What are Professional Services and can Information Technology be an example?

What are Professional Services and can Information Technology be an example? By Jean-Bertrand Casseus As defined by Wikipedia, “Professional services are infrequent, technical, or unique functions performed by independent contractors or consultants whose occupation is the rendering of such services. While not limited to licentiates (individuals holding professional licenses), these services are considered "professional" and the contract may run to partnerships, firms, or corporations as well as to individuals. Examples of professional services contracts commonly include: accountants, actuaries, appraisers, archaeologists, architects, attorneys, business consultants, business development managers, engineers, law firms, physicians, performing artists, researchers, and real estate brokers. The selection of an independent contractor or consultant providing professional services is usually based on skill, knowledge, reputation, ethics, and creativity. Price for services may be a secondary factor in the selection. Defining independent contractors or consultants as professional suggests that they do not derive any financial benefit from service or product providers that are recommended in the consulting engagement.” The term "Professional Services" is frequently used by corporations such as banks and retailers that offer infrequent or ongoing services for their customers.(1) IT Consultants can fall into this category. Although IT Consultants do not secure a PE (Professional Engineer) License, IT skills do have licenses such as MCSE, Microsoft Certified System Engineer; CCIE, Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert; CNE, Certified Novel Engineer; PMP, Project Management Professional to mention a few of the most common IT Certifications. IT Consulting Practices are structured and conducted like Business Consultants except that IT Consultants concentrate on Software, Systems, and Technologies while Business Consultants concentrate on Policies, Procedures, and Processes. Both IT Consultants and Business Consultants have structured methodologies that they follow and provide support through contracts and service level agreements. Like Business Consultants, IT Consultants are specialized and offer very specific types of solutions. Although IT Consultants may not be listed under the same telephone category as “Professional Services”, their services are professional. ---------------------------------- (1) Professional Services - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_services. This page was last modified on 5 February 2008, at 19:59. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity.