Your business relies on technology and computing systems that are becoming more complex by the second. Trusting mission-critical systems to simple backups and upgrades is no longer enough. Many small to medium-sized businesses are finding themselves in need of a solid IT firm to manage their technology needs. Here are some tips to greatly increase the odds you choose the right IT consulting firm for your business.

Your business relies on technology and computing systems that are becoming more complex by the second. Trusting mission-critical systems to simple backups and upgrades is no longer enough. Many small to medium-sized businesses are finding themselves in need of a solid IT firm to manage their technology needs rather than relying on their "friend of a friend", or part-time computer technician. Here are some tips to greatly increase the odds you choose the right IT consulting firm for your business.

Determine your company’s high-level technology needs. Do you have any specific wants or needs, such as email, a website, or a server? Are you concerned about data security or disaster recovery plan? What is it about your significant business processes that can be improved on by technology? What kind of growth do you expect in the next 1-3 years and how will your current technology solution handle it? Is someone even helping you plan for this growth? These are the types of overarching questions you should consider before you consult with an IT firm. Having a list created is key to relating your desires to the IT firm and also provides good basis for a conversation that can be elaborated on. You may not be familiar with your technical options that exist so let your IT firm help you. The IT firm with which you contract should provide a technical assessment that identifies the current state of your technology and learns how it interacts with your day-to-day business functions. How can an IT firm support you in a cost effective manner if they are not familiar with your specific setup?

Make sure the IT firm you select has adequate resources. Your business probably needs 24/7, 365 day support. What does the IT firm have in place to accommodate this level of service? Do they proactively monitor? Do they have offer expedited service? Computers crash at the most inopportune times and your computing needs often do not take holidays. If you contract with a sole proprietor you will be putting your business operations and data at risk by relying on a single individual that can become ill, be out of town, etc. Making sure they are an established firm with a good track record of service to numerous clients is an invaluable, mandatory step in choosing your IT service provider.

Ask IT firms about their processes. Like any business, an IT firm should have established business processes and procedures on how they operate on a daily basis. If these core processes are non-existent then how will the IT firm bring any type of order to your chaos? During the initial meeting, a IT firm should be able to quickly describe their maintenance, repair, service, and support processes and show examples of documentation. Ask about their company’s philosophy, mission statement, and examples on how they practice that mission statement every day.

Check references and certifications. Ask potential IT companies for at least 3 corporate references and speak to them. Trust is a difficult asset to hand out to a new IT firm, so speak with someone who has already made the leap. You can also ask for a list of certifications such as Microsoft’s Gold-Certified program which assure the company has been through intensive training and quality control programs.

Evaluate the personalities. Ask to meet the folks in the company with whom you will have the most interaction. Are they condescending tech geeks or friendly and approachable professionals in whom you can trust. Remember these folks will have access to all your company data – choose carefully. You are looking to create a trusting relationship so make sure you like them!

Free Initial IT Meeting for Michigan Businesses

If you are a Michigan business, call Vision Computer Solutions at 248-349-6115 or visit our Michigan computer services website to setup a free initial meeting.

By Christine Slocumb Published: 1/31/2008 BusinessWeek names BCG Best Consulting Firm for Internships … BusinessWeek names BCG Best Consulting Firm for Internships Consultant News, UK 4 hour…   Read more… Microsoft Veterans Launch Unified Communications Consulting Firm … Microsoft veterans have launched a unified communications consulting firm to help customers m…   Read more…

Cashing On The Southeast Asian Freelance Market Trend

Freelancing your skills and talents is one of the most lucrative ventures today. You own your time, run at your own pace, and earn a huge amount of money. There are millions of online freelancers from all over the globe; and there are thousands of sites and providers who are willing to keep you for good. Today, the Southeast Asia freelance market trend is one of the most promising business arenas you could ever join.

Let us find out why.

Why Southeast Asia

Most of the online providers hire freelancers from various countries in Southeast Asia. Because the providers pay in dollars, euros or even Canadian money, many Asians are willing to work for foreign providers. The freelancers earn much money and the providers pay for a salary they can afford. For people in this career, the best relationship ever established was between the Western buyers and the Southeast Asians.

Staffing Up Versus Outsourcing

For most large companies, staffing up is both a waste of time and money. Employing hundreds of workers will only mean providing benefits and incurring additional costs. You have to pay for the office, the building construction, the services of the employee and even their health and insurance benefits. If the job is something that can be done or transacted over the Internet, a company can always hire home based workers to do the job. It will mean lesser expenses and fewer bonuses, especially during special holidays.

