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The
economic downturn has seen the closure of many businesses, but one
sector which has witnessed an increased pace of activity is IT consultancy.
An IDC study predicts that this sector will grow at a rate of 37
percent (from $23.8 million in 2000 to US $116.7 million in 2005).
And, despite the toughness of the job, lucrative remunerations and
challenging assignments are enough attractions for those with the
right skill sets to make dynamic career progression in the field
of IT consultancy.
A
consultant is hired to improve or fix a process or a function—someone
who offers expertise in a specialised field for a critical need.
Consulting is what you want when your need is strategic. IDC describes
“consultancy” as a planning service that assists management
with decision-making. What does it take to be an IT consultant?
Experts believe that any individual with a background of more than
six years in IT can become an IT consultant. However, what is needed
is expertise in that particular field, including domain knowledge,
understanding the strategies of competitors, changing technologies
and foresight to predict future trends. Acc-ording to Mahesh Uppal,
the director of Telecommunication and Computer Information Systems
(TCIS), it is more like outsourcing one’s brainpower. “He
should be an IT strategist who thinks like a CIO, so that he can
align the IT strategy with the business strategy,” he adds.
V Shekhar Avasthy, assistant manager-software/services research
of IDC (India), feels that an IT consultant must understand the
practical aspects of technology and its limitations, he should have
the requisite skills to map business processes and problems. He
needs to be a business as well as technology consultant—he
might be no master of technology, but should understand its applications.
To
make this unique mix of business acumen with technical know-how
a possibility, the most important skill required for an individual
is keen analytical powers, which forms the basis of IT consultancy.
The individual should also be able to conduct independent research,
understand the problems and try searching for its solutions.
Industry
experts point out that those who have thorough knowledge about the
market and market drivers are also joining the consultancy trade.
Pradeep Joshi, business consultant with Netcon Associates, says,
“Take the case of a large organisation, where a CIO might have
spent more than 15 years in a particular area. If he has to make
a strategic decision, it would be more or less shaped by the kind
of experience which he has in that particular field. However, an
IT consultant might have experiences in other sectors, which only
gives him an added leverage to make better decisions.” IT consultants
will be in great demand in fields like Enterprise Application Integration
(EAI), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP), Voice over IP (VoIP), IT enabled services, BPO and
back-office management.
Attractive
remuneration is one of the key factors that lures many to this career.
An assignment can start from $80 per hour, with bigger organisations
paying much larger amounts. It is not an easy profession because
of the constant insecurity. Experts advise that initially one should
work with a consulting firm and later establish oneself independently.
The main disadvantage of the profession is long hours of work. Constant
tension and deadlines are other factors one has to always live with.
Failure in delivery spoils the reputation in the market. Avasthy
says, “Considering the dynamism of technology, many planned
things may go haywire due to new technologies coming in.”
Gursharan
Dhanjal, vice president of Skoch Consultancy, believes that going
wrong means disaster. He adds, “This is something that even
the Big Five are discovering to their great discomfort worldwide.
Their consultative engagements over the past decade has resulted
in billions of dollars of IT assets giving no or low returns, with
many clients in turn resorting to doing in-house projects, turning
to smaller boutique operations. This business grows and expands
only on the strength of credibility that is built over a period
of time. ”
Conflicts
are also common. “Seldom does a client give a decent deadline.
Moreover, he expects the consultant to come with a magic wand that’ll
make all his problems disappear immediately,” states Avasthy.
Frequently people push personal agendas through consultants. There
are also ego clashes between business managers and IT consultants.
Consequently, a consultant has to master people skills along with
the technical ones. Then there is the issue of trust. While client
organisations might want consultants to produce results, they are
not ready to part with their strategic information. The handicaps
of the profession notwithstanding, sky is the limit for those determined
to make a mark in the field of IT consultancy.
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PEOPLE
