Steps for Breaking Into and Succeeding in Consulting

This article will show you how to break into and succeed as a management consultant even if you don't have an MBA or any degree at all. The key to success is ....
Management consulting is one of the professions that endure in a slow economy. Why? Because more than ever, companies need consultants to help them increase revenues and cut costs.

Management consulting is also one of the highest paid professions in the United States. A recent survey by the Association of Management Consulting Firms found entry-level consultants earn an average of $58,000 annually while senior partners earn an average of $259,000 (including bonuses and profit sharing). Self-employed consultants may earn $100 to $350 per hour.

Therefore, if youve been contemplating breaking into this field, wait no more. (Im glad I didnt!) The financial rewards are a real incentive. Other benefits of the job include: intellectual challenge, prestige, opportunities to learn, and high levels of job satisfaction.

Now lets talk about the two paths of management consulting to consider: working for others and going solo. If you dont have much experience or are a new graduate, working for others is probably the wisest choice. If you have already gained sufficient professional experience in a specialized field, going solo is a highly feasible option.

Whichever path you choose, here are some tips to break into and succeed in this field, based on the FabJob.com Guide to Become a Management Consultant http://www.fabjob.com/managementconsultant.asp?affiliate=236.

1. Develop your skills. Management consultants need to be skilled at problem-solving, communication, and management skills such as scheduling and delegating. Other skills and attributes that can help you land a job are basic computer skills, leadership, and an ability to work well under stress.

2. Educate yourself. Contrary to popular belief, you dont need to have a business degree, an MBA or even ANY degree to break into this field. (Having one doesnt hurt either; in fact youll be ahead in the game.) However, you should keep up with current management issues through continuing education or reading business publications.

3. Know what to expect from the job. Familiarize yourself with job titles, specializations (from information technology to organizational development), and the typical consulting job cycle (proposal, brainstorming, data gathering, analysis, and presentation). Even better, learn how to prepare a proposal to get consulting work.

4. Get experience. Ways to get management consulting experience include: pro bono work (volunteering to consult for a non-profit organization), an internship, or by becoming a summer associate for a consulting firm.

5. Decide where you want to work. If your career goal is to work for a consulting firm, decide where you want to focus your job search. Types of employers include multi-national firms (such as Accenture and McKinsey & Company), small "boutique" firms, corporations, non-profit organizations, and government institutions. Each employer has different advantages and disadvantages.

6. Familiarize yourself with the consulting job hunt process. For instance, the interview stage for a consulting position includes personality and resume questions, communication questions and business case questions. You may even be asked to make a presentation.

7. If you are considering starting your own firm. If you have an aptitude for entrepreneurship, preliminary steps to starting a consulting business include conducting market research, deciding whether to incorporate, and setting up your office. You will also need to price your services (and decide whether to charge hourly, daily, per project or on retainer), and attract clients through networking, advertising, or publicity.

Finally, while it is not an absolute necessity, you may want to pursue a professional designation as a certified management consultant to take your career to the next level.

Management consulting is a very lucrative, recession-proof field. In fact, some specialized consulting fields are experiencing a whopping increase of revenue during the current slow economy. So get ready to plunge into this exciting and highly rewarding profession. Just make sure to do your homework properly to ensure success.[]

Jennie S. Bev is a San Francisco Bay Area professional writer and instructional designer. She is the author of the highly praised and 2003 EPPIE award nominee Guide to Become a Management Consultant published by FabJob.com, Inc. She is also the author of Write Industry Reports: Work at Home and Start Earning $5,000 in Royalties per Month. She can be contacted via http://www.WritingGigs.com.

Affiliate programs guide.Joel De Gan

How to pick the best possible affiliate program for your type of website.
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated. ----------------------------------------begin article-------------------------------------------- Affiliate programs guide. Joel De Gan, 2003

PICK THE RIGHT AFFILIATE PROGRAM.

