An IT consultant can advise your company on how to use information technology to help overcome problems and meet your goals. The consultant can improve the efficiency of your IT systems and improve the structure. In some cases, they will also provide user training, and be involved in business development and sales, along with their technical duties. Below are two other services an IT consultant can offer you.

Advice on Software and Hardware Choices

The IT consultant can give you advice on the best software choices for your company. This could be the operating system your company uses, word processing programs, spreadsheet programs, accounting and bookkeeping programs, and database management. They could also have a software program custom made for your company, and purchase industry specific software.

Once you decide on your software needs, the IT consultant can help you determine the hardware you will need that can run these programs. For example, they can help you choose network servers, computers for your employees, printers, routers, and more. They will shop around so they can get the best prices to help you save money.

Offer Protection

Your data is always at risk to hackers, spyware, viruses, and more. This risk is greatly increased if you do not have any type of protection. You likely have some very valuable information on your network, along with personal information that you do not want to get in the hands of someone else. The IT consultant can ensure the network has a firewall, spyware software to scan your system for spyware on a regular basis, and a virus software to prevent viruses from getting onto your computers. They can monitor these software programs to make sure they stay updated, and are working properly.

Advice on Cloud Computing Solutions

Cloud computing is using remote servers that are hosted on the Internet to store, process, and manage data, instead of using a personal computer or local server in your office. One reason the IT consultant will advise you to use cloud computing is that it can save your business money. This is because you will not have to purchase the hardware equipment to store your data, such as network servers. Instead, you can rent a server and purchase a plan that suits your needs. This also saves you a lot of space, as you would not have to have the hardware equipment on your premises, and it will reduce your energy costs, as you do not have to keep servers and other equipment running.

Cloud computing offers you security, at it uses security certificates and encryption. This means your data could not be compromised by a hacker or anyone else that wants to steal your files. Another benefit of this is that you have access to your data from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection.

As you can see, an IT consultant for infrastructure solutions can benefit your business in many ways. Call a few consultants in your area, and talk to them to see what they can offer you.