When do you need to hire a software development consulting company?

The IT consultancy and implementation market has been witnessing considerable increase worldwide due to the growing demand for digital transformation, cloud-based services, cybersecurity, and data analytics, especially in the US.

Furthermore, clients are looking for IT firms that can offer customized software to meet their business-specific needs. In Europe, the need for IT consulting experts is on the rise, since enterprises and organizations are in the search for compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Asia-Pacific region, in turn, is seeing the widespread adoption of cutting-edge technologies in emerging economies like China and India.

According to Statista, the global revenue in the IT consulting and implementation market is anticipated to climb from $72.36 billion in 2024 to $87.03 billion by 2028, progressing at a CAGR of 4.72% during the forecast period.

Cooperating with a trusted software development consulting company, startups, SMEs, and corporations can automate workflows, boost productivity, deliver a better customer experience, and cut operating or labor costs. In fact, IT consulting helps optimize business operations, making them faster, smoother, and more efficient.

In this article, we will consider the key benefits of IT consulting services. You will also learn when the collaboration with a software development consulting firm is vital to project success.

Top 7 uses cases of software development consulting

1. Business analysis

Business analysis aims to convert client objectives into a product scope. In fact, business analysis helps bridge the gap between decision-makers (e.g., client, product owner) and a software development team.
A business analyst (BA) generally performs the following tasks:

• Collects project requirements.
• Determines the target audience and its needs.
• Conducts competitor analysis.
• Makes time and cost estimates.
• Prioritizes features and defines the scope of work.
• Prepares a solution delivery roadmap.
• Identifies potential risks and outlines a mitigation strategy.

Through business analysis, IT consulting experts can provide insights and recommendations on how to optimize processes, improve customer satisfaction, and increase project success chances.

2. Digital transformation

A software development consulting company can help you find the best way to digitize manual routine workflows, maximize efficiency, and reduce costs. For this purpose, digital transformation consultants dive into current processes, identify weaknesses, and determine the areas for improvement.

After performing through analysis, IT consultants come up with the solution, whether it is custom product development, system modernization, migration to the cloud, or anything else.

For example, if a healthcare organization wants to automate request processing, an IT consulting agency may recommend incorporating an AI-powered chatbot. In case an e-commerce business strives to provide speedy delivery and prevent item losses, an IT consulting firm may advise to integrate order / inventory management software.

3. Tech stack & software architecture

By employing the most suitable technologies (programming languages, frameworks, libraries, databases, etc.) and architecture, it is possible to enforce security, improve scalability, bring stable performance, ensure high availability, and facilitate infrastructure maintenance.

Collaborating with the provider of technology consulting services, enterprises and organizations can choose the best tools and architectural style to make a software product.

At Aligned Code, our IT consultants also create a scheme showcasing the architecture in detail: how different elements are connected with each other, what tasks every component serves, and what tools are planned to be used.

4. System integration

The provider of IT consultation services can help clients seamlessly integrate a digital product into an existing ecosystem of tools, apps, and business processes. You can hire IT consultants to address software integration challenges, ensuring data unification and information security.

When building a software solution, IT consulting experts can also advise using various APIs to improve time to market and cut expenditures. If you aim, for example, to create a social media app, our IT consultant company may suggest integrating authorization APIs for signing up/in via Google, Gmail, and Instagram.

In case you want to make an e-commerce platform, it is reasonable to incorporate APIs for online payments (e.g., PayPal, Stripe, Google Pay, Apple Pay), shipping (i.e., DHL, FedEx, Shippo), and order management (Ordering, BigCommerce Orders, etc.).

5. Cloud migration

A software development consulting company can help clients migrate their data and applications from on-premise servers to cloud platforms. By moving to the cloud, enterprises and institutions can achieve high availability, scalability, performance, and security while reducing infrastructure costs.

Our IT consulting experts provide assistance in choosing the cloud vendor (e.g., AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud) and a cloud computing model (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS). Furthermore, our IT consultants outline a migration strategy to enable the smooth transfer to the cloud with zero downtime.

6. Cybersecurity

You can hire information technology consultants to protect data and systems from cyberattacks and threats. By implementing the measures recommended by an IT security consulting firm, organizations can prevent data breaches, malware infections, phishing scams, ransomware, and denial-of-service attacks.

Depending on client needs, a software development consulting company can use various strategies and solutions, for instance, firewalls, antivirus software, data encryption, two-factor authentication, biometrics, backup systems, and disaster recovery plans.

7. Compliance with regulations

Achieving compliance with industry and security standards is crucial to avoid legal issues, fines, penalties, and reputational damage. However, laws and regulations differ depending on domain, location, and other factors.