Picking the right affiiliate program for your web site is essential if you want to generate any revenue from it. There are a wide assortment of affiliate programs to choose from and weeding through ones is tedious work which requires filling out a lot of forms and reviewing the pro's and con's of each program and if it would be of value to you and your visitors.

THE AFFILIATE PROGRAM HAS TO MATCH YOUR SITE.

That sentence sums it all up for me. If you are running a website doing movie reviews and your affiliate program banners are advertising baby products or health care you seriously need to rethink changing your affiliate program to one which better suits your target audience. For our example here, the movie review site, you might be better off with a movie-poster ad campaign, or perhaps even DVD's. Try to stick as close to your subject matter as possible.

READ THE FINE PRINT.

Some lesser know affiliate programs can discontinue your affiliation for no reason at any time. Some bind you into only displaying their advertising and disallow you to place them in rotation with other programs. Know what you are getting yourself into and what you are signing away.

WOULD YOU PURCHASE THE PRODUCTS YOU ARE ADVERTISING?

This question I have often found myself asking when choosing which advertising to place. I have found that I look for affiliations with sites I already use or feel is something I would like to see. This gives you a better spin when shifting users offsite to your advertisers site. You can recommend products or services which you have personal experience with, thus gaining confidence from your website users.

MONITOR YOUR PROGRAM.

Watch your affiliate program closely, try to check it once a day to see if they have added anything new. I have found that just by simply changing a banner ad the clicks have doubled for a period of several days. Your users notice things that are new at your site. They gloss over things which they have seen many times and fail to notice them. Keeping fresh content keeps people coming back.

If your advertiser does not have regular content changes or new banner advertisments, email them and ask for fresh content.

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO CHANGE PROGRAMS.

If your affiliate program is not making you money, start looking for one that might. Select several and roate them through over a period of several weeks and compare which ones do the best, select the top two or three and rotate through them until you find the right program for your site.

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO "REMEMBER" YOUR ADVERTISER.

If you send out a mailing list, make sure that you include a link to your advertiser, if it is an HTML formatted mail then use banners at the top and the bottom. mention them at once "in text" on each page, even if it just a small "thank you" at the footer, this increases user familiarity with the product.

SOME IDEAS FOR PROMOTION.

If you have long articles on your site, have a mid-section break, creates "Fun facts" section in a quotebox and right below or to the side have a "This fun fact brought to you by ..." This increases user interactivity with the product and begins the association process. With each mailing you do, invite your users to check back on your site for a "special promotional offer" which includes a link to your advertiser to one of their latest promotions.

Joel De Gan is a well know open source programmer and has run many websites He has a reviewed list of affiliate programs at his website http://listbid.com/affil/ which has user contributed comments and ratings for affiliate programs. 

end article

Joel De Gan is a prolific opensource programmer who has worked on a multitude of projects and is highly interested in search engine placement.

Brand Your Consulting Business

Todays competitive marketplace for consulting services is no longer responsive to the marketing strategies that worked in the past. The services you provide should speak volumes about your consulting business. Think about what happens when you hear phrases such as, the ultimate driving machine, Dont leave home without it, and Just do it. Chances are good that you can immediately associate them with BMW, American Express, and Nike. These companies have mastered brand brilliance. Brand your consulting brilliance because the future of your business depends on it.

Theres an old adage; Perception is reality. Simply stated, the perception of a brand lies in its ability to influence a clients behavior. When you have successfully branded your business, in the clients eye there is no service in the marketplace quite like your service.

All consulting businesses should have a distinct, sustainable, and competitive advantage to differentiate their services from the competition. I call this process of identifying your advantage Brand Your Consulting Brilliance.

Here are six simple steps to brand and differentiate your services in the current business environment.

1. Think client focus first.

The clients reality: Consulting businesses exist to serve clients. Develop a client visitation calendar and schedule in-person visits. Look the client in the eye and say, I am here to serve you. Follow up and follow through on all client related matters in a timely manner.

Create a client questionnaire so clients can rate the performance of your services. You want them to tell you how youre doing and what you can do to serve them better. Its also a way to discover what challenges they are currently facing. Be relentless in your client retention efforts.

