December 20, 2002
IT Consulting Practice Looks to Growth in Its Third Year
|
| Donna Held |
Vice President &
Sales Manager |
| Tel: 212.726.6694 | donna.held@ayers.com
January marks the second anniversary of The Ayers Group Information Technology Consulting Practice. "It's been a difficult time to start a new endeavor," practice head Donna Held acknowledges. "But we have grown, and the tough marketplace has honed us. With two years under our belts, we've built awareness of who we are and what we do."
During the fourth quarter, Held's group saw increased activity in staff augmentation, particularly in mid-tier companies. "People are getting short-staffed, but they need to get certain things done," she observes. “So although companies continue to let people go, they're hiring consultants in specialized, focused areas, particularly infrastructure support and small-database development.”
According to Held, The Ayers Group has become known for its ability to handle difficult assignments. "We're good at finding needle-in-a-haystack-type specialists: heavy hitters in infrastructure and people with specialized technical and software skill sets. It's easy to fill positions like these expensively, but we're known for doing it cost effectively. Our recruiters have developed a specialized database that brings in high-caliber people.
"We're seeing more 'right to hire' than we've seen for quite a while," she continues. "If they like our consultants, they're bringing them on staff after a few months. There's still a lot of pressure for the 100 percent match in terms of personality and business and technical skills, but there is movement."
Continued growth is the order of business as the Ayers consulting practice enters its third year. "We believe the marketplace will improve, and our objective is to double our size during 2003," Held says. "We're adding to our recruiting and sales teams to better serve and to support expansion in our existing geographic markets—New Jersey, Westchester, and Long Island—as well as to enter new ones, including Philadelphia. And we're looking to expand our presence in other industries, in addition to financial services."
|