In this article, we will explain the role, job content, required skills, and career path of an IT consultant.
table of contents
- 1. What is an IT consultant?
- 2. Occupations that are often confused with IT consultants
- 2-1. Difference between IT consultant and system engineer
- 2-2. Difference between IT consultant and management consultant
- 3. Job details of an IT consultant
- 3-1. Hearing/analysis
- 3-2.Suggestion
- 3-3.Management
- 4. Three positions of IT consultants
- 4-1. Analyst
- 4-2. Consultant
- 4-3.Manager
- 5. Skills required for IT consultants
- 5-1.Logical thinking ability
- 5-2. Extensive knowledge and skills related to IT technology
- 5-3.Communication skills
- 6. IT consultant career path
- 7. IT consultants are experts who solve corporate issues by utilizing IT.
Many people may aspire to become an IT consultant, who has both IT knowledge and business skills and can help companies solve their management issues.
There are various types of jobs called consultants. For this reason, we often hear questions such as “I don’t know the difference between an IT consultant and a management consultant” and “I don’t know what kind of work an IT consultant specifically does.”
In this article, we will explain the role, job content, required skills, and career path of an IT consultant. We will also touch on the differences between system engineers and management consultants, who are often confused with IT consultants, so those who are aiming to become IT consultants should refer to this.
What is an IT consultant?
An IT consultant is an expert who uses IT technology to help clients solve their management issues.
IT consultants formulate IT strategies that are in line with the client’s business strategy and propose system development and optimization to management. Therefore, IT consultants are required to be knowledgeable in both IT technology and management.
In addition, the work of IT consultants is extremely diverse, as they are involved in overall project management and operational support for introduced systems.
Job types that are often confused with IT consultants
Occupations that are often confused with IT consultants are “system engineer (SE)” and “management consultant.” Let’s take a closer look at the differences between IT consultants and each type of job.
Difference between IT consultant and system engineer
A system engineer is a technical position that is primarily responsible for processes such as system requirements definition, basic design, detailed design, and test design.
On the other hand, IT consultants have the role of guiding companies to solve their management issues through the use of IT. IT consultants are in charge of processes such as hearings on management issues and business process analysis, which are processes further upstream than system requirements definition.
The main role of a system engineer is to build an optimal system, and an IT consultant can be said to be in charge of processes even more upstream than a system engineer.
If you would like to learn more about systems engineers, please refer to the following articles.
“ What is an SE (system engineer)? About the job content and the difference from a programmer
Difference between IT consultant and management consultant
A management consultant is a position that provides comprehensive consulting on matters related to management, with a focus on formulating corporate management strategies. Therefore, the scope of our work is wide-ranging, including building human resources strategies, improving financial aspects, reviewing on-site business processes, and implementing IT.
On the other hand, IT consultants aim to solve corporate management issues by centering on the use of IT systems.
Although the work of IT consultants and management consultants overlap in many areas, management consultants can be said to be jobs that require more specialized knowledge of management.
Job details of IT consultant
The work of an IT consultant is extremely diverse, including clarifying a company’s management issues, formulating IT strategies, proposing the introduction of IT systems, and promoting projects.
Here, we categorize the work of IT consultants into three stages and explain the duties and roles at each stage.
Hearing/analysis
We will clarify what issues your company is facing.
We conduct interviews with the executives and IT department managers of our client companies, organize and analyze the content, and then identify the company’s management issues. Hearing and problem identification are extremely important tasks because an accurate understanding of the problem allows us to make optimal proposals for the problem.
During the hearing, we will confirm the scope of work, management strategy, existing system status, workflow, etc.
suggestion
Based on the analysis results, we will make proposals to solve your company’s issues. We will propose concrete solutions that utilize IT, such as reviewing existing systems or introducing new systems.
During meetings with clients, it is important to explain the current issues and then convey the proposal. It is also important to carefully explain why the proposed method is effective in solving the problem and gain their understanding.
