1. If you already know what you’re looking for, the

y can help you get to the right source.

They’ll help you find exactly the products or services you’re looking for, at the right price. Sourcing assistance is a common reason to bring in IT consultants, because they have the most detailed, up-to-the-minute marketplace knowledge to recommend the best vendors, and they have the connections to introduce you to those vendors.

Consultants can get you on the road to implementation faster, jump-starting your search with a short list of those recommended vendors. Not a list of vendors in their back pocket, but the few they know represent the most valuable partners for your enterprise and service needs. People who can work well with your people to quickly address problems that crop up and creatively devise ways to capture new opportunities.

The right consultants will help you negotiate the details so you get a favorable contract, one that benefits your provider, too, so they’re highly motivated to do their best work for you.

2. Better yet, IT outsourcing consultants can help you figure out what solutions you should be looking for.

The truth is, most companies looking to hire IT consultants are so confused by the complexity of the IT services marketplace, they don’t know where to look, let alone where to start that search. Or perhaps they’ve given it a try and quickly become bogged down in the details, no closer to new solutions yet drifting away from other important enterprise business.

It can be darn hard to identify the right solution, or combination of solutions, and even harder to suss out the right vendor(s). How do you know your transformation plan is well-crafted and flexible enough to meet your future needs? That you haven’t missed some golden opportunity or overlooked something that will bite you later on? And if you find what seems to be the right vendor, how do you know if you’re getting a good deal?

IT outsourcing consultants assure you’re addressing every possible “what if” before you make any decisions, so you won’t have to trip over those mistakes in the future. That starts by helping you construct a solid, thorough business case you can use to accurately compare alternatives and make fully-informed choices.

It isn’t what IT outsourcing consultants give you, it’s what they can do to help you delve deeper into your own resources and goals, so the solutions you finally arrive at – infrastructure, providers, SLAs, transition plan or other details – are chosen to support your enterprise as you continue to grow and evolve within your marketplace. Or within a new marketplace, if that’s where you’re headed.

Finding consultants who will simply hand you pre-determined solutions on the proverbial silver platter may sound very tempting. It certainly would be less work in the near term. But the likelihood that someone else’s solution will fit your needs is nil. And that won’t help you in the long run.

Need some sage advice on revamping your internal processes or governance procedures? Searching for assistance in reworking a malfunctioning contract? Or negotiating a favorable renewal? IT outsourcing consultants can help you with these things as well.

You may not know exactly what you’re searching for right now, but with the help of IT consultants, you will know, and you’ll be able to get what you’re looking for.