Technology Consulting Expected to Grow

Technology consulting — especially technology consulting for small businesses — is pegged to be an area of significant growth next year.  That’s according to Entrepreneur magazine, which notes:

“Businesses without in-house IT departments need experts to hook them up with everything from printers to internet security to wireless networks. But you can’t just rush in with a computer toolkit and a few pieces of software. “One of the key requirements nowadays is to be able to deliver complete solutions to the customer,” says Anil Miglani, senior vice president of research group AMI-Partners in New York City.

Technology consulting has two connections to small business: (1) it is a business opportunity for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and (2) many small businesses are exactly the ones that need the tech consulting help, as the above quote shows.

And for the vendors that sell hardware and software through channel partners, I think those channel partners are going to be more important than ever.  As consultants do their consulting with small businesses, they are going to reselling someone’s products.  If you treat them right, and give them excellent support and sales and marketing tools, it may just be your products they resell.