Why Your Small-to-Midsize Business Should Consider Hiring an IT Consultant

For small-to-midsize businesses, hiring a consultant of any kind might seem like an unnecessary luxury. But before you write the idea off completely, consider this: do you really have the means necessary to hire a full department for every area of expertise your company needs?

Take IT, for example. While IT is an increasingly important part of running a business, it’s also unrealistic for most small-to-midsize businesses to have an in-house IT department.

An IT consultant is a happy medium, allowing you to have your company’s IT needs met without having to exhaust your resources to get the job done. 

Here are a few reasons why your business should at least consider hiring an IT consultant.

It’s cost-effective.

Hiring a consultant is cheaper than hiring someone full-time, especially when you factor in taxes and benefits. This is especially true if you hire a consulting firm, since you get access to the expertise of many consultants for a single fee. Additionally, an IT consultant might be able to find ways to save you money when it comes to your hardware, software, or IT processes. In the end, the access to the expertise is likely worth much more than the consulting fee.

You get access to experienced employees.

IT consultants specialize in IT, so you can trust that they know what they’re talking about. And when you work with a consultant, you have that expertise available to you when you need it—and you’re not paying for it when you don’t. Plus, as mentioned above, working with a firm gives you the collective experience and knowledge of everyone at that firm, so it’s very likely that they’ll be able to help you, even if you have specialized IT needs.

Cybersecurity is more important than ever.

As businesses rely more heavily on IT systems to conduct their business and store their data, it’s imperative that you take steps to make sure your information is secure. If you’ve been putting off addressing cybersecurity within your business, don’t wait for it to become a problem. Be proactive and protect your data. When a potential problem arises, you’ll be glad you did. Along with this, you can trust that a consultant is going to take their own security seriously, so you can feel confident that any information you share with them is secure. 

Consultants are independent and objective.

In-house teams can sometimes get caught up in the politics of the workplace, but a consultant should exist outside of that dynamic. You should be able to count on your consultant being objective and fair when making suggestions for your company. They’re more likely to tell you what your business really needs, rather than trying to tell you something you want to hear. 

Consultants can help educate your in-house team.

Because IT is so vital to business success these days, it’s important that every employee on your team have some basic awareness of how to use, share, and store data in a safe way. They should also know how to recognize and respond to a potential cyber threat. You might consider hiring a consultant simply to help train your team on best practices for keeping their computers (and your company’s information) secure. Even if this is all you hire a consultant for, it would be well worth the time and expense.

Even if you have a small-to-midsize business, you can still benefit from hiring an IT consultant. Take these things into consideration when making your decision; hopefully you can see all the benefits working with a consultant can bring!