What is the difference between technical and functional consultants

Good question. The most advisable role to adopt is the one that you are best at and enjoy the most. For example I can not imagine tackling functional consultancy without being comfortable with accounting practices, knowing your debits from you credit and all that… Also to work with any credibility with a customer in vertical markets you will need to demonstrate that you understand their industry and their requirements. Do you also want a client facing role? There is no doubt that the technical side is more removed from the client while the functional angle is very hands on.

As a functional consultant or System consultant as we call it I have gone someway to understanding the technical side and done some of the courses.

But I have no intention starting development. It was purely to understand the capabilities so I can perform the functional and design role better. Likewise if you take the technical angle you will find it hard without some functional knowledge. Horses for courses. I agree in general with both of the preceding comments but my ego requires that I believe that I actually do a pretty good job for my clients on both the technical and the functional side. It is true that at any point in time you are almost surely leaning one way or the other in your focus.

And my ego has no problem admitting that I regularly call on others for assistance in either technical or functional areas, depending on the type and degree of difficulty of the problem at hand. It helps to ensure the implementation and initiative of businesses produce high usability which can only be when functional consultant teaches users, mainly employees. On the other hand, technical consultant possesses different skillsets and abilities then functional consultants.

Since the role is to provide technical assistance thus the technical consultant is more into providing technical solutions in the form of backend code development and ERP programming. The role of technical consultant starts once the functional consultant thoroughly discussed the project with clients and provides briefs to technical officers.

Later, based on briefs, technical consultants fill the gaps defined by functional consultants by either integrating third-party applications or custom ERP solutions. On contrary to what people say, the role of the technical consultant is heavily dependent on the insights provided by the functional consultants. Hence, we can say that the technical consultant plays a pivotal role in ERP implementation and execution.

Unlike functional consultants, technical consultants are more familiar with the programming, designing, and workflow of the software. Hence, at some point, the clients have to consult technical and functional consultants simultaneously to ensure everyone is on the same page. Moreover, the technical officers possess a holistic view and knowledge about the Integration and testing of ERP software. On the other hand, the functional consultant provides the overview of the product flow in an easy-to-understand way that makes implement utility a success.

The last thing on the list is version control and knowledge about business verticals of every industry e. Take Away…. Hence, consulting a professional who is well-versed in both communication and development is a rare occurrence. Still, functional consultants are more skilled in seeing the bigger picture, and therefore should work together with technical consultants.

The technical team needs to keep everything running smoothly, execute upgrades or migrations. These modules help the functional consultants turn data into business intelligence and assist with processing orders, tracking inventory, or handling human resources. On the other side of the coin are the technical modules, which the program administrators use to run the computer system behind the scenes. These modules download and install updates, plan and execute migrations, and troubleshoot any performance issues.

While most of the job opportunities for functional and technical consultants are for technology-based companies, many other companies need these consultants. While most technical and functional consultants do have a background in IT, not all do, because someone can be an expert in any field, right? Technical skills refer to the proficiency that someone has in a specific field, while functional skills are broader. The possibility of expertise in a specific field is why functional and technical consultants are widely used in different fields.

The more someone learns about a specific topic, the more likely they are to be able to offer advice or guidance on that topic. Having a technical consultant on your team is a great way to take the guesswork out of your business. Part of why consultants are useful to companies is because they are experts in their field and have experience solving problems just like yours. Using functional and technical consultants allow you to better focus on your other jobs, rather than trying to create, troubleshoot, and implement a whole new system for your business.

Allowing functional and technical consultants to do their jobs makes your life easier, but it ensures that the job you need is done the right way. This will lead to fewer problems and bugs in the future.

These people are here to help your vision become a reality, and are skilled in coming up with creative solutions to both technological and business problems that you may have. People pay for advice for the same reason they ask for it: because they need that advice to help improve themselves or their business.

The chart below shows the size of the global consulting market according to its different segments. By , the technology consulting market is expected to generate about 53 billion U. Consultants have experience doing the same thing for other businesses, so they can adapt their methods specifically to your business to help it succeed.

Like many other jobs in the IT field, there is a lot of need for functional and technical consultants. Many people are already specializing in IT and other technological fields, so the possibility of becoming a consultant is open to you.

Unlike other professions, there is no degree that you have to get to become a functional or technical consultant. Around If you know a lot about technology, you could make the switch to become a technical consultant for a variety of different companies. Those who have both an IT and business background also have the potential to become a great functional consultant.

Business education provides people with the ability to see the bigger picture and think of creative solutions to problems. That knowledge, combined with a practical IT background, can give you the tools you need to become a valuable member of a team as a functional consultant.