[sandworm101]

Much depends on the type of consulting. I do legal stuff, mostly compliance and privacy issues. Hypothetically, if someone asked me which cloud service best complied with a new EU data directive I would recommend one. I might be wrong. Maybe that cloud wasn't the best. Everyone makes mistakes. But if i make that mistake and my client finds out I was taking a kickback from the cloud I recommended, then it doesn't look like a simple mistake. Now it is negligence. That sort of consulting is different than more technical work where the real issue is whether a recommended service or product functions as expected.

A common request of me is to recommend a pen-testing or scanning service (pci, iso, dfars and such). I often write out requirements and even negotiate pricing for such clients. Any kickback whatsoever would be a disservice.

[intrasight]

Consultants resell the products from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. The client will know that the reseller is getting a cut. It's not a "kickback". I would doubt that these cloud vendors could even offer a "kickback" (but then again, I could be naive).

But I do get your point. There are several types of IT consultants:

1. Those that help choose a vendor. They should be independent.

2. Those that hold a vendor's feet to the fire. I would claim that a good reseller could still do that.

3. Those that are really just outsourced warm bodies of the vendor. Don't expect much if any independent thinking.