For example, if you plan to attract EU residents, it is crucial to comply with the GDPR. In case you want to build healthcare software, you need to meet HIPAA and HITECH. When making a mobile payment app, you have to ensure compliance with PCI DSS.

Our software development consulting company can research laws and regulations, then provide guidelines on how to deliver a compliant solution.

The key benefits of software development consulting

1. Time and cost savings

By cooperating with IT consultants before or throughout the project, enterprises and institutions can significantly reduce costs and time to market. After analyzing client objectives and problems, a software development consulting company suggests the best way for solution delivery within a budget.

This way, business transformation consultancy services can help you avoid costly mistakes and delays. What’s more, IT consultants can recommend flexible pricing models, best software engineering practices, and project management approaches if necessary.

In case you aim to build a single software product, it is reasonable to hire an IT consulting team from the outside. Partnering with a software development consulting firm, you will be able to focus on core business activities, saving time and money.

Additionally, if you have in-house information technology consultants you need to invest in their training and motivate them with perks like various bonuses and insurance coverage. Then, recruiting IT consulting experts requires effort, leading to extra expenditures.

2. Access to the required IT expertise

A trusted software development consulting company assembles a team of professionals who have extensive knowledge and experience in different IT areas. They can help you solve complex problems, implement best practices, optimize an IT infrastructure, choose the most suitable technology stack, and a lot more.

Since clients can hire IT consultants from any country, it is much easier to access the most field-specific expertise and at lower costs.

3. Expertise and knowledge

When enterprises and organizations have in-house developers who lack experience in the required areas, they can hire an IT consulting firm to provide training, workshops, or coaching sessions. As a result, in-house professionals acquire or improve the necessary skills and knowledge.

In addition, a software development consulting company can help clients integrate new methodologies, best practices, and frameworks that can boost efficiency and increase velocity.

4. Problem definition and best solution

A provider of software development consulting services can help startups, SMEs, and corporations determine the problem and weaknesses in their software products. First and foremost, IT consulting experts conduct an audit.

Then, IT consultants identify the reasons for performance, scalability, and security issues. Finally, they come up with recommendations on how to address existing challenges.

On top of that, IT strategy consulting professionals can analyze existing business processes and suggest ways to optimize them.

For instance, if an organization maintains documentation in numerous Excel spreadsheets, it may lack a unified data view and long information search. So, an IT consulting company may advise to integrate an online document management or an ERP system.

5. Increased project success chances

Increased chances for project success are among the primary benefits of IT consulting services. IT consultants analyze client needs and objectives, then tailor the optimal solution, taking into account deadlines and budget.

This is especially important to startups, as the risk of failure is high. Since 90% of startups fail, excluding potential bottlenecks and finding a product market fit is vital to raising funds. On top of that, startups typically have to showcase a pitch to investors under tight deadlines. A software development consulting company is an irreplaceable partner in addressing issues of this kind.

Furthermore, the provider of IT consultation services determines the best way to create a software product. Thanks to this, you will avoid the need to rebuild a software system or application.

For example, a common case is when an organization has to migrate from a monolithic architecture to microservices to achieve high availability, scalability, and performance while simplifying infrastructure maintenance.

Additionally, a business technology consulting firm can offer assistance in the target audience’s research and competitor analysis. As a result, you will get an understanding of what kind of product customers want to have. IT consulting experts can also prioritize features and supervise the project.

Why should you hire IT consulting experts at Aligned Code?

The collaboration with a trustworthy IT partner is vital to project success. When looking for IT consulting experts, pay attention to their skills, portfolio, and reputation.

Aligned Code is a reliable provider of full-cycle software engineering services with a team of experienced IT consultants. Here is why you should hire us:

• Recognition. Aligned Code is one of the top software development and consulting companies, featured by trusted B2B review and rating platforms, such as Clutch and The Manifest. Key customers are Viasat, PepsiCo, McDonald's, and Nestlé.
• Cutting-edge technologies. Established in 2013, Aligned Code has gained vast expertise in building AI, IoT, BI, big data, blockchain, CRM, and ERP solutions.
• Domain expertise. Aligned Code has delivered over 100 software products to sectors like healthcare, e-commerce, fintech, edtech, real estate, logistics, media & entertainment, and manufacturing.
• Client satisfaction and quality. Aligned Code has a client satisfaction rate of more than 95%. The company’s rating on Clutch is 4.9 based on customer reviews.
• Proficiency in every IT aspect. The team at Aligned Code consists of business analysts, UI/UX designers, software engineers, solution architects, DevOps professionals, QA specialists, project managers, and marketers.

If you want to hire a software development consulting company, feel free to contact us. We will get back to you within a working day and help address the required issues.