beta testing in late June and will be available to all by early in the fourth quarter. The expected retail price will be $150 per unique user.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Supporting Your Business with Technical Staff

You are in danger of training a future competitor if you don’t protect yourself by managing how you hire the expert technical staff for your company.

For example, your firm may hire a technical person and pay for the expert’s training in Microsoft, Cisco or Citrix. This person might become highly skilled and get a lot of experience in the field on your dime. One day the employee may wake up and decide he wants to start his own consulting company and take his clients with him.

ALWAYS BE PREPARED

The way to prepare for this possibility is not to hire on one technical person or one salesperson to handle all the related business in your company. Find out how you can become more involved in sales and service delivery, and even if you are not the go-to person with the strongest skills, making sure to keep in touch with all aspects of business will help keep prized clients loyal and keep client accounts strong.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTRACTS

Be sure to have technical staff sign non-compete clauses and non-disclosuer agreements when you hire new people, and talk to your attorney about the finer points. Pay attention and have a plan so you can anticipate any issues before they become crises that hurt the health of your business.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit

Surmounting Client Fears in the Computer Consulting Business

Small business owners in the computer consulting business afraid of risk are similar to those that are reluctant to move forward with your small business network ideas. These small business owners know they have a need, but will keep putting off the project with your computer consulting business, maybe even indefinitely.

WHAT ARE COMPUTER CONSULTING CLIENT FEARS?

Those small businesses afraid to take risks will put off your proposal for a variety of reasons. They are truly afraid of what might happen if things go wrong during network installation. They are similarly afraid that once the network is installed by your computer consulting business, it will be painful to run, which can mean they will not sign off on the work. Other small business owners might become aversive to risk because they believe they might outgrow your networking solution too soon in the future.

HELPING CLIENTS SEE A LONG-TERM PLAN

Computer consulting businesses need to discuss the future with clients to help them see the growth options the networking solution is offering. The long-term plan is not just about adding more licenses for software or putting in another networking hub or switch. If part of their plans are just to add these licenses and install more hubs and switches, just be sure to highlight how inexpensive these options will be in the long run.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

IT Consulting Firm Tata Joins SAP in a Global Partnership

Tata Consulting Services was recently named software company SAP’s first Asian global services partner. The announcement was made at SAP’s Sapphire customer event in Paris.

IT consulting firm Tata is joining the ranks of 12 other international firms including Accenture, Capgemini and HP Consulting as a partner of SAP. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans to design software applications that will run on top of SAP platforms. The IT consulting firm will also be a preferred implementer of SAP systems.

TCS has more than 2,200 staff working on SAP services throughout the world and has 62,000 IT consulting representatives in 35 different countries.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

Solution Provider Resources

Every solution provider and other IT professional looks for ways to keep abreast of the latest technologies and news in the IT field without compromising client time or service. There are many consolidated resources for any solution provider searching for ways to make finding the most up-to-date information fast and easy. Simply spending a few minutes each day reading through top news stories can be a good way to determine what new technology advancements or business information is worth a second look.

EE Times online provides a page of recent stories that show market forecasts and rankings for major players in the IT industry such as IC Insights Inc., iSuppli Corp., Gartner Inc., VLSI Research Inc., Semico Research Corp. and The Information Network. This allows any solution provider to quickly find important information that can help devise a marketing plan or simply make professionals aware of what the rest of the market is doing. Also offered is a catalogue of the most recent Q & A’s of CEOs and CTOs along with many other special features.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

Are IT Certifications Important?

Most of the time your sweet spot small business clients will be in the beginning phases of learning the value of certifications. This means that many sweet spot clients do not know enough about IT to appreciate different levels of certifications and pay for the more advanced levels.

WHAT DO IT CERTIFICATIONS MEAN TO CLIENTS?

Presenting a staff member that is an MCP or Can with entry-level certification and then sending someone the next week with MCSE or a more advanced level certification is not going to mean anything to your clients. Your customers will probably have an appreciation for what certification generally is because they know they want to use someone that passed the test. Still, they will not want to pay high hourly billing rates for very high levels of IT certification.

