International Business

Archive for the ‘it consultants’ Category

Demand for Big 4 IT Consultants:

“A Big 4 Accounting firm is seeking IT Auditors,” “Big4 experience in IT Audit, SOX 404, Business Process controls, internal controls” “Big4 ERP consultant with Big 4 experience,” “Strong Big4 experience in the SAP market,” “Big 4 firm seeks senior level Oracle, JD Edwards or PeopleSoft Management/Business Consultants” … the requirements list for Big4 IT consultants is limitless!

Big4 IT Saga:

Apart from being extraordinary performers, the Big Four firms and their clients have the knack of achieving success during uncertain periods. According to Deloitte Technology Fast 500, IT and Software firms consistently lead the Fast 500 list. The latest Trendsetter Barometer survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers strengthens Deloitte’s reports. The survey avers that the fastest growing companies in the U.S. allocate more than 60% of the budget for Information Technology.

What drives the Big 4 IT Firms?

IT is an ethereal market that demands business and technology improvements at the drop of a hat. Managing risks and handling change are important tasks for IT professionals at the Big4 firms. Today, there are three significant requirements that drive the Big 4 IT firms. They are-

Innovative Management

Dynamic Staff and

Efficient Team Dynamics.

Organizational performance at Big 4 IT firms is driven by the fact that the Information Systems Audits, Controls, Business Planning and Development are handled exceptionally. Typically, Big4 IT firms choose professionals for Information Systems Audits, Disaster Recovery, Systems Development and Information Security. Big4 – a website catering to Big4 alumni- receives periodic updates on the latest news and trends at the Big Four IT firms. The training budget per IT employee at Ernst & Young was U.S.$2,100 for the year 2003.

Big4 and ERP:

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a major bet for Big 4 IT professionals. Big 4 IT software job market is dominated by ERP technologies from Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft, Siebel and Great Plains. Salesforce.com, the Hosted CRM services leader, competes with all the top “Install and Customize” ERP technologies providers. With a 300,000 subscribers list, Salesforce.com expects to reach a U.S.$ 300 million profit in 2006.

Post Oracle-Siebel Union, Enterprise Software Technology giant, SAP, is also planning to offer hosted CRM Services. Budging from its conventional Enterprise Software Technology market, SAP is competing against industry bigwigs like BEA, Oracle, PeopleSoft and Siebel to earn top honors in hosted CRM services.

Big4 Firms rely on E-business and Security:

E-business and Security are playing important roles in driving the success rate of Big Four firms. In June 2005, Sapient Corp. acquired BIS (Business Information Solutions,) a SAP-related services firm. With this acquisition, the demand for Business Intelligence and value Optimization Services increased tremendously.

Another Big4 stalwart, PricewaterhouseCoopers, helps clients by offering IT cost and performance optimization services. PwC enables organizations to focus on IT business risk, IT spending, IT governance, IT risk management and compliance.

In the Information Security arena, Compliance is a forerunner. Business Process Controls, Internal Controls, SOX 404 are potential players in improving the business performance of the Big Four IT firms. As per a Deloitte Research report, a security loophole in a shipping container can amount to U.S.$ 1 trillion loss. Companies worldwide lose U.S.$ 12.5 billion due to computer hacking and spamming. Additionally, the report also suggests that global companies consider business disruption, poor regulatory compliance, erratic surges in interest rates, terrorist activities as factors affecting Security.

Performance of Service Companies and Product-related companies:

As a matter of fact, service companies are performing better and reaping higher revenue than the product-related companies. The analysis made by the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Trendsetter survey compliments the performance of IT services industry. As per the survey, 62% of e-business budgeting caters to Information Technology. Service companies bestow 57% of the e-business budget towards IT personnel, while their counterparts, the product sector firms, allocate 44% for IT personnel.

Big4 Firms and IT Compliance – The Road Ahead:

Sarbanes Oxley and IT Compliance measures have had a positive effect on the overall health of the Big Four firms. With IT auditors and financial auditors standing guard and streamlining the Security measures at Big Four firms, does that mean Big Four IT professionals with desired attributes are a hotcake? You bet!

