Software consulting services help identify the unique software demands of your business and discover the ideal solutions. Choosing between business software is a matter of weighing a variety of crucial factors, including functionality, ease of use, price, and future viability.
Finding the right fit for your business can help you improve the efficiency of your operations, reduce risk, and improve adaptability to present and future technological developments. But how do you choose the right consulting service?
Business recommendations and bias
All consulting services should be eager to get into the gritty details of your business and business plan. Any serious service will offer a business review, taking place in person or over the phone, to determine the specific demands of your business.
This interview can also help eliminate inefficiencies in the software end of your business and streamline as many processes as possible.
Good consulting services also know that the software you’re selecting has to be adaptable and will cope with organizational changes in your business, including the addition of extra websites, companies, or employees.
This adaptability can also help you reach new markets as technology changes, keeping your business ahead of the competition. First rate consulting firms will pride themselves on being able to make the distinction between what software is great today and what software will still be viable in five years.
While there are many software consulting services in the world, some of them do not have the best interests of your business in mind. Bias on the behalf of the consultant may lead to software suggestions which are sub-par for the needs of your business. Look for consulting that does not accept money from software vendors and do not sell the products which they recommend.
Choosing a firm with certifications including the Microsoft Gold certification is a good idea. But don’t choose a firm which is personally allied with any particular brand. Good consultants should be loyal only to the best technology in the industry, whatever that may be at the time.
Experience counts:
The consulting service will research and evaluate all software options available to you and construct a list of pros and cons of the available services. Which pros and cons are actually relevant to your business is often difficult to discern. This is why expertise in business software is a crucial characteristic of a software consulting service; look for a service which offers consultants that have over a decade of industry experience.
Demonstrations and training:
Once the consulting service composes their list of software solutions, make sure that the consulting service can arrange demonstrations of the software it has selected. Some consulting services even oversee these demonstrations personally to make sure you’re not just getting a generic sales pitch, but that the demonstration is truly demonstrating that the software can meet the demands of your business.
Sometimes the software that is ideal for efficient business practices and growth also happens to be convoluted and unintuitive. If a software consulting service does not offer training and support for all software they recommend, then they can only take you half way on the implementation of that software.
If you’re looking for the total package, make sure that the consulting service you select can provide support well after implementation of your software has completed.
About the Author
Bradley Barks is a publisher blog author and tech research – if you’re looking for help navigating the software selection process for your business, he recommends checking out softresources.com for further information.