If you are a small business owner, chances are you will at some point need a good computer consulting firm.  But how do you choose the right computer consulting firm for the job?

Most small business owners find the process of finding computer consulting professionals challenging.  They may know the questions to ask when hiring internal staff, but they don’t know how to get the right people on payroll to fulfill IT needs.  

A Checklist of Initial Computer Consulting Questions

1.    “Are you a part time or a full-time computer consulting professional?  Do you have a day job, or are you moonlighting?”

2.    “Are you a solo practitioner or a true computer consulting business?  Who are the other people in your firm?  What are their names and specialties and backgrounds?  How long have they been with the company, and will they be involved in my account?”

3.    “What is the size of your typical computer consulting client – number of PCs, employees, annual revenue?”

4.    “With which industries and vertical markets have you been involved?  With which software applications have you worked?”

5.    “Which products, services and platforms are off limits for your company?  Do you have specialty hardware, software or services vendors with which you regularly work?”

Computer Consulting Firm Selection:  The Bottom Line

The above questions can help small business owners better select the computer consulting firm that will work with their business.  Make sure to ask questions that are pointed and specific to get the best idea of the computer consulting firms you interview.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg