Any beneficial buying decision requires matching your company’s needs and budget with the “right” product or service. Sometimes that’s pretty straight-forward. But sometimes the marketplace is especially complex. And in the case of IT alternatives, the marketplace is rapidly shifting, with new players and services appearing frequently. IT sourcing advisors can help you find your way.

Why might you need help from IT sourcing advisors?

You can’t see the forest for the trees.

You’re already plenty busy dealing with daily operations and significant changes in the ways you’re generating and using data. There’s more of it, so storage is an issue, too. Data access and security policies and procedures are another concern.

And what if something goes wrong? Can you recover quickly and smoothly, even from a major event? Are you able to meet increasing industry or governmental compliance requirements?

Global and domestic economies are picking up, bringing opportunities to those who are prepared. It’s more critical than ever that you’re able to capture those opportunities as soon as they present themselves; otherwise you’ll be watching them slip away to your competitors.

IT sourcing advisors help you see your current trees.

An internal assessment can help you clearly understand your current situation – the number, variety, health and future capabilities of the trees in your IT forest – your workforce, service levels and quality, other resources currently at your disposal -- how you’re using them and what it’s costing you.

What will stand strong and sturdy for the future? What needs to be removed? What’s missing? Benchmarking creates a detailed baseline that helps you plant the right seeds so your enterprise will grow in the desired direction.

IT sourcing advisors help you see future needs.

Your IT infrastructure has to support more -- increasing numbers of people, locations, products or services, customers, and of course more data. If your corporate goals call for enterprise-wide redirection, your IT functionality has to support that, too. Successful transformation requires an in-depth understanding of the alternatives available – not an easy task when critical factors can be difficult to discern.

IT sourcing advisors save you time.

The assessment process is time-consuming. But you can’t afford to lose a grip on the essentials even as you’re planning for a strong future. Your executives, managers and IT staff should certainly be involved, but bringing in an outside advisory team helps your people remain focused on core responsibilities – tasks that build business, improve products and customer relations.

And while it’s important to do a comprehensive assessment, it’s also important that this work is handled as cost-effectively as possible. Investing in a top-notch advisory team will save you time and bring useful results without wasting money.

IT sourcing advisors help you see that the “big picture” isn’t the whole picture.

If you don’t ask the right questions, or if you unknowingly omit a few important details, your data – and therefore your analysis – will be skewed, sending you off in an unintended direction.

You can avoid disaster by following a systematic approach to assessment and analysis. Thoroughness up front ensures you’re fully prepared to make successful outsourcing choices. Or, if outsourcing doesn’t turn out to be your optimal solution, you’ll be equally well-prepared to redirect and refine your internal operations, transforming your infrastructure and services in ways that will boost efficiency, lower costs and improve services.

IT sourcing advisors can help you create a sourcing plan that supports your company’s goals and implementation needs. One that minimizes risk. And they’ll use their knowledge and experience to vet service provider solutions. Can you do all that for yourself?