The services offered by IT consultants can be as simple as creating a database that manages simplistic internal data or as complex as creating information systems that manage data flows that are crucial to sales and marketing process. Because IT consulting covers a broad range of services, it’s best to have an idea about how you want an IT services provider to help you before you begin the consulting process. IT consulting trends are always expanding and changing. Below, we list some current IT consulting trends that are projected to apply to a significant portion of IT consulting projects throughout 2010 and can benefit your company.

Using Social Networks to Sell and Market Products

If you think that Facebook is just a social networking site, think again. More and more companies are creating profiles on social networking sites that contain links back to their homepages, blogs, viral videos, etc. But as with any sales and marketing endeavor, fully leveraging the technology offered by networking sites requires consulting with experts in that technology. In addition to advising you on the most successful social networking campaigns in terms of information gathering and retrieval, IT consultants can also help you sort and manage the information in a manner that applies to your business goals.

Using Consumer Technology in the Enterprise

Blackberries and iPhones have long been essential communication tools for the traveling businessperson. But what if these and other consumer technologies could play a more active role in the selling process by making it possible to access company information without having to pull out a laptop? According to the newest IT consulting trends, now they can. Equipping consumer tech devices for easy access to strategic company information can make it possible to take a boardroom presentation with you wherever you go.

Offshoring

Offshoring is a type of outsourcing where a company in another country does work that was once done in house. The most prominent reason for offshoring is cost effectiveness. But with offshoring comes the issue of how remote companies will communicate and share information as easily as if the work were still being done internally. To solve this problem, IT consultants can create secure, remotely accessible databases where the accumulation and dissemination of project information occurs in real time.

Telework and Virtual Office Capabilities

With more and more employees doing work from home and while on business trips, creating an information system that keeps remote employees as integrated as if they were in the office is essential for maintaining productivity. When you consult with an IT expert, you can develop information systems that allow employees to remain up to date on projects as well as resolve technical issues while in the absence of your home base technical staff.

Sometimes you have to spend money to save money, particularly when it comes to hiring outside consultants, such as IT consulting companies. Make an investment in your business by using IT consultants, even if you use a minimum amount of technology. IT consulting services will cut your overall operational costs and improve productivity by giving you the expertise of technical staffing experts with the latest in technological knowledge.

Reduce Employee Expenses

May companies have in-house technical staffing for fear of sudden crashes, lost data or spyware and viruses, resulting in decreases in productivity and customer service. As a result, many companies have employees that know some aspects of information technology, but not all. This increased staffing has costs – increased training, worker’s compensation and benefit premiums, as well as office space and other necessities. By hiring IT consultants, companies can cut or avoid many of these increased employee expenses, adding revenue to the bottom line.

With the help of IT consulting companies, businesses can supplement the knowledge of in-house IT staff. Contracted IT consultants will allow your employees to focus on what they do best, while minimizing employee resources by having the IT consultants address extraneous problems.

Technology Streamlined

Planned and streamlined information technology is necessary in today’s workplaces. IT consulting service providers can help with all steps of managing your IT resources, from determining the system, to set-up and ongoing maintenance, all done to meet your business objectives. For example, professional technical staffing can connect your multiple devises such as printers, scanners and faxes to your office computers, minimizing the steps your employees take to complete a task. When you are starting a business, IT consultants can help determine the right technology system for your needs. In whole, professional technical staffing lowers costs and increases profits by helping to manage your computer systems efficiently and to ensure the stability of their infrastructures.

Reduce Business Downtime

Many small business owners believe that they don’t need IT consultants to deal with technological problems. However, technological problems such as computer viruses and spyware, system conflicts or lost data can be very detrimental to a small business that lacks the expertise of technical staffing. By having a contract with an IT consulting company, a business can be in a position to anticipate and prevent technical problems, reducing spending and time spent fixing IT problems. Further, IT consulting companies can use automating systems to backup and store your business data remotely, ensuring quicker business continuity in the event of a disaster. Technology is also available that can allow contracted technical staffing to have off-site access to your network, allowing them to respond to IT emergencies in a matter of seconds.

Keep Up to Date

Your company’s technological needs will grow with it. Failing to have technology that matches growth can result in a failure to meet new and growing demands, lost profits and negative customer perception. Use IT consultants to help you incorporate automating systems and virtualization technology solutions that will accommodate growth and help your business stay on track with its goals.

IT consultants add stability to the complex world of information technology, and can help your business improve efficiency, streamline operations and reduce overall costs.