Outsourcing jobs is the best proven way to face the economical crisis in the world today. The freelancers work at home and save more time, effort and money. The foreign bosses hire people from Southeast Asian countries and expect the same quality work. Overall, the providers get topnotch results from the most credible people and at an affordable price.

Southeast Asian Freelancers At Singapore FreelanceZone – Review

If you wish to have both quality and affordable work, choose to outsource jobs at FreelanceZone.com.sg. You will find a heap of incredible people to work with at this site, and expect quality work at an affordable cost.

FreelanceZone.com.sg is originated from Singapore and currently one of the trusted Southeast Asian freelance markets. It is home to many skilled and talented workers who can provide the kind of output you need. And given the financial crisis troubling the rest of the world, there’s no better way to keep your business alive than to cut cost, without sacrificing quality.

By: Vanessa Arellano Doctor

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Vanessa Arellano Doctor from Phillipines Posted on behalf of Dovalize Pte Ltd.

There are many, many questions you need to ask, to find a good recruiter. Ask them the hard questions. After all, these are the people who are going to find the individuals who will drive your organisation forward. Would you give that task to just anyone? Ask them:

1. Will you personally run the campaign? Or will you play SWITCH?

Often senior sales people are sent in to reel you in, and then the actual job is passed onto a junior member of staff.

You must meet the person who will be handling your assignment. The destiny of your organisation depends on this person. This person determines the fate of your search. The tone of their voice, choice of words, and level of commitment will all affect the quality of candidates you receive.

You don’t want to be wooed by the best front man, only to be left with a blue-eyed two-dimensional MBA to pick up the pieces of your search. Don’t allow a switch to take place (slick front man to wet behind the ears MBA).

2. How long have you been in the trenches (i.e. how long have they been consulting?)

Recruitment might seem easy, but it isn’t. It takes a long time to learn well. It is fundamentally simple to describe its processes, and seems easy because so much is ‘common sense’. But high level skills take time to develop: through practical experience of the hundreds of issues that can come up, and focused training. Turnover in the industry is very high, with many only staying in recruiting for less than a year. Make sure your recruiter is not one of these who have less than twelve months of experience, otherwise you may be paying for it dearly later.

3. What is your industry experience?

You need someone who regularly recruits in your field. The alternative is that they learn about it at your expense. Are they knowledgeable on market trends and remuneration advice? Up to speed on the technical aspects of your field? Ask which organisations and positions are the most likely sources for your particular need. Ask to see whom they have on file prior to beginning work on the Search, and the type of information they hold on them. Ask who their contacts are in your particular industry sector – good contacts provide two critical aspects – informal reference checks and opinions. Ask them to discuss the main strategic issues affecting your business and industry sector, and to give you an overview of the main competitors.

The best way by far to effectively assess expertise is to arrange to meet at short notice and address the questions above. It may seem tough – but you will be able to establish if they are starting with a broad base of understanding and information. Why would you want to waste your time training them, and add more risk into your recruitment?!

Ask them to be clear about what similar roles they have hired for, if they have experience in this area and who for. Also, when they most recently hired in this area? You need to be assured that they have current knowledge. Ask them if they can show you a list of similar roles – this one really sorts them out! Especially if you don’t give them much notice. However, you cannot expect to keep the list…!

4. What salary range is right for this position?

This is a very powerful indicator of whether they know what is going on ‘out there’, in your field. Knowing the salary range will also help you define the type of person you are seeking more clearly.

5. Where will they look for the highest quality candidates?

Ask the recruiter what sort of organisations they will look in for your prime candidates. This question will further demonstrate the consultant’s knowledge of your sector and is critical to the process.

6. Can they give you references?

Warning bells should ring loud and clear if you get fobbed off on this question. It is a real danger sign. You need to check all references carefully.

To get the rest of this free article and other free resources on this topic, visit http://www.abacusrecruit.com.au/library-of-articles/39-testimonial-article/94-hiring-a-recruiter.

By: TobyMarshall

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Toby Marshall is an active speaker on the international conference circuit. His mission: To give all companies, no matter how few employees they have, the information and expert help they need to do their own recruitment and selection and find great new staff. You can get more resources at www.abacusrecruit.com.au

The Top Outsourcing Companies in India

The article lists the top ten Indian outsourcing company and throws light on their credentials.