2. Discover a distinct advantage that will set you apart from competitors.

Start by articulating your unique marketing proposition, a statement of all of the qualities and characteristics that set your services apart in the marketplace. Analyze your services: What skills and services do we provide that are distinctive, measurable, and add value? Which of our past successes can we leverage in the marketplace? And dont forget to ask colleagues what they see as your competitive strengths.

Communicate these messages reinforcing your unique marketing proposition any time you have an opportunity to write or speak about your consulting firm and what you have to offer to prospective clients.

3. Generate publicity.

What others say about your brand is much more powerful and credible than what you can say about it yourself.

When it comes to branding your consulting brilliance, favorable publicity in the media or word of mouth is far superior to advertising. So how do you generate the publicity buzz? Create a buzz about your brand by being visible: Speaking at seminars, publishing a newsletter on your website, participating as a host or guest on television or radio talk shows, writing a column in a reputable trade journal, and networking.

4. Promote a powerful perception of quality in the clients mind.

What is quality if not a perception that resides in the mind of the client? You build quality intangibles around trust, reliability, excellent people, and innovative client services. Show clients that you can interpret and process their information to convert it to results oriented solutions. What you say is important, but what you do is even more important for reinforcing their perception of your brand quality.

Keep the lines of communication open. The goal of branding your consulting brilliance is to convince the client that your brand is worth their trust and worth a premium price.

5. Establish your credentials as an industry leader in the field.

Clients like to know they are doing business with an industry leader. Make clients aware of your consulting acumen, presence, and commitment. Know your clients businesses inside out what they do, why they do it, how they do it. Tout your firms successful track record of accomplishment in working with companies like theirs.

Build and sustain credibility with clients by strengthening your client relationships, developing a client retention strategy, demonstrating that you value your new clients, and going the extra mile for them.

6. Practice consistency in building your consulting brilliance.

Stay focused on implementing the branding of your consulting brilliance. Keep abreast of marketing trends in your profession and position yourself as a recognized expert. Make the most of your unique marketing proposition. Accelerate and elevate the perceived value of your brand in the marketplace.

In short, to brand your consulting brilliance, know what you have to offer, know how to differentiate it, and know how to market it.

Robert Moment, Author and Business Coach. Author of best selling e-books, 27 Powerful Networking, Branding, and Prospecting Tactics for Your Business and The Truth About Winning Federal Contracts.
Robert@federalcontractsforsmallbusinesses.com
http://www.federalcontractsforsmallbusinesses.com

Brand Your Consulting Brilliance

Brand Your Consulting Brilliance

 by: Robert Moment

Today's competitive marketplace for consulting services is no longer responsive to the marketing strategies that worked in the past. The services you provide should speak volumes about your consulting business. Think about what happens when you hear phrases such as 'the ultimate driving machine,' 'don't leave home without it,' and 'just do it.' Chances are good that you can immediately associate them with BMW, American Express, and Nike. These companies have mastered 'brand brilliance.' Brand your consulting brilliance because the future of your business depends on it.

There's an old adage, 'Perception is reality.' Simply stated, the perception of a brand lies in its ability to influence a client's behavior. When you have successfully branded your business, in the client's eye there is no service in the marketplace quite like your service.

All consulting businesses should have a distinct, sustainable, and competitive advantage to differentiate their services from the competition. I call this process of identifying your advantage 'Brand Your Consulting Brilliance.'

Here are six simple steps to brand and differentiate your services in the new economy.

1. Think client focus first.

The client's reality: Consulting businesses exist to serve clients. Develop a client visitation calendar and schedule in-person visits. Look the client in the eye and say, 'I am here to serve you.' Follow up and follow through on all client related matters in a timely manner.

Create a client questionnaire so clients can rate the performance of your services. You want them to tell you how you're doing and what you can do to serve them better. It's also a way to discover what challenges they are currently facing. Be relentless in your client retention efforts.

