Consulting Magazine: Cognizant’s Global Head of Consulting Says the Changing Landscape of Consulting Puts Technology at the Heart of Every Engagement

“It’s no secret ― business is undergoing a sea change as mobile, cloud and analytics platforms spur radical transformations in the way enterprises operate,” writes Mark Livingston. “This digital disruption presents great opportunity for consulting firms, and they too are evolving.” Excerpts:

“Traditionally, business strategy dictated enterprise technology decisions ― clients had strategic partners and execution partners. Now, technology is at the forefront. Business strategy is technology-enabled, and this is redefining success for consulting firms.

As enterprises seek to transform digitally, today’s successful consultants are those who have the technology accelerators, deep domain expertise and other assets to help organizations not only successfully map their journeys, but to complete their transformations.

Traditional standalone strategy consulting, disconnected from technology and deep implementation capabilities, is simply not sufficient today to meet enterprise transformation needs.

Clients are asking for more from their consultants in terms of deeper design capabilities, domain expertise and proven success in technology implementation. Clients want (and need) real results, as opposed to recommendations from reports that too often languish on the shelf.

The following success factors lay a winning foundation for consultants:

- Bringing technology DNA to the table.

- Delivering faster time to value; executing technology strategy quickly.

- Leveraging a new framework for innovation.

- Access and ability to implement advanced technology.

Strategy consulting ― by itself ― is becoming a smaller percentage of the overall business, even for established brands. Today, it’s no surprise that the bulk of business strategy is technology-enabled. No longer an afterthought, technology now is core to most strategic enterprise initiatives. Consulting firms that provide the full spectrum of strategy and technology assets, including technical tools and implementation expertise, stand to gain in this new environment.”

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