IT Consultant

Archive: 09-2011

• Top three technologies all IT consultants should learn

  Keep your IT consulting skills relevant by familiarizing yourself with the following three technologies.

  Posted by Erik Eckel | September 30, 2011, 8:31 PM PDT

• Making money on free software

  How can anyone make money from software development if nobody pays for software? Chip Camden thinks the answer is to stop treating software as a product.

  Posted by Chip Camden | September 30, 2011, 3:09 AM PDT

• Preventing code rot

  Software developers call neglected code that stops working code rot. Chip Camden explains why this often occurs and how to avoid such trouble.

  Posted by Chip Camden | September 27, 2011, 4:39 PM PDT

• Adopt this flowchart to simplify triage

  This IT Consultant Client Triage Decision Tree will help you get through customers’ panicky calls when emergencies arise.

  Posted by Erik Eckel | September 26, 2011, 4:06 AM PDT

• Weeding out potentially bad clients

  Unless you want to get stuck in a relationship with a nightmare client, it’s a good idea to do some sleuthing up front.

  Posted by Susan Harkins | September 23, 2011, 10:56 PM PDT

• The importance of documenting clients' business objectives

  From day one, IT consultants should ask about and document clients’ business objectives before suggesting fixes for the current solution.

  Posted by Erik Eckel | September 22, 2011, 8:05 AM PDT

• The seven day work week

  Independent consultant Chip Camden sometimes enjoys work more on the weekend, though he wonders if he should scale back his workload on Saturdays and Sundays.

  Posted by Chip Camden | September 19, 2011, 9:16 AM PDT

• Cutbacks in tech investments leading to more client emergencies

  If businesses don’t invest in necessary technology upgrades, it will come back to haunt them. A “fire drill” meeting with such clients may be in order.

  Posted by Erik Eckel | September 15, 2011, 7:31 PM PDT

• Tips for choosing your professional email address

  Your professional email address is like a handshake to clients. Chip Camden advises what to do and what not to do when creating that email address.

  Posted by Chip Camden | September 13, 2011, 7:14 AM PDT

• When to apply the shut up strategy

  Before offering clients your unsolicited opinions, you should consider whether holding your tongue might be necessary in order to maintain a good client relationship.

  Posted by Chip Camden | September 6, 2011, 12:07 PM PDT