2. Discover a distinct advantage that will set you apart from competitors.

Start by articulating your 'unique marketing proposition,' a statement of all of the qualities and characteristics that set your services apart in the marketplace. Analyze your services: What skills and services do we provide that are distinctive, measurable, and add value? Which of our past successes can we leverage in the marketplace? And don't forget to ask colleagues what they see as your competitive strengths.

Communicate these messages reinforcing your unique marketing proposition anytime you have an opportunity to write or speak about your consulting firm and what you have to offer to prospective clients.

3. Generate publicity.

What others say about your brand is much more powerful and credible than what you can say about it yourself.

When it comes to branding your consulting brilliance, favorable publicity in the media or word of mouth is far superior to advertising. So how do you generate the publicity 'buzz'? Create a buzz about your brand by being visible: speaking at seminars, publishing a newsletter on your website, participating as a host or guest on television or radio talk shows, writing a column in a reputable trade journal, and networking.

4. Promote a powerful perception of quality in the client's mind.

What is quality if not a perception that resides in the mind of the client? You build quality intangibles around trust, reliability, excellent people, and innovative client services. Show clients that you can interpret and process their information to convert it to results oriented solutions. What you say is important, but what you do is even more important for reinforcing their perception of your brand quality.

Keep the lines of communication open. The goal of branding your consulting brilliance is to convince the client that your brand is worth their trust and worth a premium price.

5. Establish your credentials as an industry leader in the field.

Clients like to know they are doing business with an industry leader. Make clients aware of your consulting acumen, presence, and commitment. Know your clients' businesses inside out - what they do, why they do it, how they do it. Tout your firm's successful track record of accomplishment in working with companies like theirs.

Build and sustain credibility with clients by strengthening your client relationships, developing a client retention strategy, demonstrating that you value your new clients, and going the extra mile for them.

6. Practice consistency in building your consulting brilliance.

Stay focused on implementing the branding of your consulting brilliance. Keep abreast of marketing trends in your profession and position yourself as a recognized expert. Make the most of your unique marketing proposition. Accelerate and elevate the perceived value of your brand in the marketplace.

In short, to brand your consulting brilliance, know what you have to offer, know how to differentiate it, and know how to market it.

Robert Moment--Author, Business Coach and Strategist--is the Author of best-selling book, 'It Only Takes a Moment to Score'. Founder of The Moment Group, a Small Business Coaching & Consulting Firm, Robert helps entrepreneurs harness their potential and soar to new heights. Contact mailto:Robert@sellintegrity.com or visit his web site at http://www.sellintegrity.com.

Getting Started In Information Technology Computer Consulting

Getting Started In Information Technology Computer Consulting

 by: John Gall

One of the best things about being in the Information Technology industry is consulting. For purposes of this article I'm using the term consulting in reference to side jobs or moonlighting work. While full time Computer Consultants can also benefit from the tips in this article, I'm really writing at the IT Employee who works a full-time IT job and then takes extra jobs for extra money on the side.

So your working your regular job and you want to earn more working for yourself. Here's a few ideas to get started. First realize that its now almost impossible to function these days without a computer in your home. In fact many homes now have 2-3 PC's and eventually they are going to break or will need to be hooked together.

Word of Mouth Is King

To start, get yourself some business cards that explain your services. DO NOT LIST YOUR RATE I made this rookie mistake and was tied to my lowball rate once I was more established. So start by spreading the word at work. Hopefully your employer is tolerant of this. To know the limits simply ask someone in HR if the company has a policy regarding work outside of the job. If not you may be able to post a notice in the lunchroom or company classified ad board. However if this is not an option just spread the word among co-workers you trust. Word of mouth is always the best way to bring in new business. Everyone knows someone with a broken computer and you just need to get people talking. Once you get an opportunity, provide more service than the customer expects. Remember these initial jobs are seeds so even if you don't make a profit, the goodwill you earn will keep you working down the road.

The golden ring in doing this is to find someone who will recommend you to a small or medium size business that does not have its own IT staff.

