One of the very first questions I am often asked when talking with a new prospective client is “what differentiates your services from the other two dozen or so companies who have called this month and offered to save us money?” The simple answer is our experience,approach, and results, but these are all a manifestation of a conscious choice to be a true independent consultant and the business philosophy that goes along with that choice.
By definition, an “independent” consultant is one whose compensation comes totally from client fees and not tied to any other third parties whether they are vendors, carriers, or other types of service providers. The truth of the matter is that there are very few truly independent IT/Telecom consultants in today’s market place. The vast majority of consultants in the IT and Telecom industry derive a good portion of their overall revenues from sources other than just their clients.
For example, many so called “consultants” are actually commissioned brokers of the services and products of their affiliated industry partners. The revenue from these industry partners allows them to offer their services to a seemingly lower cost to their customer, when in reality the customer actually pays higher rates, and hence gets less overall savings, since the additional potential savings are being used to compensate the “consultant”. Their main value proposition is making it easier for their clients to buy their recommended solutions, which is actually just a consultative sale. These type of consultants claim they are vendor neutral and client advocates, but this is really only true as it pertains to the products and services offered either by these third party industry partners or by their own parent company.
The ever changing technologies and service offerings available in today’s communications technology market place make it extremely difficult for internal staff resources to keep up with these changes while still doing their primary job of administering and maintaining the products and services already in use by the organization. It is in this environment where the value of using outside assistance to help optimize current infrastructure resources comes into play. Once the decision is made to retain a consultant, the choice of consultant will dictate the ultimate success of the endeavor. Do you chose a consultant with the freedom to look at all alternatives and help you find the best solution for your specific needs, or do you use a consultant tied to only offering solutions he has deals to represent?
When Telytics, Inc. was founded in early 2004 the driving philosophy that would guide our consulting practice was based on the following principles:
I am proud of Telytics’ steadfast adherence to those principles and the superior results we have achieved for our clients.
From the client’s perspective, there are many benefits to an independent consultant approach.
These benefits include:
To achieve the benefits cited above, it is also very important that the client understands its role in the success of any independent consultant engagement. From the consultant’s perspective, the failure of the client to recognize the value proposition of the client-consultant relationship and do their part to ensure the ongoing success of the partnership is probably the most frustrating aspect of the independent consultant’s practice. The consultant’s ability to provide maximum value to the client is totally dependent on maintaining the ongoing relationship with the clients.
The secrets to success in this endeavor:
The independent consultant, since they have nothing to sell but their expertise, must continually update and maintain a broader scope of current industry knowledge and latest technology trends so that they can continue to provide additional value and superior results for their clients.
Telytics specializes in providing clients with this type of independent supplemental expertise and would welcome the opportunity to assist your company in optimizing its current IT/Telecom cost management processes during this challenging business climate.
Thanks for reading!
Gary Eckert
President/CEO
Telytics, Inc.
760-918-5568
www.telytics.com
National Award Top 25 Contributor to IT Financial Management Profession over past 25 years
2015 Chairman QED San Diego, providing National Thought Leadership for over 50 years