I’ve been a consultant for over 15 years now and one thing I’ve learnt is to always be prepared for whatever life throws at you during a customer engagement. My work has varied from simply sitting with clients and producing a report on my security findings, to being physically located in data centres and performing security testing of their environments. So here is a list of things I’ve found useful when working with customers. I’ve split it between on-site and remote so you can jump to which one may interest you.

Note: I’ve listed a number of products that I’ve used and have been great based on my experience. I have no affiliation with any of them. This is purely independent recommendations and there will be similar products that will provide the same functionality.

On-site

🎒 Backpack

The number one item for travelling. Get a good backpack. Your company may give you one which is great but in the event they do not or it breaks, consider the following criteria for selecting a bag.

Heavy Weight - your backpack becomes your home on the move as a consultant so make sure it can take plenty of weight and it supports your back.

Laptop Compartments - your bag needs to hold at least two laptops. In my experience it’s very rare that you can use your company or own laptop for customer work and many organisations will want you to use their own laptop to deliver work. So you’ll always be lugging around your company or own laptop as well as the customers. As stated in point about the weight, it’s not just the laptop but potentially power cables and other equipment the customer has provided you.

Small Compartments - make sure you have plenty of pockets and zipped compartments to put all the manor of bits you’ll carry around. Maybe you want a notebook and pen, maybe you still like to hand out business cards or you have a place to pop your keys (security key as well as house!).

Large Central Compartment - For me a good sized central compartment is a must. It is where I put the remaining equipment (listed below) and need to have enough space for it all. This includes water bottles, cables and peripherals. It’s also good to have the flexibility to carry things you may need for working at a booth (e.g. flyers, cards, books, etc).  

What do I use? 

Back when I moved from Capgemini to ControlPlane, Thule were one of the best backpacks. After 5 years I’ve not regretted it. It has all the things listed as well as a tough top section for my sunglasses. The sides block RFID but honestly they are so accessible I wouldn’t put something I don’t want skimmed in it. If you are looking for a new contender, I hear very good things about Gomatic. I know plenty of YouTubers and streamers use their bags and if you search for it, you can likely find a discount.

💧 Water Bottle

This does apply to both remote and on-site but purchasing a good water bottle is essential gear for a consultant. Being on the move and keeping hydrated means you can remain sharp and ready for the bombardment of questions that come your way. Additionally if you are working on a secure site, you may need escorting to various places. To constantly ask your chaperone to escort you to grab a drink is frankly irritating for both of you. Aim to get a decent sized water bottle that seals nicely to have the confidence that it won’t leak when your bag is put on its side. 

What do I use?

For the longest time I’ve used a Camelbak bottle and honestly had no issues till recently when after 8 years of use the water started to taste earthy. I washed it multiple times, including the dish water but the taste would not go. So now I’m running with an ION8. It’s insulting to keep the water cool and it locks nicely so I don’t fear spillages. One word of warning, if you are flying with it the insulation creates a vacuum chamber so you may find opening it causes a jet of water to spray out. You can imagine my surprise finding that out!

🧰 Cable bag 

I cannot tell you how much finding this changed my life. Part of doing consultancy means presenting in front of the customer or having to access a network or server. On countless occasions I’ve arrived on site and I’m not able to present or access what I needed because they didn’t have an adapter or did not support a specific connector. So I used to carry all kinds of cables with me, loose in my bag. Then I found they do cable bags, it has been a game changer. No longer and I’m rummaging around in my bag trying to find the right cable, I just whip the bag out and boom I’ve got a VGA converter or crossover cable.  

What do I use? 

I use a BUBM bag, on one side loads of elastic to hold cable converters and on the other side, mesh nets for big cables. You can get them in different sizes but I went for a medium sized one which enables me to slot my water bottle to the side of it. Unfortunately I bought it so long ago it is no longer available on Amazon but this is very close to what I have.

🎧 Headphones

Headphones provide two functions whilst working on-site. Firstly to cancel out all of the noise in an open plan office and allow you to focus on getting work done. I used to like ear buds but found they have mixed results for noise cancellation so ended up with a set of cans.

The other thing to consider is Bluetooth. I’ve found Linux has trouble with handling input and output using Bluetooth, likely a lack of good driver support. Also you will run out of battery at some point so having the option of a cable is very useful. Just make sure it’s long enough so you can comfortably move your head without feeling tethered to your device.

What do I use?

I actually got two pairs of Bose. My original pair where only cabled and a couple of years later they brought out a set of bluetooth ones which I got for on the move and work beautifully with my Pixel. My original pair I tend to use at home as the cable is longer (but I’ll discuss that more in the remote section).