Why Businesses? Because its steady work and businesses know that time is money. Businesses tend to pay on-time, they don't keep junk on their systems, and if a job runs over the amount of time you expect they are generally willing to keep the clock running so long as their systems are fixed. Home clients on the other hand tie the money for the job with the price of the PC. This works against us as PC's become cheaper. Businesses assign a monetary value to their time and data so these are easier clients to work with. They also view hiring you as just another cost of business and will not hesitate to let any employee call you in after you gain their trust.

Advertising

I've tried advertising in newspapers and never found it to pay off. One of the best things I've done besides word of mouth is to use my neighborhood. I put a flyer in each newspaper box advertising my services. The target here is the person who works out of a home office. This is another attempt to secure a client whose time is money. From here apply the same principle of outperforming their expectations. Let them know you appreciate referrals and provide them with plenty of extra business cards. I once was hired to separate two businesses during a purchase. While one half was my client I made sure the other business owner knew the level of my service and went out of my way to ensure his systems worked as well or better once I left. Of course I taped my card to each of his servers. A better way than walking your neighborhood is to obtain a list of the addresses in your neighborhood and visit http://www.usps.com and start a mailing campaign. Select the postcard mailing option and simply upload your flyer, send them your list of addresses and enter your credit card number. I've found that I can canvass a 300 house neighborhood for about $40.00 - $50.00 much cheaper and more targeted then my other attempts. The reason you want to use a postcard is two fold. 1) It's cheaper 2) Its easy to hang on to. When I used 8 1/2 x 11 paper flyers I only could reach those with an immediate computer problem. Everyone else simply tossed the ad. The idea it to get them to keep your card for later so offer an incentive to this. Give them $10.00 off their first job or offer a free consultation. You want them calling you not the other guy.

Billing

Ok here's my take on billing and getting paid. Judgment is the key. When you bill a business be sure to add to your invoice that payment is due upon receipt. Does this mean you'll get paid immediately? Nope but if you leave it out businesses will assume a Net 30 approach and pay you 30 days after receipt and that's no good. So put the payment due upon receipt and see what happens. I give them 30 days anyway before sending a second invoice with a clear notice that this is a PAST DUE invoice. Most times this clears things up. Now I should add that I do have some customers that are inconsistent about how long it takes to get paid but they do pay and furthermore I LIKE working for them. Maybe they are the type that doesn't watch over my shoulder or gives me the key to the place or lets me take stuff home to work on. My point is you be the judge where the hassle is worth the delay if this occurs. Most important spell out your terms on the invoice and send reminders every 30 days. Now home users are different, you should expect them to pay on the spot or very soon after. Just as the local PC shop expects them to pay before getting their stuff back you should too. Judgment comes into play here as well. Some will ask you to stop by for one thing and then keep you longer than expected. DO NOT bring a prepared invoice based on what you believe the charge will be. It's always better to tell them the cost and then e-mail them the invoice after you've been paid.

Tax Tips

If your serious about an on-going consulting business take the time to set yourself up properly. This will pay dividends in increased revenue and tax savings. Assign a room in your house as your home office. This will let you deduct any costs related to that office from your earnings as a consultant. There is no law your business has to make a profit so as long as you document the expenses you deduct you can do so even if the expenses exceed your earnings. The benefit here is that you get some tax savings from your regular paycheck from the loss of your business. Hopefully your business gets going and earns a profit but until this is the case you may as well do what you can to save money. A few examples of things you can deduct are the insurance, utilities, and internet costs proportional to the % of square feet your office consumes. I've even heard that technically you can deduct dog related expenses if you can prove the dog also guards the home office. I don't recommend stretching anything however.

Sales Tax

Get yourself established as a business in your state so you can charge sales tax. I know this sounds crazy but if your going to sell your time, why not sell the parts and mark them up 10% so you make more money. I used to require my clients to purchase items and then call me to install them. Now I just make sure I trust they'll pay and order the items myself. This lets me increase revenue and as long as you keep track of what you charged you simply pay the sales tax at the end of the year, couldn't be easier.

