5 Signs Your Business Needs a Technology Consultant

Technology can be a double-edged sword. It can enhance efficiency and productivity, allowing your business to outperform competitors. But it can also be at the source of confusion, when applications and systems change and call for modification of policies.

Harnessing technology is a critical step toward innovation and reinventing your business strategy. This is where you’ll need the expertise and experience of a tech consulting firm.

Here are five clear signs that tell you it’s time to seek a technology consultant.

1. Increase in downtime incidents.

No business runs without using computers and the internet (or intranet). If the devices break down and the system crashes, work can come to a halt. The disruption could include:

• Equipment malfunction
• Switch or router failure causing a network outage
• Database corruption could prevent access to a system
• A misconfigured firewall can block legitimate traffic
• Network congestion can slow down the system

Human error, such as data deletion or incorrect usage of the system, could create network disruption as well.

All these can prevent access to company resources and delay work on critical projects, compromising productivity. Downtime also costs businesses considerable money in terms of lost revenue and cost to recover (lost data or hardware replacement).

A sudden application downtime costs Fortune 1000 companies $1.25 billion to $1.50 billion every year, according to a report from AppDynamics. For small and medium-sized businesses, downtime can cost $50,000 per hour.

Management consulting experts identify the cause behind downtime incidents, and they can save your business from lost revenue and unexpected expenses. They’ll come up with solutions to not only fix the immediate problems, but they’ll also ensure the prevention of these disruptions from happening in the future.

2. Efficiency and productivity levels are affected.

Inadequate management may affect employee engagement and result in low morale and lack of motivation, which can impact efficiency and productivity. But poor or outdated technology can also be at the root of inefficiency and low productivity.

Network outages or system crashes can impact productivity. Outdated systems can also impact customer satisfaction when their transactions are not addressed in time.

In some cases, it may not be about a network or system crashing. You may have the technology, but if employees lack the necessary expertise to use the hardware or software, it can still affect productivity and efficiency.

A technology consultant can examine your resources to determine how to streamline operations. The goal is to help your business understand how to best use your resources, from the technology to the employees.

3. Data management is becoming overwhelming.

Every year, organisations produce more data. According to the Data Age 2025 report, data could exceed 200 zettabytes in 2025. Is that a lot?

Two-hundred zettabytes is enough to stream 40 trillion years of movies. It’s also sufficient data to fill 1.5 trillion iPhones. Currently, Apple has sold 2.6 billion iPhones globally.

Poor data management can interfere with decision-making, creating a bottleneck in processes and for teams that require immediate resolution.

When managing data, your company must have secure storage, backups, an adequate system to organise the data, and recovery plans in case of a disaster. As the volume of data increases, so does its complexity, making it more challenging for your company to manage. Given this, you’ll need the right technology and the right people to handle data effectively.

Technology consulting firms can suggest business intelligence solutions and implement data integration along with analytic tools to help you make those time-sensitive decisions.

4. Cyber security has been an issue.

Cyberattacks have become more sophisticated as technology advances. The usual forms of malicious efforts still include phishing, malware, and distributed denial-of-service (DDos) attack.

Some of the newer forms of unauthorised access to networks and computer systems are social engineering (manipulative tricks to get a person to reveal their personal information or do something that will compromise security), zero-day exploit (attackers exploit new software vulnerabilities before vendors can patch them), and brute force attack (using automation to obtain passwords or combination to gain access).

An even more sophisticated form of cyber security is using AI in business email compromise scams. A recent case tricked a finance employee into sending $25 million after an elaborate video call with a chief financial officer, which turned out to be a deep fake recreation.

Cyberattacks can lead to more than financial losses. It can do irreparable damage to a business’s reputation.

Technology consultants can perform an audit and develop data protection protocols, using the best practices and sound technology.

5. Rapid business growth creates more challenges than opportunities.

Finally, scaling up can mean your business is doing well. You’ve got more clients coming on board and you’re hiring more people. But if these positive business changes are not manifesting as increase in revenues and profits, your IT infrastructure and tools may be creating more problems.

Your current network and systems may not be equipped to handle your growth. You might need cloud-based and AI-driven applications to eliminate human error and automate repetitive tasks.

Emerging technologies can help your business streamline its expanding operations. Cloud adoption could enhance collaboration and communication within teams in your organisation. An experienced tech consultant can align the technology to your business goals and design IT solutions that scale with your company.

Technology has the power to make or break your business. Harness that power well with guidance and expertise from a tech or business consultant when the time comes.