What Are Professional Services Organizations (PSOs)?

Your business is booming. Your days are busy, and so is your staff—from employees all the way up to management. This is every CEO’s dream. However, without the right help, it can quickly turn into a nightmare.

Projects don’t stop coming in just because you’re at full tilt. Your business has to keep up the pace, which means delegating responsibilities and project management to a reputable third-party organization. Enter professional services organizations (PSOs).

PSOs offer customized, knowledge-based B2B services, such as project management, IT staffing and outsourcing, and major on-site installations. In addition to their subject matter expertise, often what PSOs offer is relief. You can let the PSO you hired manage a particular project, while you refocus on running your business.

How Professional Services Organizations Can Benefit Your Company

You’re an expert in your business. Let’s say your company designs children’s toys. As part of being a growing presence in that industry, you and your staff are well-versed in child psychology, toy design, manufacturing, marketing, and safety practices.
Even if you also have an adequate working knowledge of IT, for example, it’s fair to say that IT is not your primary field of expertise. Therefore, you wouldn’t attempt to manage a large-scale IT project yourself. Nor would you ask your in-house IT staff to do it.

You’d find experts to manage these responsibilities and outsource the project to them so that you can focus on running your business. Businesses like yours contract PSOs to manage projects like office relocations, upgrades, low voltage cabling, digital signage solutions, and IT staffing.

Legitimate PSOs Have Exceptional Project Management Capabilities

One of the defining features of professional services organizations is their singular project management capabilities. They employ certified project management professionals (PMPs) to organize, start, oversee, and complete your project.

The beauty of contracting a PSO to help with your most important projects is that you determine the scope and budget of your project. The team you contract to help quickly helps you define your needs, prepares the scope, and deploys the resources to ensure your project is completed to your satisfaction and within the service level agreements (SLAs) defined in your contract.

Types of IT Projects Managed by a PSO

Professional Service Organizations are at their core technology experts. With this, you are assured that the team contracted to manage your projects acts as an extension of your own team. The following are examples of the types of projects you may need some help managing:

• Equipment refreshes
• Technology upgrades
• Software upgrades or changes
• Moves and relocations – whether the move is from building to building, or department to department
• Installation of new equipment
• Low-voltage cabling
• Equipment testing
• Commissioning or decommissioning equipment or technology devices

In summary, a professional services organization can be the key to your project success, filling in a core competency in your organization to ensure the successful completion of your most important IT project.