Hopefully those tips will help you start a small business on the side. From there you can grow or shrink the business as you see fit.

John Gall is a full time IT Manager and IT Consultant in Minnesota. He runs several websites as a hobby featuring content similar to that in this article.

 

Social Capital A Must For Indian IT Companies To Move Into IT Consulting, Says Professor From George Mason University

L. GandhiSince the mid 1980s, several Indian firms have gained significant market share in the U.S. in software services, IT outsourcing and IT consulting. Prof. Tojo Thatchenkery, Professor of Organizational Learning & Knowledge Management at George Mason University, has coined a term Indian Social Capital to describe the positive characteristics and competencies attributed to the Indian software professionals operating overseas. He has done extensive research to use this concept of Indian social capital to explain how the Indian firms, initially branded as utilitarian body shops" have quickly climbed up the value chain from subcontractors to full contractors and then to something close to consulting firms.

Based on research on several firms in this domain, he has proposed that transitioning to the next value chain of consulting status requires a different set of competencies and mindset. Further, the same organizational mobility and glass-ceiling issues the Indian Americans in the U.S. face as they try to move up the corporate hierarchy are likely to adversely impact the Indian firms efforts to move up the value chain. He presented research to show that the value migration trajectory that the Indian ITES firms have worked very hard to set in motion is unlikely to launch them onto the IT consulting arena. Instead, a different trajectory based on a new appreciation regarding how social capital shapes business decision at the highest level will need to be set in motion, therefore IT firms will have to actively manage this process of social capital formation to overcome the entry barriers.

The talk organized by Sona Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS) was well attended by a large number of senior executives from leading IT and BPO organizations. SIAS is a part of the Sona Valliappa Educational Group, which owns and runs Educational Institutions (Sona College of Technology, Sona School of Management & Thiagarajar Polytechnic at Salem) where over 5000 students study on campus.

SIAS has tied up with George Mason University (GMU) to offer Masters program in Organizational Learning & Change Management at Bangalore. The students of this program will have full access to GMU faculty, placement services and its online content. The students will not have to incur enormous costs of travel and stay abroad far away from their families.

C. Valliappa, Chairman of Sona Valliappa group said, with the problem of getting US visas becoming more and more difficult, the SIAS offering would be an ideal solution.

In his welcome speech, Chocko Valliappa, Founder Trustee of SIAS said that Change Management is becoming more and more important as companies move up the value chain from off shoring to outsourcing. Globalization, reengineering and outsourcing are all propounding the need for change management.

Prof. JL Gandhi, Dean of SIAS mentioned that the program would start on the 27th of September and would be structured over 5 semesters. Since it is targeted for working professionals, classes will be held around weekends. Students successfully completing the program will be awarded Masters Degree exactly the same as the one given in the USA. The students will benefit financially as the cost of doing the program in India will be less than one third of doing the same program in the USA.

The program is open for corporate sponsorship by companies who wish to depute their key employees. Companies that sponsor more than 5 students in a single batch will be eligible to receive specialized consultancy services from George Mason faculty.

For further details please contact:

Prof. J.L.Gandhi
Dean Corporate Education
Sona Institute of Advanced Studies
Sona Towers 7th Floor
71 Miller Road Bangalore 560052
ph: 222 66677 Extn-1027
email: jlgandhi@veetechnologies.com

Based on research on several firms in this domain, he has proposed that transitioning to the next value chain of consulting status requires a different set of competencies and mindset. Further, the same organizational mobility and glass-ceiling issues the Indian Americans in the U.S. face as they try to move up the corporate hierarchy are likely to adversely impact the Indian firms efforts to move up the value chain. He presented research to show that the value migration trajectory that the Indian ITES firms have worked very hard to set in motion is unlikely to launch them onto the IT consulting arena. Instead, a different trajectory based on a new appreciation regarding how social capital shapes business decision at the highest level will need to be set in motion, therefore IT firms will have to actively manage this process of social capital formation to overcome the entry barriers.

