The Future of IT Consulting

Technology consulting today isn’t all long lunches, happy hours, or golf meetings. Technology consulting firms would tell you about the long hours and late nights for often thankless work and unexpected detours in projects.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. The future of IT consulting is bright and can be a fulfilling career as you help improve your client’s business and fortunes. To be a successful IT consulting company, there are a few best practices to guide the way. Be a part of the future of technology consulting by following these guidelines.

The Client Defines Success
Before you sign a new contract, check yourself and remember that in any IT consulting project, the client is the hero. Not you, your company, or the technology solution. As a consultant, your job is Chief Mentor. Guide your client in a way that ensures they succeed on their terms. A typical project could have several “heroes” involved with multiple requests coming at you. Your job is to find technology solutions to support allthe hero requests.

Don’t Judge
Avoid shooting down a client’s ideas just to look smart. Try instead to understand where they are coming from with their idea, then find a better way to get them there. Letting them know you think it’s a “bad” idea will keep you from seeing a good idea hidden within.

No Technology Comes Before Client Success
There’s no particular technology that is more important than reaching your client’s level of success. Good technology consulting firms resist the shiny things and advocate for practical tools. A functioning system is far more important than industry awards or accolades. Take into consideration your client’s current constraints and future plans. Choose the right tools to manage both.

Keep Projects Moving
Often when momentum slows down, it’s because the next decision or commitment is bigger than expected. Don’t let a project lose momentum. Take smaller steps to keep projects moving gradually.

Maintain Strong Communication
A strong connection is achieved through efficient and responsive communication. Don’t waste the client’s time with unnecessary meetings or requests and don’t waste your time with nonproductive activities requested by clients. Discuss what is truly necessary.

No Project Is Worth Losing Your Reputation
Your reputation and that of your IT consulting company is your most important asset. When considering new projects, it’s better to say no and keep your reputation than saying yes and losing your integrity. Don’t make outrageous claims in the sales process or accept projects outside of your scope.

Speak Honestly and Openly with Clients
Even if clients don’t want to hear it, speak the truth openly. While no one enjoys hearing bad news, sometimes someone needs to deliver it anyway. Don’t shield them from unpleasant facts, but present the information neutrally without your personal interpretation or conclusions. Allow the client to come to their own conclusions.

At Advanced Systems Group, we help you choose the right technology for your business needs and budget. Contact us today for personalized technology consulting services.

5 Key Data Center Relocation Considerations

Data center relocations are common occurrences when moving applications from one data center to another or into the cloud. Relocations are often due to limited storage on an old platform, keeping up with regulatory requirements, acquisitions, mergers, or cost savings.

While data center relocations are common, they’re also somewhat complex. It involves moving application software, infrastructure software, hardware, and important interdependencies. It’s crucial to make sure data isn’t lost or unplanned downtime occurs. Data center relocation services help ensure all dependencies between applications and infrastructure are moved to the new location and work correctly.

To enjoy the benefits of a successful data migration, follow these five rules.

• Understand the Current Setup

Many IT departments don’t have full knowledge of the data center setup, especially if their assets are older. To improve your chances of a smooth data migration, review your current data centerand find out as much as you can about the setup.

Each application may have multiple relationships and dependencies with other applications and infrastructure. It’s common for some to be several years old and involve legacy technology. If staff with knowledge of older systems have left the company, it’s important to fill these gaps.

Network tracing tools can help detect which components are communicating with others. Use tracing tools farbefore your scheduled data migration as some applications may only communicate every few months or once a year. Over time, create a complete picture of how your data center works before launching into migration.

• Choose the Right Method for Each Application

Each application may have several migration methods. Choosing the best method depends on which technology the application is using. Applications using current technology typically run on virtual machines and are easily copied to a new data center. “Lift and shift” methods are best for applications using older technology.

Once you decide the migration method, decide how many trials or testsneed to happen for critical applications. These applications, such as banking or air traffic control, may require a trial migration followed by testing to ensure success.

• Test Migration for Important Applications

It’s critical to avoid downtime for important applications involving sensitive information. To avoid data loss, involve backups at each major stage with a roll-back plan if problems occur.

With trial migrations, you test the migration method and work through any problems in advance. Only after testing the migration and solving any problems are you safe to try the live migration.

• Decide Where Applications Will Go in the New Network

Since the infrastructure needs to be sized correctly, it’s important to know where each application will go in the new network. Consider the requirements of each app before the migration occurs.

This process takes time and work. You must consider the complete infrastructure including servers, local network design, external connectivity, virtualization, monitoring, and more. Also, plan for older applications which may not be compatible with new data center security.

• Expect Latency

Migrating data could cause network latency which affects app performance. Legacy systems are more at risk for latency issues. The most cost-effective way to fix the problem is by modeling. If it shows latency will be an issue for a certain app, you can take steps to correct it.

You may address temporary latency by scheduling the migration of interdependent applications closely together. Other solutions would be necessary if latency is predicted to affect app performance in its permanent end state. It may require rewriting or reconfiguring parts of the app, or replacing it altogether.

At Advanced Systems Group, we help companies migrate data successfully with professional data center relocation services. Contact us today for more information about data center relocation services to make sure your data is secure.