🖱 Mouse 

Trackpads suck. Yes, even Apple’s. They are great for odd bits and pieces but shouldn’t be used all day. As I find myself stuck on my laptop all day, bringing a mouse makes life so much better (as well as lowering my chances of carpal tunnel). If you get the right wireless mouse, the battery can last weeks, let alone days so no need to worry about running out charge on site.  

What do I use? 

Logitech is easily my favourite mouse. I’ve been using Logitech mice since I was 15 years old and find them the best for work. I’ve currently got the MX Master 3. If you already have a fancy one for gaming, then use that rather than getting one specifically for work. I’ve also brought at relatively little expense a case which protects it on my travels.

🔌 Multi-Connector Power Adapter

I asked my colleagues the question, what would you consider an essential piece of equipment when you are consulting and two of them responded with the same answer. A multi-connector power adapter. They noted that the majority of equipment is USB-C so you can get away with a single charger for your laptop, phone and any other peripheral. Why I agree this is true for modern equipment some businesses have older equipment which requires specific chargers so be warned and do consider that when choosing a bag. Nevertheless, it’s a great shout and I thought I’ll add it here.

What do I use?

This Multi-connector Power Adapter from MINIX provides enough power for a laptop and has two USB-C sockets for charging your phone at the same time. Additionally if you do international travel it has EU, US and UK adapters. Thanks to @smarticu5 and @datosh for the recommendation.

Honourable Mentions

⌨️ Keyboards

I know some consultants like to bring their own keyboard to customer sites to increase efficiency. You can get excellent bluetooth devices these days but I’ve never seen the need for it and just use the laptop keyboard for my work.

🔋 Battery Packs

If you have an older phone, it may be worth considering a battery pack to give your device a boost whilst on the move. I used to have an Anker but I have found it gathering dust on my side these days.

Remote

📷 Camera

Working for a remote company you need to think about how you present yourself to customers. Gone are the days where I used to turn up to customer sites suited and booted. The remote version of this is a good camera. The rise of streaming has created several excellent products and whilst many YouTubers will point to DSLR cameras, honestly you can get away with a decent webcam. Just make sure it’s compatible with your system, supports HD and your customer will see that lovely face of yours in all its splendour. If you already have an excellent camera, by all means, buy a tripod or one of these Elgato Wall Mounts and use that. It will likely be better than a webcam and you can get the full use out of it.

What do I use?

I use a Logitech Brio. It’s a solid unit and it has worked with Linux, Mac and Windows without bespoke drivers. It is a little old now so there are definitely better alternatives in the market. If I ever decide to do a YouTube channel, I’ll likely swap it out for something that supports 4K.

🎤 Mic

You look great, now you need to sound great. I’ve sat on so many customer calls where people are using built-in microphones and it’s been a real struggle to hear what is being said. Moving to remote consultancy, I made sure not only I bought a decent microphone, I got a good stand for it to sit on. Another feature to consider is how well it handles noise cancellation out of the box. I’ve got a young son who from time to time wants to complain about life and preferably so that the universe is clear on his stance. I’m amazed with my setup when he is having a meltdown that no one can hear.

What do I use?

I went down the route of Elgato and got the Wave 3. It has worked nicely with the majority of my setups although for Linux I find that switching between calls randomly mutes me!?

For an Arm, again the Elgato Low Profile Arm is amazing and although I know plenty of people who don’t have the Elgato Wave 3 so many have purchased this.

🎛️ USB Switch

To enable me to use my microphone and camera for both home and work, I brought a USB switch. It saves me time unplugging and plugging in the devices when I want to use them for recording content on my home rig. Fortunately both my camera and microphone are USB and setup works very nicely.

What do I use?

I’ve got this USB switch from Amazon. It used to be stuck underneath my desk (with velcro) but lately it’s laying on the floor at the back of my desk. When I want to switch over, I just use my foot to press the button. I prefer it over the device sitting on top of my desk and need to research whether I can get it working with the Elgato foot pedal.

🦿 Adjustable Desk

This is purely personal preference but I find when attending a virtual meeting I’m far more engaged when I’m standing. I find it way too easy to lose my concentration when I’m sat and attempt to multitask whilst listening in. So I got an adjustable desk that will allow me to switch between standing and sitting. I think if I went fully either way I would regret it as some days I am too tired to stand, especially if you have a meeting heavy day (which I tend to get as I like to have two days a week for deep work).

What do I use?

IKEA to the rescue. They have a very reasonably priced adjustable desk and it has a section to hold the cabling underneath. If money was no issue, I would absolutely buy the Secretlab MAGNUS Pro. It just has everything you would want for a desk. One day!

Honourable Mentions

🌩 Surge Protected Power Strip

Working from home you end up with a lot of equipment plugged in and they aren’t cheap to replace. I would recommend a extension power lead with surge protection. In all the time I’ve used it, I’ve only had it trigger once but I believe it’s worth protecting what you own. I’m currently using two Belkin Extension Leads.