Small Business Computer Consulting

Is your company in need of a good computer consulting firm?  You may need one, but you may not know how to find one.  This set of questions can help you get in-depth answers from prospective computer consulting firms and find out if they will be a good fit for your business.  

Resellers, Pure Computer Consulting Companies and Hybrid Technology Providers

As computer consulting firms during interviews,

1.     Do you resell tech products such as hardware and software?

2.    Are you a profit center, or can we shop for products elsewhere?

3.    If we shop elsewhere for our products, can we still use your computer consulting services?

4.    Are there any other vendors – ISPs or telephone companies – that you represent?  Do you get commissions or referral fees from specific companies?

Costs, Hidden Charges, Billing Procedures

Ask the following additional questions of your computer consulting company:

1.     What are your payment terms and billing minimums?  What do you consider “billable”?

2.    Are travel time, telephone support, e-mail/online support and remote support included?

3.    Do you have after-hour and emergency service fees?  What defines these terms?

4.    Do you have support contracts?  What are the costs and the benefits?

Client Reference Accounts, Case Studies, Testimonials

Also find out the following information from your prospective computer consulting firm:

1.     Tell me about one of your long-term small business accounts.

2.    Tell me about a recently signed client.

3.    Tell me about a client that just didn’t work out.

4.    Can you give me some references?

Research, Development and the Technology Curve

Also ask these questions about your computer consulting business’ ability to keep abreast of technology:

1.     How do you stay in touch with the latest tech developments?

2.    For what do you bill clients, and are there any gray areas?

Training and Knowledge

You need to also ask additional questions:

1.    Are you willing to provide in-depth training for users within my company?

2.    What kind of training do you provide for users?

3.    Will you train our internal guru to be more self-reliant, even if you miss out on billable hours?

The Main Idea about Computer Consulting Company Hiring

Don’t hire an independent computer consulting firm until you’ve determined the fit is right.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Canada’s largest computer consulting firm CGI Group, Inc. declared its third-quarter profit on July 31.  The computer consulting firm said it would increase its presence in the U.S. market because of its higher profit margins resulting from cutting 600 jobs last year.  Its earnings rose 79 percent and its debt lowered.

Still CEO of the computer consulting business Michael Roach hopes to get rid of a gap between CGI’s revenue and profits by continuing to talk through its business strategies and which qualities make it stand out from competition within the U.S. market.  It will focus efforts on important investors.  

CGI’s U.S. growth rate is larger than that of the company as a whole and grew ten percent in the third quarter alone.  The computer consulting company will have its first investor day in New York in the fall.

CGI has plans to double in size in the next five years and look for acquisitions in the U.S. and Western Europe.   The company earned $64.4 million in the third quarter, up from $35.9 million during the same time period last year.  Reuters estimates that the company will get up to 18 cents per share before one-time items on a revenue of $937.7 million.

The computer consulting business is based in Montreal.  For more detailed information about its earnings, visit the attached link.  

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

The news on Thursday that Dell would be acquiring ASAP Software in a continuing effort to make itself a presence with solution providers has many wondering whether the company is a positive or negative force in the industry.  Dell agreed to buy ASAP Software – a subsidiary of Corporate Express and one of Microsoft’s top resellers — of Buffalo Grove, Illinois for $340 million in cash.
    
Solution providers think that Dell will have more ability to deal with software licensing and more power, creating some pretty intense competition with those that wish to work with ASAP accounts.  However, others think it could be a potential partnership opportunity, depending upon how Dell handles its dealings with solution providers and VARs as part of these accounts.  

Dell is a top LAR of Microsoft too and often offers much more competitive software licensing opportunities and conditions than other VARs.  Last month, Dell caused some Microsoft VARs and solution providers some irritation when it decided that reselling Microsoft Open License software at cost as part of a promotion was a good idea.  This meant those purchasing SQL, Exchange, Office 2007, Windows Vista, Windows Server Standard, Small Business Server, Client Access Licenses, Project and SharePoint got an unbelievable deal.  This promotion signaled that Dell would be less likely to deal on a partnership level with solution providers that were working with ASAP, which is turning many of them off to the idea of working with the software giant at all.

Although Dell has claimed it is a new company, many solution providers don’t believe it could so quickly rethink its business strategy and be suddenly close with the solution provider channel.

Many solution providers also say that software licensing is a very small part of their businesses, so it is not a profit center.  If Dell treats it as a way to make money, it will not really affect many other VARs significantly.  Solution providers are much more concerned about the recent announcement that Dell had acquired managed services platform provider SilverBack Technologies.  This company partners with 150 VARs, and many are worried Dell will use it as an opportunity to sell remote network services directly to small and medium-sized businesses, thus cutting profit margins for solution providers.

Still, many believe that both the SilverBack deal and the ASAP deal combined indicate Dell is attempting in earnest to get more deeply embedded with other solution providers in the industry.  Some are thinking they should try to enter account discussions with Dell in preparation for increased involvement and competition.

