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Perspectives on Consulting How are consultancy services differentiated? There are two effective ways: -
Are the independent economic studies, by consultancy firms, done for getting more visibility or they actually acted upon? Independent studies are conducted for the consumption of both the government and the consulting/ service providers. Some companies have these done to showcase their capabilities and maturity. Otherwise it is conducted by bodies like NASSCOM, CRISIL, GARTNER, etc and other bodies focusing exclusively on research. Each firm has certain focus areas and so it would not be possible to identify the most active. CGEY globally does initiate such studies, however out of India we are not doing any such independent economic studies. It is said that India is hub of intellectual talent. We have proven the same in IT then why not in Consultancy. Are we on the track for the same? Consultancy requires a deep understanding of the local business practices, operating environments and local language and culture, which may not be feasible to obtain. Also the pricing differentiator is not available as most of the engagements are done at client site. State restrictions (visa quotas etc.) also prevent Indian talent to penetrate such markets. India will still continue to be more of an IT and BPO hub rather than a consulting hub. However we could ride the IT wave to get into some common ground with consulting. Because of global slow down for past 2/3 years - is there any impact on consultancy business & how do you see the future? Consultancy business moves as per business transformations & technology waves. Business environment is never static - It's dynamic in nature involving various players & stakeholders. Our belief is that Consultancy will always align the business parameters with changing business scenarios. There will be further consolidations in the industry as well as emergence of niche consulting boutiques. The lines between technology driven consulting and business consulting are becoming blurred - Do you see a trend towards integration of these or will they remain parallel streams? There will be certain overlap in these two areas, and companies will look at business consulting primarily in a restructuring phase. Growth is usually more driven by technology. Has the ERP implementation business become commoditized like the software programming market - there seem to be all types of players - Indian software companies, MNC consulting companies, Software vendors - How do you differentiate in this market? There will be some commoditization due to overcrowding in the ERP space, however the global leaders and with their strong focus on R&D will come with new offerings which adapt to changing business environment. This is usually not perceived by a customer who looks only at current features and uses pricing as a means to select the ERP vendor. Similarly niche vendors will have strong focus on certain verticals like the utilities or the telecom sector and hence differentiate themselves from the rest. Contributed by - |
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