When it comes to sourcing IT skills, companies are faced with a choice : IT freelancers or consulting firms ?
The question of which provider to choose is far from trivial: each profile comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. To help clarify your decision, here are the situations where it's best to opt for freelancers or consulting firms.
IT freelancer and consulting firm : two very different models
Although their area of expertise is the same, IT consulting firms and freelancers in Information Technology have many differences.
On the first hand, freelancers are independent professionals who offer their expertise directly to clients, without being tied to a specific organization.
A consulting firm, on the other hand, is a company whose goal is to deliver IT solutions to businesses. To do so, it relies on consultants with expertise in digital services and assigns them to client companies to meet their needs. A consulting firm operates in a Business-to-Business (B2B) model, with clients that are exclusively companies.
When does working with an IT freelancer make more business sense ?
If you need a consultant who can be flexible with working hours
An IT freelancer has many strengths that set them apart, particularly their high level of flexibility and independent status. So, if a company is offering a mission with demanding hours, such as evenings or weekends, it will be more likely to find someone by turning to independent workers who are more inclined to accept on-call systems than consulting firms, which are bound by internal employment contracts.
If you are looking for rare and specialized expertise
When a company is seeking rare and highly specific expertise, once again, freelancers are the way to go. Senior and targeted profiles are more commonly found among independents, as many choose to develop their skills in a specific domain and accumulate experience related to it. As a result, freelancers are more likely than consulting firms to offer skills in cybersecurity or technologies like Azure and multicloud.
If you need support on aging technologies
Similarly, an IT freelancer stands out in older domains, such as Cobol DB2 development and Mainframe. They also distinguish themselves in areas where the market is tight, such as senior project directors or Salesforce expertise.
If you need flexibility in costs
When it comes to pricing, an IT freelancer does not operate on a fixed rate grid but is instead open to negotiation. They adjust their daily rate to the scope of the project, the level of commitment required, and the length of the mission. This point can be decisive for companies interested in negotiating costs.
When is an IT consulting firm the better choice ?
If you are looking for versatile skills
Consulting firms also have many advantages in their favor. First, they are a good option for companies seeking versatile skills for a single project. Consulting firms can provide several IT consultants with different profiles to meet the multiple needs of a project.
If your project requires immediate support
The high availability offered by consulting firms is also a major advantage. Thanks to their large pool of experts, they are always able to respond to a mission, which can be crucial when a company is under pressure.
If you are looking for a long-term collaboration
Another key point : the stability and sustainability guaranteed by consulting firms. These companies, which generally provide services from the first to the last stage of a project, can manage long-term missions, even large-scale ones. They can therefore take on ambitious projects in terms of both supervision and timelines, unlike IT freelancers.
If you want managerial follow-up
Similarly, the consulting firm model ensures true follow-up in skill allocation. If, for one reason or another, a consultant leaves the mission, the account manager in charge of the project ensures a replacement is found as quickly as possible. This way, the client company is not exposed to unexpected management or talent sourcing issues, something that is not guaranteed with an IT freelancer.
If you are looking for a junior profile
Finally, regarding junior profiles, consulting firms closely support their new recruits, which is doubly advantageous for the company. On one hand, junior profiles are supervised by seniors who train and assist them throughout the project. By working with these talents, the company benefits from the experience of more seasoned profiles who closely follow the mission. On the other hand, it secures a competitive price for common skill sets : it is often more beneficial to turn to a consulting firm than to a freelancer if you are looking for a Java developer with 2 to 4 years of experience, a business analyst with less than 5 years of experience, or a tester.
A complementary choice
Both consulting firms and IT freelancers offer advantages that can benefit the client company depending on its needs. These are two complementary models that can be combined to build an effective sourcing strategy. If you are still unsure and want to get the best of both worlds, there is a solution.
LittleBig Connection offers the possibility to source the right expertise for your project, whether it comes from the freelance community, consulting firms, or both. Its unique model allows you to publish your request for proposals either exclusively to freelancers, exclusively to consulting firms, or to both networks.
Want to find the right IT partner for your next project ? Get in touch with our team and let’s talk about your needs.