For more information on Dell’s new position with solution providers, visit the attached link.  

Submitted By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Recently IEComputers announced a new program for IT consultants and other solution providers.  The IEComputers.com Partner Program offers IT consultants, system integrators and VARs with wholesale pricing on hardware and software.  It offers a web-based ordering system, next-day delivery and same-day product pick-up in some areas on over 300,000 IT products.

In business since 2002, IEComputers has offered IT consultants and other consumers the opportunity to purchase products online and now is adding a chance for its partners to earn cash back on certain purchases.

According to James Cornell, founder and president of IEComputers, typically IT consultants and systems integrators buy hardware or software from major chains such as Best Buy or from an online provider and gets nothing special in return save sometimes lower prices.  This new program for IT consultants offers a reward in the form of cash back on certain purchases with no extra cost to clients.

This new program offers two program levels:  Preferred Partner and Platinum Partner.  Those involved in the Preferred Partner program get instant access to wholesale pricing and web-based ordering with a $199 set-up fee and $19.99 per month fee with the option of cancelling at any point.  Platinum partners get a personally branded web-site and the ability for clients to order direct online with just a one-time $499 fee at sign-up and $29.99 in monthly fees.  A special offer for the first 100 IT consultants is currently running that allows them to get six months free of processing fees when they sign up for the program.

Submitted By:  Computer Consulting Kit

IT consulting firm Consultedge, Inc. announced it had experienced significant revenue growth last year – 54% more in FY 2006 compared to FY 2005.  The IT consulting firm, leading provider of telecommunications services has been acknowledged two years in a row – in both 2005 and 2006 – the reputable CRN Magazine by being named to the Fast Growth 100 list.  This list for IT consulting firms and other technology providers annually lists the U.S.’s top 100 solution providers based on revenue for a two-year period.  

Neal Stanton, President and CEO of Consultedge attributes the IT consulting firm’s growth to the talented staff that pays attention to clients’ business strategies and develops communications solutions that are  custom-made for each client.  

The IT consulting firm has clients in the financial, commercial, real estate, utility, government and non-profit industries.  Its most recent projects were a voice and data communications system for the Prudential Arena in Newark, NJ and a multi-site telephone system that connected offices for Wall Street Systems in New York, New Jersey, London and France.  

Consultedge has earned a reputation for driving its business based on clients’ needs.  Company spokespeople stated the IT consulting firm has been expanding because of exceptional staff that have led to an increase in demand for the company’s services.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

On May 17, 2007, leading company Agilysys, Inc. was awarded the 2006 IBM Retail Store Solutions (RSS) Solution Provider Excellence Award.  This award for solution providers is the highest RSS acknowledgement IBM presents.  Agilysys was one of only five award winners, chosen from 451 solution providers in North America.  

Vice president of sales for Agilysys Paul Civils expressed that he is honored his company has been recognized for its achievements among solution providers, particularly by a top company such as IBM.  

Those that win Solution Provider Excellence awards are presented with the awards for making great contributions as measured by revenue.  Solution providers receiving this honor have shown great leadership in the channel as marked by RSS revenue, achieved committed business targets with IBM RSS during the previous calendar year, successful promotion of IBM product offerings and their abilities to provide an excellent marketing and technical support team.  Solution providers that are recognized with this award must be Advanced or Premier level IBM partners.  

For more information on Agilysys and this story for solution providers, visit the attached link.

Created By:  Computer Consulting Kit

Sony’s computer business and electronics division is set to win over the industry this fiscal year with demand for bigger televisions and digital cameras on the rise.  A fall in component prices could increase profits, according to a representative from Sony.  

President and CEO of Sony and its computer business and electronics division says the company’s electronics sales increased seven percent in the last fiscal year, which ended in March.  The company boasts an 18 percent share of the U.S. consumer electronics sales.

Sony’s electronics unit has helped improve the company, which was hurt last year by the cost of launching its Playstation 3 gaming console as well as recalls of over 9 million laptop computers that was using its defective batteries.

Last month, the computer business and electronics arm seemingly was on its way to recovery, reporting a quarter loss but a forecast for a rise in annual profits thanks to flat-screen TVs and digital cameras.   

Sony will still have a challenge ahead as it tries to get profits from its movie studio and computer business in order to meet its profit goals.  Glasgow reported that one if its goals is to help new Sony chairman Sir Howard Stringer achieve its four-to-five percent increase in profit in his third year.  Glasgow is confident that the fact that components of electronics are going down in price could help profit margins increase for the computer business and other areas of the electronics division.   

Sony also reports, in its computer business it is discussing a possible improvement to its Bravia Internet Video Link that allows new Sony televisions to use Internet video.  

Blogged By:  Joshua Feinberg

At the TechEd 2007 conference for solution providers in Orlando, FL this week, ISV’s showed up to show their new products designed to accompany Microsoft’s latest products:  Exchange 2007; Windows Vista; Office 2007; SharePoint 2007 and SQL Server 2005.

