IT Consulting for Companies: From Target Architecture to Stable Operations

A company’s IT does not operate on a single cycle, but on three—and a large portion of costly missteps arise because a question is answered in the wrong context. Operations run on a daily cycle: disruptions, changes, approvals, availability. The application landscape operates on a yearly cycle: What is introduced today shapes processes and data models over a period during which the business and organization undergo multiple changes. The contractual side operates on terms: notice periods, maintenance expiration dates, and price adjustment clauses determine when a decision is even possible. An IT consulting firm first categorizes a question into the correct timeframe—and only then answers it using the methods appropriate for that context.

It distinguishes day-to-day annoyances from architectural issues. A pile of support tickets can be an operational issue—misaligned responsibilities, missing standards in the change process—or a symptom of an application that handles too many special cases. Both feel identical in day-to-day operations but require different solutions: one takes weeks to resolve, the other requires an investment budget.

It makes the application landscape decision-ready. Before any decision to replace or modernize an application, there is the unspectacular work: Which applications exist, who uses them, what data is stored where, and which interfaces are connected to which. Without this overview, projects are prioritized based on noise rather than impact.

It takes the contractual aspects into account. Maintenance expiration dates, remaining contract terms, license metrics, and notice periods all play a role in determining what sequence of actions is even possible. A technically sound plan that misses a time window is more expensive than a technically second-best plan that hits the mark.

Where IT consulting ends. It replaces neither operations nor development: those who operate systems or build software do a different kind of work. Nor does it relieve management of the question of how much standardization the company can tolerate—that is a business decision. And it does not replace governance: If no one is designated to take long-term responsibility for architecture and sourcing decisions, every outcome will only hold until the next special case arises.

Two factors determine the budget for an IT project: the daily rate and the number of days. The second is the larger factor—but it is planned for less often. Billing through our network is based on the daily rate, with no project flat fee and no performance-based components.

Factors that influence the rate. First, the seniority and decision-making authority of the role: A person who owns a target architecture, or who defends a project in front of the management board, sits higher than one who only supplies input. Then there’s the technology stack—experience in a widely used environment is more readily available than experience with a rare legacy platform, and scarcity directly affects the price. Then there’s the industry: Environments with certification or regulatory approval requirements demand additional experience and narrow the pool of candidates. The extent of remote work cuts both ways—architecture, analysis, and conceptual work can largely be done from anywhere, opening up the pool of potential profiles beyond one’s own region, while operational handoffs, plants, and sites require on-site presence. Finally, project duration and availability: A twelve-month assignment costs less per day than a short-term assignment requiring the same amount of training, and last-minute staffing costs more than planned staffing.

The ranges of our current roster, as published on the role pages. For service management and operational responsibility, €750 to €1,300 per day (Freelance ITIL Consultant, Interim IT Service Delivery Manager). For demand, portfolio and provider management, €750 to €1,200 (Freelance IT Demand Manager, Freelance IT Portfolio Manager, Freelance IT Outsourcing Manager). For governance and target state, €750 to €1,450 (Freelance IT Governance Consultant, Freelance IT Consultant). For architecture and the application landscape, €750 to €1,650 (Freelance Solution Architect, Freelance Legacy Modernization Consultant, Freelance SAP Architect). Each figure represents a range and not a fixed price; the rate for a specific assignment is agreed upon before the engagement begins.

Budget in stages rather than as a lump sum. Each phase ends with a decision—which may even be “no further”: the baseline assessment with a robust prioritization, the decision-making proposal with a choice made, the first implementation phase with a measurable target, and the handover with operations running without external support. If you approve everything as a single lump sum, you lose the very opportunities where it would still be cost-effective to halt the project.

The difference between this and hiring an IT services provider or a large consulting firm lies less in the rate and more in what you’re purchasing. An IT services provider delivers services along with its own tools and, in part, derives its revenue from what it implements and operates; a large consulting firm provides a team along with methodology, quality assurance, and the infrastructure behind it. Here, you take on a role within your own organization. This requires that technical leadership remain in-house and ensures that the expertise stays where decisions will ultimately be made. License, platform, and operating costs for the systems used are not included in the daily rate; they depend on your architecture, not on the staffing involved.