What IT consultancy is and when you need it

IT consultancy means someone outside the company looks at how you use technology — software, servers, website, data, workflows — and tells you what is worth changing, in what order and at what budget. It does not execute; it decides with you what gets executed. And often the most valuable conclusion is what should not be bought.

That sounds abstract, so here it is concretely: the real situations where it is worth it, what you get at the end, and how to tell you have found someone serious.

What IT consultancy includes

• An audit of what you already have. Which programs you use, where your data lives, who has access, what happens if the server dies tomorrow. Most small companies have never taken that inventory and are startled when they see it written down.
• Choosing between solutions. Off-the-shelf software or custom-built, monthly subscription or licence, cloud services or your own server — with three-year costs side by side, not just today's price.
• Security and continuity. Backups that can actually be restored, passwords and access, what happens when an employee leaves, what you do when a blackmail email arrives.
• Compliance. GDPR for customer data, e-invoicing, document retention. What is required, and what is overkill sold by vendors.
• A written plan. Prioritised, with rough budgets and a logical order — not a wish list.

Five situations where it genuinely pays

When you are about to buy something expensive

An ERP, a platform, a server, a three-year subscription. A few hours of analysis beforehand costs a fraction of the mistake. The most common pattern we see: a company buys a large system for a problem a well-built spreadsheet was solving.

When your suppliers contradict each other

One says the problem is the hosting, another the software, a third the internet connection. All three are paid by you and none is responsible for the whole. The consultant is the one who looks across everything and says where it actually is.

When the company grows and the software cannot keep up

What worked with five employees creaks at twenty. The signs: the same data entered in three places, files sent over WhatsApp, one person who "knows how it's done" and on whom everything depends.

When you need a second opinion

You have received a quote and do not know whether the price is fair or whether you need what it lists. It is the cheapest consultancy available and the most often skipped, out of embarrassment.

When something keeps recurring and you do not know why

The site goes down monthly. Invoices get lost. Emails land in spam. Recurring problems almost always have a structural cause, not a momentary one.

What IT consultancy is not

It is not tech support. If your printer will not work, you need a technician, not a consultant — and it costs several times less.

Nor is it sales in disguise. The warning sign: the consultant recommends exactly the products they also sell. That is not automatically wrong — whoever implements knows best what they implement — but it must be stated openly, and you must be able to take the document elsewhere.

A good consultant sometimes tells you "you need nothing, just use what you have better". If you have never heard that from someone, ask yourself why.

What you get at the end

A written document containing:

1. What we found — the real situation, with data rather than impressions.
2. What we recommend — concrete solutions, each with its argument.
3. In what order — what comes first and why; some things depend on others.
4. At what budget — realistic ranges, including recurring costs.
5. What we chose not to recommend — and why. That part tells you most about how serious the analysis was.

The document is yours. You can take it to any supplier, including one that is not us.

Cost and duration

The first conversation should be free anywhere — 30 to 45 minutes establishing whether there is anything to do. A full analysis of a small company's digital situation starts at around €300 and rises with complexity. It takes between a few days and two weeks, depending on how much access to data we get.

Many suppliers deduct the cost of the analysis from the project if they go on to implement it. Worth asking up front.

How to choose

• Ask to see a previous document, even anonymised. You will see at once whether it is analysis or brochure.
• Ask what they do not recommend. Anyone with nothing on that list is selling.
• Check whether they have built, not only advised. Recommendations land differently from someone who has delivered real systems.
• Ask them to explain a technical decision in plain terms. If they cannot, either they did not understand it or they would rather you did not.

In short

• IT consultancy = analysis plus prioritised recommendations, not execution.
• Worth it especially before an expensive purchase, or when suppliers contradict each other.
• The output is a written document that stays yours.
• First conversation free; full analysis from ~€300.
• The mark of a good consultant: they have items on the "you do not need this" list.