Information Technology Strategy

It depends, two of the most common words used in Information Technology Consulting.  I will be spelling out Information Technology in this post because in this case it does not mean Information Technology.  It means whatever context that is being used.  Confused yet?  

In consulting it depends on the specific situation as to whether a certain information technology strategy will work or not.   It depends on the customer whether certain things are allowed or not.   It depends on the information technology infrastructure. Sometimes people get frustrated when they can’t get a straight answer to what appears to be a simple question.  I sometimes get criticized because it sounds like I don't know the answer or don't come across as being a very good information technology consultant.

Here is an example:  Would Microsoft Exchange be a good email server to use?   The short answer might be yes, but without asking a few more qualifying questions, that might not be the best answer.  So what's my answer yes or no?  It depends; tell me a little bit more about your information technology infrastructure.  If the person says that they are running a Novell network, perhaps GroupWise might be a better choice.  If they tell me that they are running an iSeries or a Linux network, perhaps IBM Domino might be better choice. 

It is my opinion that a good information technology consulting firm will always say it depends because they want to ask a lot more questions before giving advice.