IT Consulting Industry Trends – What To Expect and Why Your Business Needs It

As technologies advance and new products and services appear on the market, companies need to be agile in adopting these new technologies to remain competitive on the market. However, it takes a certain expertise to navigate your way through the wide product offerings and choose what is right for you. Skywell Software can provide you with the necessary IT consulting services to make sure you are using the right business technologies, and you get the highest return on your investment. We have assembled the top consulting industry trends to give an overview of what’s happening in the market. 

What is IT Consulting? 

IT consulting focuses on advising companies on the best way to use new technologies to achieve their business goals and objectives. They will use their expertise to help you implement new IT infrastructure systems and architectures. When hiring IT consultants, be sure that they clearly understand your business needs and where you want to be in the future since they will be helping you develop new technology or incorporate existing products to simplify processes and make business operations a lot smoother. 

Now that we have an understanding of what IT consulting encompasses, let’s take a look at the latest trends to see how IT consulting can help you take advantage of them to increase revenue and provide better customer experiences. 

The IoT 

IoT devices are very popular, but along with the usage, we are noticing their increased functionality. They no longer require any human assistance to interpret data and make decisions. This means that consultants need to understand the capabilities of IoT devices, study the logic they use, and apply them towards solving business issues. These devices are also a great source of data since they provide customers with great experiences, and they are generally easy to use. There are currently about 8 billion IoT devices in circulation, and the best consultants will find ways to use them to help you optimize campaigns and increase revenue. 

Cloud Computing 

Cloud computing has been popular ever since Amazon Web Services (AWS) was introduced way back in 2006. This allowed companies to cut costs across the board and simplify a lot of processes. One of the consulting trends we are seeing is the transition from owner to the custodian. Previously with physical servers, companies owned their hardware, but now they need help with things like making sure all contracted SLAs are honored, the systems are interoperable, and that the systems are compatible with the long-term vision of the company. 

Big Data

The amount of data companies are collecting is increasing every year, but they are finding it more difficult to make sense of it all. They require IT consultations to parse through this data and turn it into reports they can understand. Also, since companies are looking to collect new data, they need to create new technologies that allow them to collect, organize, and analyze this data. This is where IT consulting can really pay off since they can tell you about the best technologies and methodologies to use. 

Artificial Intelligence 

The practical applications of AI are constantly increasing and a lot of companies are using it to make more sound business decisions. This is a technology industry trend business owners need to know about since it can provide them with invaluable insights and help them understand certain nuances of the marketplace. You can also leverage this technology to provide your customers with better experiences. IT consultants can help you understand the current capabilities of AI in the business world and help you reap all of the benefits AI has to offer. 

Blockchain 

Even though blockchain is usually associated with cryptocurrency, it is currently being used across industries. In fact, one of the biggest business consulting industry trends we are seeing is understanding the framework for a variety of transactions. Since blockchain offers improved efficiency and security, it is sure to be used in securing future transactions in areas like real estate, accounting, and many other fields. 

Outsourcing 

Companies in the US and the EU love outsourcing because of the significant cost reductions, and this is certainly true about the consulting industry. One of the popular IT consulting trends nowadays is to hire offshore consultants because they have the same qualification levels and expertise as the ones in your local market area. By outsourcing the details of a project to a consultant, you are able to focus on your core business functions. Having said this, it is very important to establish effective communication with your consulting provider, and everybody is on the same page. 

5G 

Although this technology is relatively new, it is sure to make a huge impact down the road. When we consider all of the possibilities that technology offers, they will need fast internet speeds to function correctly, and that’s what 5G offers. While this technology offers a lot of potentials, not many companies understand exactly how it can help them. Consultants are now advising companies on how to take advantage of these new speeds in the development of new technologies and improving the ones they have now. 

Future of Consulting Industry

Currently, the technology industry employs 2,385,571 people in the US, and you can expect the demand for consultants to increase. Having said this, we are entering into a new era of IT consultancy. The reason for this is because the business architectures themselves are evolving. In the past, we had a doctrine of “scale efficiency”, which is now becoming “scale learning.” This means that the new business architecture includes interconnected ecosystems that will require new skills and expertise, which something a lot of consulting firms specialize in nowadays. 

The IT consulting industry was transformed by digital technology, and, just like the companies that hire them, consulting agencies needed to revamp their service offering to provide their clients with fast, profitable, and quality innovation. While IT consultants need to be well-versed in the latest technologies, soft skills are important as well. Remember, technologies come and go, and what’s popular today might be the old way of doing things fairly quickly. That’s why you need to hire people who know how to work with a team, resolve conflicts, and have excellent communication skills.