Times Ascent: Cognizant’s Vice President of Business Consulting Says Today’s Digital Era Requires Consultants with an Entrepreneurial Spirit and a Millennial Mindset

“Even at traditional, old-economy companies, technology is taking the center stage and becoming integral to their go-forward strategies,” writes Sandy Gopalan. “Pushing the envelope on that thinking are new-age companies for whom technology is at the core of their existence.” Excerpts:

“At the heart of this phenomenon is the collective force of digital technologies such as mobile, analytics, cloud, social media, and the Internet of Things, which are challenging yesterday’s models and redefining value. Companies are leveraging them to optimize their businesses, engage better with customers, and even build entirely new business models and drive innovation.

The world of consulting is not untouched by this once-in-a-decade shift in the technology landscape. More than ever, consulting is the first port of call for clients looking to leverage next-generation technologies to optimize their businesses and drive innovation. So powerful is this trend that even the traditional strategy consulting houses can now be seen adding analytics and other technological capabilities to their quiver, appending implementation to their value proposition that historically centered on their advisory and audit pedigree.

The writing is on the wall: The time of IT services players who’ve built credible consulting capabilities has well and truly arrived. Those with end-to-end capabilities ranging from strategy to solution implementation are best positioned to address the emerging market needs.

We’ve entered an era where ‘strategy’ without ‘technology’ is no strategy at all. And this heralds the dawn of a new era in consulting. IT services with formidable consulting arms are the most relevant in the emerging digital environment.

In the digital era, strategy has a lot to do with ideation and managed innovation. And the solution options need to be created collaboratively with the clients in an iterative manner. There are no silver bullets or best practices as there are endless possibilities to leverage these new technologies. It requires consultants with an entrepreneurial spirit and a millennial mindset which today’s MBAs do possess.

Millennials detest strict hierarchies and hard-coded career architectures. Progressive consulting practices are designed to be flexible and cater well to the millennial aspiration. Going ahead, there is a wide range of roles such MBAs could consider, some even beyond consulting, such as managing regional P&Ls, client relationships, innovation, and full-fledged programs. Such excitement can be afforded only by the rich range of challenges and opportunities that accompany consulting with a technology focus.”

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