The Top Outsourcing companies in India

The concept of outsourcing having acquired the corporate look in the year 1980 orchestrates the borrowing of services from the supplier under a contractual agreement and this phenomenon usually includes the non-core operations for the outsourcing clients.The outsourcer benefits by utilizing the outsourced services at a much lower costs than incurred by the firm’s own conduct of operations or services and redirecting its energy towards firm’s other businesses to capture the product market. The Indian IT companies have emerged as the hot IT outsourcing destination especially for the countries like U.K. and U.S. India having a huge knowledge base coupled with low costs of labor enticed the offshore companies.

The Indian outsourcing companies who have surfaced in the list of top ten globally have been operating on well-defined business models and by clearly strategizing their services. The Indian companies who have figured in the top ten on the global level include Wipro, Infosys and Tech Mahindra.. Although, IBM was the first to be listed according to the data released by IOAP, (International Association of Outsourcing Professionals) IBM has been recognized on the basis of its size and growth. Among the Indian companies, Wipro has occupied a Sixth position based on the attribute of company’s balanced strength, while Infosys could grab the seventh position by displaying customer testimonials. But listng only the top ten Indian companies will have Wipro on the first position, Satyam being second and Cognizant at the third place. Infosys, Patni, TCS, HCL, Genpact, Tech Mahindra and Mastek being the descendants after the three most Indian IT biggies. These IT companies who figure in the top ten have been estimated on the basis of employee performance, corporate leadership and customer satisfaction among other key attributes. It has been pretty difficult to rate these companies as no company came out clear with all the key features in entirety and every company has been rated on the basis of its unique attribute. For example, Mastek stood at number one when rated on the basis of newer technologies and invention otherwise it occupied position eleven. Wipro has been a pioneer in providing the outsourcing services and has become the hot shot among the US buyers. Wipro has delivered the BPO services to the banking and insurance to hospitality and telcom sectors. Other services like knowledge, HR services and manufacturing too were rendered. The services were merged together to call Wipro Consulting Services. Satyam has been the first E-sourcing company and has been favourite among the Indian as well as foreign clientage. Genpact is the other BPO giant who in conjuction with NIIT will set up training centers in major cities of India.

What made these Indian companies to be the hot IT outsourcing destinations:

• Software development solutions: These include custom and medical software development.

• Custom Application Solutions: These include Custom Software solutions along with Mobile Application. Web Application Solutions: Ecommerce, Internet, Web and Net application form part of these.

• Offshore Outsourcing solutions: These may include offshore product development and also software development.

• Other Miscellaneous solutions: These solutions may figure out software testing, software migration, porting of an application to database application development.

Worth mentioning, India is much ahead of the other countries as far as the outsourcing is concerned which is reflected from the emerging global competition where China and Russia are the first time honouraries in the outsourcing list of IOAP.

By Jaya Sinha Published: 8/7/2008

Big Four companies – Top ten U.S. Consulting firms. Vault suggests that Technology & Consulting are the prime markets for Big Four companies.

It should come as no surprise that the top ten consulting firms in the US contain significant Big Four representation. Of the top ten, four of the firms are Big Four companies (or have their roots in Big Four companies), and three of them are in the top five.

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Deloitte Consulting clearly is realizing its goals to transform itself into a world-class consulting organization. Less recognized than its audit and tax counterpart, Deloitte & Touche, Deloitte Consulting makes up for its lack of brand recognition with powerful consulting services and significant industry expertise.

Also represented in the top ten are Accenture, BearingPoint, and CapGemini. Accenture and BearingPoint continue to be powerhouses in the technology consulting space, and Accenture has made significant strides in the outsourcing market.

Vault.com, an employment and recruiting website that analyzes hiring trends, announced the top consulting firms in the US.

The top firms include:

1. Booz Allen Hamilton – McLean, VA

2. Deloitte Consulting LLP – New York, NY

3. IBM Global Services – Armonk, NY

4. Accenture – New York, NY

5. BearingPoint – McLean, VA

6. Cap Gemini – New York, NY

7. HP Technology Solutions – Palo Alto, CA

8. DiamondCluster International, Inc. – Chicago, IL

9. Telcordia Technologies – Piscataway, NJ

10. Keane – Boston, MA

Big Four representation
Exclusive Big4 professionals website

By Thomas Johansmeyer Published: 10/7/2005