Recruiting an IT Consultant

Mark Herzog knows all too well that targeting the right information technology (IT) consultant can be an overwhelming undertaking. He’s shopped for a few of his own.

“I’ve [worked] in a large corporation, where I was in the position of hunting for consulting people,” says Herzog, project management business manager for Superior Consulting Services, LLC, an IT consultancy in Burnsville. “It’s like hiring an employee—you don’t always know what you’re going to get.”

There’s no doubt that the Twin Cities IT talent pool is deep, with capabilities as varied as the problems they’re enlisted to solve. It’s also vast. In fact, there are roughly 250 IT consultancies in the Twin Cities. Some consultants specialize in analyzing computer resources and creating systems that “play well together.” Others can help with Web development or deliver custom-software solutions. Still others can help businesses marry IT to their strategic plans, or help them better manage their valuable data—and keep it safe.

So how do you know which IT consultant to choose?

The first step is to understand your problem. “It’s best not to talk about solutions until you really know what your problem is,” says Steve Capistrant, president of Symphony Information Services, a custom-software developer in Brooklyn Park. “There is a tendency, for example, for consumers of software to come in with preconceived notions of what they need.” That’s a dangerous way to proceed, he explains, that typically leads companies to pay more for a solution they’ll underutilize, or one that simply doesn’t match their need.

“Know what you’re fixing,” says James Scavio, principal for Hitec Integration, Inc., a Burnsville-based data-management firm. “If I buy the pans before I’ve determined what kind of cake I’m going to bake, I’ve limited my options significantly.”

Once you’ve identified and examined your problem, look for consultancies that can articulate their methodologies for formulating solutions, advises Superior Consulting owner John Miller. The right consulting firm should also be able to clearly state their understanding of your problem, as well as your company’s vision as a whole. “If we don’t understand the client’s vision to begin with, we’re not going to be helpful to them,” he says.