The talk organized by Sona Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS) was well attended by a large number of senior executives from leading IT and BPO organizations. SIAS is a part of the Sona Valliappa Educational Group, which owns and runs Educational Institutions (Sona College of Technology, Sona School of Management & Thiagarajar Polytechnic at Salem) where over 5000 students study on campus.

SIAS has tied up with George Mason University (GMU) to offer Masters program in Organizational Learning & Change Management at Bangalore. The students of this program will have full access to GMU faculty, placement services and its online content. The students will not have to incur enormous costs of travel and stay abroad far away from their families.

C. Valliappa, Chairman of Sona Valliappa group said, with the problem of getting US visas becoming more and more difficult, the SIAS offering would be an ideal solution.

In his welcome speech, Chocko Valliappa, Founder Trustee of SIAS said that Change Management is becoming more and more important as companies move up the value chain from off shoring to outsourcing. Globalization, reengineering and outsourcing are all propounding the need for change management.

Prof. JL Gandhi, Dean of SIAS mentioned that the program would start on the 27th of September and would be structured over 5 semesters. Since it is targeted for working professionals, classes will be held around weekends. Students successfully completing the program will be awarded Masters Degree exactly the same as the one given in the USA. The students will benefit financially as the cost of doing the program in India will be less than one third of doing the same program in the USA.

The program is open for corporate sponsorship by companies who wish to depute their key employees. Companies that sponsor more than 5 students in a single batch will be eligible to receive specialized consultancy services from George Mason faculty.

For further details please contact:

Prof. J.L.Gandhi
Dean Corporate Education
Sona Institute of Advanced Studies
Sona Towers 7th Floor
71 Miller Road Bangalore 560052
ph: 222 66677 Extn-1027
email: jlgandhi@veetechnologies.com

Prof J.L. Gandhi is a Dean, corporate Education for Sona Institute Of Advance Studies.
He is from IIT-Karagpur and IIM-Calcutta
He has been a educationalist with wide experience in working corporate world as well in India and abroad.

ERP Consulting: Microsoft Great Plains Partner future directions

In the Clinton era the status quo was simple: you serve your local clients and if you want to expand your business open offices in other business metros.  Great Plains Software was granting generous margins on the software sales and stimulated local leading VARs/Partners/Resellers with so-called orphan leads customers who lapsed in payment annual enhancement program or called Great Plains Software directly to comply about quality of service by their VAR. 

When Microsoft purchased Great Plains Software and formed Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions (soon renamed into Microsoft Business Solutions) and acquired new ERP/MRP/accounting applications: Navision, Axapta, Solomon (Solomon Software was bought by Great Plains Software in the late 1990^th).  When Microsoft introduced Microsoft CRM it tried to change traditional partner reselling model, lets see what it is and why (this is our personal opinion we are trying to envision the future for generic ERP VAR)

• Remote Support.  This means that you do not have to be at the client office to troubleshoot, install and even train users to be more direct and dare to say implement the system remotely.  Of course in the close future it will unlock the doors for offshore consulting firms, but in this article we are sticking to US nationwide and Canadian markets and consultants in the USA and Canada.  For Microsoft Business Solutions it means that if client is technical enough it can serve the client from its customer support center by increasing the number of servicing technicians
• Software Sales Margin Decrease.  If you can serve the customer your self you can probably cut software sales margins.  We see this happening with new Microsoft CRM line in general it is harder to get new customer (new customers tend to purchase the software directly through MBS and then scream about the need to help them).  We see more and more new customers purchasing Microsoft CRM from Microsoft for pilot project or just placing on the shelf
• Open Technology.  Microsoft CRM SDK you can download from Microsoft website and use it at will if you are C# or VB.Net programmer.  This is opposite philosophy remember old-good-days Great Plains Dexterity you could not get this EDI free and you needed to purchase training class to get skills in this proprietary programming language.  This trend probably indicates the maturity of the industry and consulting prices decrease
• Go Nationwide and Internationally.  Yes this is what we got to do following the Microsoft Business Solutions way.  Plus well have to try to cut down our expenses by opening offshore facilities.  International business is very tough from cultural standpoint and the earlier you jump there the better.  At this moment we see companies from India and Philippines who are trying to get USA subcontracts these are your potential partners.
• Cross-Platform Integrations.  We believe that XML introduction launched new epoch of computer platforms integration and harmony: Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux, IBM DB2/AS400/RS6000, Oracle.  Corporate clients, including manufacturing, logistics, consignment, international business, distribution will leverage multiplatform strategy to decrease the risk and increase longevity of the ERP/MRP

