1. Screening 

• Company rundown
• Commitment assessment
• Resources assessment  

In this first phase a member of SBTI’s consulting team will assess if a prospect client meets the requirements for engagement. Requirements are defined in terms of company size, business development stage, commitment to the adoption of technology, and availability of resources to leverage SBTI's recommendations.

This preliminary screening is to make sure SBTI provides services to clients that are ready to receive them, and are in need of what SBTI can offer. 

2. Operational Assessment

• Client interview and assessment
• Analysis, planning and reporting
• Presentation  

In this second phase a Lead Management Consultant works with the client to analyze the way the client operates in terms of:

• Executive function
• Finance, Accounting
• Operations, Supply Chain, Logistics
• Sales, Marketing and Communications
• Information Technology
• Human Resources  

This holistic analysis is performed in order to understand if, how and what information technology can improve the way the client’s business operates. The Lead Consultant, generally within 2 weeks, prepares and presents to the client a report defining his/her findings and identifying areas where technology can have a positive impact. The report also defines what type of solutions should be implemented, and if requested can define specific solutions and architectures to consider. The report will also cover a high level consideration of any requirement for a change in business processes as a result of implementing new systems. During the presentation the Consultant focuses on making the client understand the business impact of each recommendation and works with the client to define how the recommendation fits with the business’ short, mid and long term goals.  

• Task team building
• Requirements definition and task assignment
• Sub-project development (may involve multiple interactions with client)
• Sub-project presentation  

At this stage the Lead Consultant builds a task team composed of specialty technologists with core expertise in those areas identified in the "Operational Assessment". This team works with the client to select and design the most appropriate information technology solutions. This part of the process is vital to ensure a strong connection between the business requirements and the technology adopted to address them.  

4. Implementation Support 

• Vendor selection support
• Vendor implementation supervision
• Vendor work review  

Once the solutions are designed and the client is comfortable with their suitability, SBTI can help select technology vendors and, if required, supervise and review their work. The implementation of technology can become an ordeal for a small business with limited resources. Selecting vendors, communicating the desired results, and ensuring that the final outcome will actually meet stated needs, are tasks that can be very difficult for a business manager to deal with. SBTI can make its consultants available to help businesses manage this process, help them professionally deal with vendors and to evaluate the quality and efficiency of the implementations.