Information technology consulting
In management, information technology consulting (also called IT consulting, computer consultancy, business and technology services, computing consultancy, technology consulting, and IT advisory) as a field of activity focuses on advising organizations on how best to use information technology (IT) in achieving their business objectives. In addition to providing advice, IT consultancies often estimate, manage, implement, deploy, and administer IT systems on behalf of their client organizations - a practice known as "outsourcing".
Overview
The IT consulting industry can be viewed as a Four-tier system:
Professional services firms which maintain large professional workforces and command high bill rates.
Staffing firms, which place technologists with businesses on a temporary basis, typically in response to employee absences, temporary skill shortages and technical projects.
Independent consultants, who are self-employed or who function as employees of staffing firms (for US tax purposes, employed on Form W-2), or as independent contractors in their own right (for US tax purposes, on "1099").