Small businesses looking for IT consulting professionals to handle their technology needs have should consider a variety of factors when choosing the right firm to fulfill their many needs.
Independent IT Consulting Professionals or a Small Firm?
As a small business owner with IT needs, think about whether you would rather work with an independent, solo practitioner or a small IT consulting firm with several consultants on staff. Make sure you look at the pros and cons of each option before deciding which is right for you.
You Have to Start Small
When looking for the right IT consulting firm, you have to start consultants on small, limited proving ground projects before signing on for a major tech project or a long-term support agreement. You need to make sure you can work well with the company and that it can fulfill your sophisticated, unique business needs before you start a long-term relationship.
You will have a difficult time increasing your profit margins by selling desktop or notebook PCs. Similarly, you can’t expect to make a profit selling handheld devices such as PDAs to small business clients. They typically are marketed as consumer electronic devices than real computers.
Handheld Devices Are Very Popular
Today’s handheld devices – those based typically on Palm and Microsoft Windows CE OS’s have a lot of power. PDAs have become really popular with business organizations, but they carry with them some IT support issues that will need your attention as a small business computer consultant.
Handheld Devices Provide Options
Many times your consulting firm or your clients’ internal guru will get a handheld device support question. Even if the handheld device was independently purchased, people will expect you to help them with questions.
Will the Client Pay for Support of Handheld Devices?
You need to make sure you talk to your main client contact to find out their view on handheld device support. Will they fund it for their employees?
The Main Idea
There are a lot of different product and operating system variables to think about when you are trying to figure out how to cost-effectively deal with handheld device support to clients, including data security and ability to connect to desktops in the office.
Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit
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