Discrepancies in understanding between IT consultants and clients can cause problems. When proposing, it is important to have the ability to explain technical matters in an easy-to-understand manner and to have presentation skills.
management
If your proposal is accepted, we will proceed with a project to resolve management issues.
The IT consultant will be responsible for overseeing the project and managing the overall progress of the project. We guide projects to success through tasks such as securing the necessary human resources for the project, creating teams, managing project progress, and quality control.
Three positions for IT consultants
IT consultants are broadly classified into three positions depending on the scope of work and the role they are responsible for. Let’s take a look at the characteristics of each position.
Analyst
An analyst is a position that collects and analyzes information and prepares materials.
This can be said to be the stage in which you acquire basic skills in the role of an IT consultant.
Analysts are responsible for tasks similar to those of programmers and system engineers, such as collecting and analyzing information, creating materials, creating specifications, programming, creating test specifications, and testing and confirming operations.
consultant
A consultant is a position that makes proposals to solve management issues based on interviews with clients. Therefore, specialized knowledge of IT technology and management is required.
Consultants conduct interviews with clients, compile system requirements, check specifications created by analysts, and develop test execution plans. The majority of project work can be said to be the responsibility of consultants.
manager
The manager is responsible for overseeing the entire project.
Mainly responsible for tasks such as formulating project plans, managing the progress of the entire project, managing budgets, negotiating and coordinating with related parties, managing costs, and checking materials. Managers also perform final checks on deliverables developed by analysts and consultants.
Skills required for IT consultants
IT consultants are responsible for a wide range of tasks. Therefore, advanced and specialized knowledge and skills related to IT technology and management are required.
IT consultants require a wide variety of skills, but here we will explain three particularly important skills.
logical thinking ability
Logical thinking is a common skill required for many IT jobs, including IT consultants.
IT consultants must accurately understand the client’s management issues and propose optimal solutions to those issues. To achieve this, it is essential to have the skills to extract and visualize current issues through interviews and data analysis, and logically derive solutions and paths.
In business, in addition to logical thinking skills, critical thinking is also said to be important. If you would like to learn more about critical thinking, please refer to the following articles.
“ What is critical thinking? Explaining the steps and training methods for doubting preconditions
Extensive knowledge and skills related to IT technology
IT consultants think of methods to solve corporate issues centered on the use of IT.
An IT consultant with extensive IT knowledge will be able to offer a wider range of proposals. To propose the optimal IT solution, you need to be familiar with a wide range of IT knowledge, including system development, hardware, applications, networks, and databases.
communication ability
Presentation and communication skills are essential for getting the client to adopt the proposed project.
It is important to have the skills to build smooth interpersonal relationships, as well as negotiation and explanation skills. If you can make a calm and persuasive proposal, you will be able to build a relationship of trust with your client.
IT consultant career path
IT consulting is a job that requires specialized knowledge and a wide range of experience, and many people see IT consulting as their ultimate career goal.
Career paths from IT consulting include the option of “improving your expertise and becoming a person specializing in a specific area.”
For example, “I will deepen my knowledge of a specific industry and become an IT consultant who can make proposals specific to that industry,” and “Improve my management skills and supervise higher-level projects,” to increase my market value. Thing.
It is also possible to improve your English skills, change jobs to foreign consulting companies, and compete in a world where ability is valued. Some people work independently as freelancers and work for multiple companies while aiming to increase their annual income.
IT consultants are experts who solve corporate issues by utilizing IT.
An IT consultant is an expert who proposes solutions using IT to solve corporate management issues. The use of IT has become essential for business growth, and the need for IT consultants is also increasing.
IT consultants need not only knowledge of IT but also knowledge of management. Since the amount of knowledge you have affects the breadth of your proposal, you are required to constantly catch up on the latest IT and industry information and brush up on your knowledge so that you can utilize it in your proposals.
Pasona introduces IT jobs with favorable conditions for high-class and middle-class people. With over 20 years of experience, we handle many job openings for major companies.
Career consultants will carefully support you so that you can realize a work style that suits your wishes, such as remote work or a different area.
