In today’s digital world, it often gets a bit hazy to keep up with the ever-evolving trends. That is why you must loop in technology consulting services. Whether you are an established business or a startup, making the best use of technology consulting services is the smartest thing you can do in the current scenario. Let’s dive into this blog to explore the essentials of technology consulting and check out how to make the best use of it to stay ahead of the curve in the digital arena.
Defining Technology Consulting
Technology consulting can be defined as the process of educating and guiding businesses on how to leverage their business by using the software & technologies available at their disposal. Some of the important technical aspects of technology consulting include the following:
- Digital Transformation
- SaaS Services (Cloud Technology)
- IoT Technology
- BlockChain Technology
- Cyber Security
- Artificial Intelligence
- Augmented Reality
The list goes on, but embracing the above-listed technologies gives businesses a technical push when it comes to the digital world.
Significance of Technology Consulting
Ever since the pandemic, almost anything and everything in our daily lives have become technology-dependent. When it comes to businesses, it has become a mandate to make the best use of technology consulting services in order to survive and thrive in the market. The ultimate reason why technology consulting is significant is that it facilitates businesses to propel further using technology, thus fulfilling their essential objectives.
The following areas are focussed more predominantly when it comes to technology consulting:
- Software Development
- Information System Design & Development
- Software System Analysis
- Information Business Strategies & Protocols
- Implementation of necessary Hardware Solutions
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How to make the best use of Technology Consulting Services being a Startup?
Being a startup and reaching out for technology consulting, you have the liberty to start from scratch using all the latest available technologies. Whether you are a product development company or a service offering company, building your software system is a mandatory step. Since almost everything has become digitized, it is essential that proper technology consulting is done and the protocols followed. Let’s check out the various steps involved in technology consulting, especially focussing on software product development, and explore the protocols involved in the process.
#1. Product Idea Discussion
The first and most important step is the product idea discussion. Brainstorming your core business objectives is a crucial step in setting up the necessary digital tools. Thereby you need to specify your core objectives be it software product development, hardware product development, or service offerings.
The core business operative protocols involved dictate how exactly your digital transformation protocols need to be designed. If it is software product development, then, the entire software development process needs to be devised in such a way that the digital transformation process boosts operations both internally and externally.
Starting from market gap analysis to comparison of related products already available in the market, the software system needs to be designed effectively. This is where the technology stacks required to build the system are identified and the pros and cons are evaluated. Once the technology stack is chosen, then it is time to move on to the next step.
#2. Product Idea Validation – MVP & Prototype
Once the idea of the product and the business operative steps are clear, then the next step is to validate the design of the digital tools required to facilitate the software development process. The MVP features and functionalities are to be defined in this stage. The next step is to design a detailed road-map of processes involved starting from prototype to product launch.
Wireframing and prototype designing are the highlights of the MVP development process. Adobe Photoshop is used to show the visual entity of the features and a clickable prototype is developed in this stage as well. Once this is done, validation of the so far developed prototype & MVP is carried out.
#3. Architectural Design and Prototype Development
With the technology stacks finalized, the next step is to analyze the software architecture. Though the architectural design for the prototype is evaluated, it needs to be further analyzed for future scalability reasons. So, for that, the immediate step is to figure out a rough scalable idea. Once that is clear, the necessary futuristic scalable options need to be pipelined.
After the essential features and functions are evaluated, full software product architecture needs to be designed. Once that is designed, then it needs to be validated and tested. This is how the architectural design and product development process are carried out.
#4. Development of the Tool
Once all the key points are sorted, it’s all about serious and pure technical work. This phase of development comprises extensive programming. A proper project plan needs to be followed in this step so as to execute the software development process in a timely manner. Phase-wise development reviews of the development process help to keep track of the amount of work done in stipulated time frames.
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#5. Product Evaluation – Testing
Once the product is developed, the next important step is testing. There are various testing processes such as usability test, regression test, acceptance test, manual & automated test and it is important to make your software tool undergo rigorous testing. The more testing your product undergoes and works fine, the superior its quality becomes. One of the crucial ways to trace the bottlenecks of your software tool is by analyzing its performance. Upon setting a benchmark of its performance, the software tool is checked for optimization. Once the performance optimization is done, the final stages of testing are done and reports are filed.
#6. Deployment and Beta Testing
In this phase, the software tool is deployed and the beta version is released/tested in real-time. The beta version of the software tool is released/tested in real-time after the quality check analysis process. In the beta testing process, the software tool’s real-time performance is monitored. The bugs are then reported to the quality check team and they are sorted at the earliest. Once the bugs are sorted out, the final version is released/tested in real-time and it is still monitored for performance analysis.
#7. Maintenance, Update & Upgrade
There is one thing you need to remember, building a software product is not a one-time job. It requires periodic evaluation and maintenance. It is a known fact that technology keeps on evolving and to stay ahead of the competitors in the market, it is vital to be updated and upgraded from time to time. Also, if there arises any bug, out of the blue and if the product needs to be scaled or optimized, then again, it has to be done by the technology consulting team.
The above-discussed ways are the various stages of software product development for a startup and how you need to make use of the technology consulting services to the best in those stages of product development. Let’s now see how an established business can make the best use of technology consulting.
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How to make the best use of Technology Consulting Services being an established Business?
When you’ve been in the market for quite some time, you will have become pretty familiar with the old-school methods. In today’s digital world, you need websites, mobile apps, web portals, software systems for internal purposes and you will also need customized CRM tools. Whatever may be your requirement, you need to reach out to technology consulting services. That’s a smart way to compete and stay abreast in the digital arena.
In the process of technology consulting, you might come across various entities that you might think are unnecessary. But, to stay the course in the ever-changing digital platform, it is vital that you try to embrace digital transformation. As technology consultants follow technology trends regularly, they will be in a better position to help you to grow your network in the digital world and help your business flourish. By opting for technology consulting, you can…
- Improvise your business operations and thereby grow your business
- Smartly invest in the verticals that will yield you fruitful results
- Grab hold of tech opportunities and make the best of what the latest technology has to offer for your business
- Explore peripheral business verticals
- Stay technically armed in the digital arena
Final Thoughts
Making the best use of technology consulting services means using technology to the fullest and thus propel businesses. In the present day scenario, many services and solutions are available and it is up to you to choose the best fit for your business. Availability is one thing and utility is another. It is up to you to make sure that the utility of the product is on the upper hand with respect to your software product development. Depending on the requirements of your company, you can either approach technology consulting companies or technical consultants. Either way, the above-discussed methods will come in handy.
Are you a Startup looking forward to developing a software product or android app or any kind of innovative product? Or are you an established business looking for assistance in digital transformation or web portal or any kind of application? Reach out to us. Let’s discuss and take it from there.