The ISV’s applications for solution providers included e-mail backup and recovery and system management tools and workflow platforms, application virtualization and Web 2.0 products for .Net application development.  

The following vendors appeared at this solution providers conference:

1.    Double-Take Software.  This company showed its latest data protection and recovery platform for Exchange Server and SQL Server.  This platform features a new reporting center for data analysis and collection along with the ability to predict future protection situations.  It also recommends ways to prevent outages and ways to reduce recovery times and increase functionality.  

2.    AppAssure, of Reston, Virginia.  This company displayed its Replay for Exchange.  This new solution providers product features rollback for one message or a whole server.  The product uses block-level data protection to protect Exchange databases.  Quick volume recovery time (in minutes) along with search features for e-mail and legal documents make this product unique.  

3.    Captaris of Bellvue, WA.  This company demonstrated a new product to help manage workflow.  Workflow 6.5 works with Office SharePoint Server 2007, Office InfoPath 2007, Office Forms Server 2007, SQL Server 2005 Express and also gives more support for BizTalk Server 2006’s business rules.  This product also works with .Net Windows Workflow Foundation with a simulation that helps optimize performance.  

4.    Symantec, the Cupertino, CA giant.  This company showed solution providers an updated Altiris Virtualization Solution 2.1 that now supports Vista and has application streaming aided by Appstream.

5.    TNT Software.  This Vancouver, British Columbia company announced it had shipped ELM Enterprise Manager 5.0.  This real-time monitoring, alert, reporting and archiving product is for the Windows platform for small businesses.  The upgrade for solution providers offers audit support features and access to SQL Server along with a Database Archive Management System.  It has advanced monitoring features and a variety of bundled extras.   

6.    Quest Software.  This company announced to solution providers at the conference its Change Director for SQL Server.  The product enables enhanced monitoring of databases to help manage outages.  

7.    Strangeloop Networks of Vancouver.  AppScaler was presented by this company, which is a product that helps improve the performance of Web applications created with Microsoft’s ASP.Net system.  The application for solution providers will be released in September.  

8.    Falafel Software.  This San Jose, CA-based company introduced its Web 2.0 project management product ActiveFocus.  The product is made to help manage products during their life cycles.  

For more information on the latest solution providers conference and Windows-based products, visit the attached link.

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit

On Thursday, computer Dell finally announced a specific date on which it would start selling PCs in Wal-Mart stores.  Two different Dell Dimension desktops will officially be for sale starting June 10 in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico.  Other models will be sold at Wal-Marts in Canada and also at Sam’s Club.  

While prices for the computer business’ store products have not yet been disclosed, the word is the PCs will be less than $700.  Wal-Mart will only be a tiny part of Dell’s reseller plan.  Computer business Dell plans to sell 30,000 – 50,000 PCs there as a start.  Overall, Dell sold 9 million PCs in the first three months of 2007 via catalogue and the Internet.  

The new plan for computer business Dell to sell computers at retail stores is a major change in its business model.  The direct sales model previously used kept costs low and held up a close relationship with customers.  Because of a rapidly changing market, Dell has been forced to alter its sales model to keep pace.  

Computer business Dell’s direct sales model worked well in the 1990s when PCs were mainly purchased by businesses.  However, business buying of PCs declined after the dot-com crash of 2001, which actually led to increased consumer buying.  In 2005, laptop sales trumped PC sales in the consumer market.  

The computer business’ latest Wal-Mart deal is going to put Dell more deeply into the retail market.  But the company is moving cautiously to avoid over-exposure in the beginning.  The retail strategy for the computer business is still evolving, and Dell will most likely expand its electronics offerings in the future and develop new partnerships with other media companies.  

Added By:  Computer Consulting Kit

On Friday, computer business IBM stated it had a new energy saving plan to help businesses with their IT departments.  The computer business will invest $1 billion per year to help businesses increase energy efficiency and save money.

The strategy is called “Project Big Green” and will help businesses save as much as 42 percent on their power bills.  Val Rahmani, general manager of Infrastructure Management Services for the NY-based IBM Global Technology Services reported that the energy crisis impacts both society and everything that is used to run businesses.  IT departments can have a critical impact when helping run a business, and with computer business IBM’s help will be able to help improve efficiency.

Computer business IBM has plans to double the computing capacity of its data centers without increasing power usage by 2010.

Computer Business IBM:  The Five Step Approach

1.    Diagnose

2.    Build

3.    Virtualize

4.    Manage

5.    Cool

This five-step approach will be achieved through a series of bundled hardware, software and services.  According to spokespeople, IBM’s approach to helping with the energy crisis differs from other environmental ideas because it uses hardware, software and services together to create a more comprehensive solution than other computer businesses that are just focusing on hardware.

A podcast will tell solution providers how to get involved in data center cooling and this energy saving idea.  For more information on this important computer business story, please visit the attached link.

Created By:  Joshua Feinberg