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Learn about new online markets for IT consulting services
See how the online sourcing process stacks up to traditional methods
Understand what not to do when picking an IT consultant

Chris Paul has tried just about every possible method for selecting an IT consultancy. For years, Paul used his company’s Big Five consultancy (until it stopped taking his projects because they were supposedly too small). He has pursued hot boutique companies recommended by colleagues (but these up-and-comers were too busy to take him on). He has approached second- and third-tier companies on his own (which resulted in an expensive failed project last year).

"I’ve done everything but call the Joe-bag-a-donuts company from the Yellow Pages," says Paul, who (no relation to the author) is senior vice president of management information systems at Oakwood Homes Corp., a $1.4 billion maker of manufactured housing units in Greensboro, N.C. So when a former associate called to ask if he would be interested in trying a new online exchange for consulting services called IQ4hire, Paul figured, what could it possibly hurt?

Most CIOs would agree the consultant sourcing process has gotten harder since e-business came roaring onto the scene. No more is the choice of a consultant dictated by your platform, as it was in the late 1980s and 1990s. Around the end of the 1980s, for instance, if you were developing a three-tier client/server architecture, Cambridge Technology Partners or Computer Sciences Corp. or IBM would top your list. Or, a few years later, if you were rolling out five SAP modules, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Andersen Consulting and Ernst & Young were clear options. It was much easier then because there were so few players. You cranked out a 400-page request for proposal, circulated it to the usual suspects and eventually picked one of those safe bets.

Today, the choices are not nearly so obvious. When it comes to e-business, no one has a lock on the market—no handful of elite organizations dominates the landscape as in the heyday of the Big Five (it was Big Six then). With the explosion in boutique consulting companies such as iXL, Proxicom, Razorfish, Sapient Corp., Scient Corp. and Xpedior, the playing field has gotten a lot more colorful—and confusing. And there are more players in all categories, not just e-business. It’s no wonder an IT executive like Paul would turn to an online exchange for help.

But in sourcing consulting projects, as in life, there is no way to shortcut the process of building relationships. IT consultants perform personal services, after all. You probably wouldn’t source a real estate agent, hair stylist or lawyer on an online exchange (although those types of marketplaces certainly exist)—the intimacy of those relationships defies the cold point-and-click world of online marketplaces. The same is true for IT consultants. You might be able to get your short list quicker by using an exchange, but you’ll still have to do the due diligence that goes along with hiring a partner for an important project.