Good luck with selection, implementation and customization, if you have issues or concerns we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies USA nationwide Microsoft RMS, Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients  in Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Minnesota, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: andrewk@albaspectrum.com

ERP Consulting New Horizons

Every new economy recovery and boom brings new type of business paradigm.  It is true about economy in general as well as every market niche.  General economic development should be left over to the economists and philosophers to review.  Here we will try to draw the trends as we see them through the golden Clinton era time to the recession of 2000-2004 and now economy recovery for ERP consulting company.  In our case we are Microsoft Business Solutions and IBM Lotus partner. 

This small article is not intended to become an initial topic for the discussion it is rather targeted for ERP client to analyze the trends in our industry and make right decision on the system and business partner:

• ERP market consolidation.  As ERP (Accounting, Logistics, Distribution, Warehouse Management, etc) become more and more mature product, we see less and less attempts to build new ERP package from scratch again it would seem as reinventing the bicycle.  We see the consolidation on the mid-market level: Microsoft Business Solutions: Microsoft CRM, Great Plains, Navision, Axapta and Best Software: MASXXX.  When large companies serve mid-market through their VARs and implementation partners the barrier to enter into the niche increases and it is difficult to start new business, targeted to midmarket clients: certification, initial purchase/investment, etc.
• VARs consolidation.  When we saw large number of independent Great Plains Software resellers, competing fiercely with each other (especially in Los Angeles and suburbs) consulting rates were on the relatively low level ($130 per hour) and you, as a potential customer could get a deal on the software price discount.  When recession hit the market, customers placed the hold on new ERP purchases as well as new computer equipment, this trend left ERP consulting companies without cash flow and forced them either close the doors or merge with auditing firms to survive.  New conglomerates dictate higher consulting rates and stay firm with the software pricelist.  This strange fact leaves huge opportunity for opening new businesses simply hoping to provide decent service with small company low overheads
• Consulting Paradigm Change.  If you read classical business consulting literature, you can learn that 1960^th were the time of business consulting, when you were going to the client to train them in classical marketing, management, accounting, etc.  Universities took it over and all these disciplines soon become imbedded into the standard knowledge set of the university graduates.  In the earlier 1990^th consultant was onsite at the client place to train users to use ERP application.  Now we have universities doing this job and employer is hiring graduates trained to use one or another ERP.  Now we expect technical and application consulting combination, especially considering next bullet
• Different Platforms Harmony.  In 1990^th such platforms as Windows, Macintosh, Unix (Linux, Solaris, AIX) considered counterparts as enemies and were fighting for the market to take over.  Little by little they become to the conclusion that they all have rights to the existence and they need to communicate to each other in order to survive.  Such inventions as multiplatform Java/EJB/J2EE, XML, HTML, JSP prove the future harmony.  For the ERP consultant it means that she/he should be familiar with the competitors and be ready to suggest the integration between the platforms
• Offshoring.  This is really dangerous trend for the folks who are trying to make the career of the computer programmer in the States or Continental Europe.  However most of these guys are from India, Russia, Pakistan, East Europe, Philippines, Brazil, so instead of giving up go ahead and launch your own practices and deploy the expertise of your overseas friends.  Manufacturing is now went offshore now it is time for the programming to go offshore.

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving Chicago, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Australia, UK, Canada, Continental Europe, Russia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.