Practically, senior level IT certifications don’t matter very much to most sweet spot small businesses because the projects and tasks will not be typically technologically complex. All projects that are technically sophisticated can be subcontracted out to other people.

THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY CURVE

Sweet spot small business clients are usually many years behind the technology curve, so there is no need for you to invest in keeping your skills and IT certifications extremely cutting-edge.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit

Wireless Ethernet Presents Business Opportunities for the IT Consultant

In 2002 a lot of vendors clamored to market 802.11 wireless Ethernet products believing them to be the next big thing in wireless networking. Quickly more types of Ethernet products emerged and most recently a newer 802.11g is set to take over the market. The best thing for IT consultants to do is to look for wireless Ethernet hardware that can handle all existing standards.

WIRELESS ETHERNET OPPORTUNITIES

Wireless Ethernet is an excellent business opportunity for well-versed computer consultants. But because there is a large installed base of 802.11b products already and most 802.11a products are not compatible with the “b” version, the 802.11a often has a difficult time in the marketplace.

Wireless Ethernet will probably take over wired Ethernet as the main small business networking tool in the future, although it is unclear when this will happen. For the time being, small business computer consultants can still gain a lot from marketing and working with wireless Ethernet products.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101

Using a Computer Consulting Business to Help Your Company

Often small companies only use computer consulting businesses in times of emergencies. But if you are a business owner, there are many benefits to developing a long-term relationship with a firm in your area.

COMPUTER CONSULTING BUSINESS ADVICE

Computer consulting firms are incredibly useful when you need occasional advice about your technology products or you have a specific problem you need solving. If computer systems and IT are tied into your company in a major way, outsourcing your computer-related issues to a local computer consulting business is a much better idea than just using it for emergencies.

THE COMPUTER CONSULTANT

Computer consulting businesses often specialize and become very important in their area or to the niche they choose and can truly help companies grow. These kinds of computer consulting firms can often know as much about your business as you know

FOCUSING ON BUSINESS

Sometimes small companies know what their technology needs are when the find a computer consulting firm. An outside computer consulting business can be much more useful than using someone within the company that has other responsibilities besides technology. A computer consultant is an expert, and can typically more quickly solve problems than someone with other jobs internally.

THE CONSULTANT PERSPECTIVE

An outside computer consulting business or consultant can bring a new perspective on your company and its IT infrastructure. Non-technical small business owners and managers often will see the same things within their companies after a while, and computer consulting experts can help companies refocus.

HOW CAN COMPUTER CONSULTING EXPERTS HELP?

A good computer consulting business or consultant is ready to try many different things to help your company face technology and business challenges. They will many times provide personal coaching, technology training or strategy planning meetings. Effective computer consultants will get involved in your business and design solutions that work best for your company

Added By: Computer Consulting 101

IT Sales: Reaching Decision Makers in Small Businesses

There are several ways to communicate the benefits of hiring your computer consulting firm to install and support small business networks. The most important element is analyzing your client’s needs and offering a solution that will fit his budget. You can achieve this through the initial consultation, IT audit and site survey meetings.

WHO MAKES DECISIONS ABOUT IT SALES?

The owner of a small business may not be the major decision-maker. While he might have the final say in many matters, the primary decision-maker for IT sales is usually what is termed the “internal guru” – an office manager, controller, vice president or even an owner’s spouse.

When plotting out your strategy for IT sales, figure out who is in charge of IT discussions and make sure that person is interested in both cost and how to best fulfill the company’s needs.

DON’T OBSESS OVER DETAILS

Often small business decision-makers will not be interested in the intricate details of the kind of server suite you propose installing as part of their network. As a part of your IT sales technique, be sure to stick to the concrete features, such as file storage and security, printer sharing, web browsing, e-mail and how they will send and receive faxes through the network.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit