In the world of Information Technology (“IT”), Professional Services (“PS”) generally refers to services that are delivered by a person(s) who is a specialist in a technical arena. This is a broad category, as well it should be, given the great variety of technologies in use and how they are applied in any IT department. It is because of this great variety that there is a need for PS.
As I see it, the PS for IT can be segregated into 2 broad areas: IT Infrastructure and Applications. Both of these can be broken down into many areas.
Infrastructure covers all the hardware and software that goes into providing a platform for running applications. This includes but is not limited to servers, network, storage, end-user devices, device management software, backup software, database software, operating systems and many other hardware and software pieces.
Applications are the software that runs on top of the infrastructure to deliver useful output to end users. They can be divided up into many categories such as web applications, ERP, finance, manufacturing control, social and on and on.
It is no wonder that IT departments will often engage outside PS to architect, implement and manage one or more technologies. No single IT organization can have the expertise in all the diverse areas needed to support a modern business organization. Many of these groups can take care of running the technologies they have but do not have the depth of knowledge needed to architect, install and configure them. That is usually where the PS comes into play.
There are a number of sources of professional services to draw from. There are the “body shops” which can provide a specific talent from a pool of full-time contractors they keep in touch with. Then there is the Value Added Reseller (“VAR”) who will have specialist employees who are experts in implementing the hardware and software that they sell. Going further, there are “solution providers” who usually specialize in a particular business aspect that will take a business need and walk it through the full life cycle of concept to requirements to implementation to training.
The body shop approach is usually used for staff augmentation and small projects that the customer has knowledge of, but not the cycles to do the work. The resource being used is usually directed by the customer on what needs to be done. Body shops are also used by other service providers such as VARs and solution providers to extend their bench or add capabilities to their normal repertoire.
VARs are usually engaged in very focused projects to implement a specific set of hardware or software that they have provided. They will also get involved in a limited level of consulting usually tied to an area in which they sell products. The VAR brings more to the table than the body shops in the form of a supporting technical organization and some form of project management. This will provide a lower level of risk for the customer since there is more than just the one contractor that can help if the on site resource gets stuck technically or has a life event that impacts his/her availability to complete the job.
The solution provider brings a broader range of services to the table but with a narrower focus. Since they will start with the business case before ever getting to the technical space you will see talents such as business analysts being brought to bear to help develop requirements and extensive project arrangement to pull the plans together and deliver. They will also be heavier in high level resources who can architect and design and may use a lower level of resource to implement under the guidance of the architects. But since their area of expertise is often restricted to the specific business solutions they offer you will see them partnering with other service providers and/or making use of the body shops to fill in the areas needed for the whole solution.
This has been a broad rambling look at IT PS. I present it as a way for setting the stage for future posts that go into more depth on related subjects. I am hoping that it also generates some comments and discussion on the content. I look forward to any comments.