On-site Expertise

Strategic IT initiatives neither begin nor end with technology deployment but require continuous on-site monitoring, maintenance, and management. However, many organisations find it difficult to identify, maintain, and develop the internal expertise necessary to assume key roles in IT projects and help maximise technology investments.

For these organisations, residency or on-site consulting services can help augment existing staff with the technology and business expertise they need to realise the full value of their technology investments and optimise resources that support core business strategies. Unlike operational services that are delivered under an SLA, on-site consultants are often contracted on a fixed-fee basis to be on-site for a year or more to provide assessment, design, architecture, implementation, decision support, and ongoing management of critical IT functions through a long-term partnership.

Typically, the consultants who are qualified to provide on-site services possess an exceptionally deep knowledge of the technologies and practices in which they specialise. On-site data protection consultants, for example, understand the intricacies of advanced security, availability, performance, and compliance technologies from a range of solutions providers and know how to best configure and manage them to suit their client’s specific needs.

A growing number of consulting organisations now offer distinct categories of on-site services to make sure their clients receive the optimal benefit from their partnership. For example, executive-level on-site consultants may provide more seasoned leadership and enterprise IT risk management to guide global operations and corporate strategy. These senior consultants may oversee design quality control and implementation transition and serve as the primary point of contact with client executives.

In contrast, expert-level on-site consultants may be tasked with providing consultant as well as project manager resources that deliver expertise for a specific technology or strategic initiative. By helping the client manage IT risk and bridge technical and business functions, an expert-level consultant translates requirements into solutions.

Technical-level on-site consultants may also be available. Responsible for daily administration and maintenance of the operational environment, these hands-on experts perform ongoing monitoring and troubleshooting and often act as a front-line interface to support.

As the volume of demands on IT continues to reach new levels, organisations can leverage a growing range of operational and on-site services to maximise existing IT investments and resources, improve efficiencies, and manage operational risk. Whether opting for services delivered under strict SLAs or via a fee-based on-site partnership, by turning their most complex IT challenges over to seasoned experts, IT organisations can drive business value by freeing their own key IT staff to focus on revenue- and profit-generating core competencies that help ensure profitability and growth.