How Technological Progress is Changing The Ways of Dealing With Clients In Consulting

1. 2015
Habib Abou Saleh
Grenoble Ecole de Management
20-Apr-15

2. 1
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Technologies that Matters..........................................................................................................................3
Rapid Advancement ..........................................................................................................................3
Broad Potential Scope of Impact ......................................................................................................3
Significant Alteration of Economic Value.........................................................................................3
Potential Disruption of Economic Impact ........................................................................................3
The Future of Management Consulting and Disruptive Technologies ..................................................6
Consultancies Adopting Analytical Technologies.............................................................................6
Rise of the Machine...........................................................................................................................6
Consulting Firms Surpassing Geographical Borders.......................................................................7
Consulting Firms Getting More Specialized.....................................................................................7
Price Standardization .......................................................................................................................8
Focus on Output not Input ................................................................................................................8
Consultancy & The Virtual Era ........................................................................................................8
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................9
References..................................................................................................................................................10
Table of Figures
Figure 1. Twelve Potential Disruptive Technologies. McKensey 2013 .......................................................4
Figure 2. Estimated Potential Impact of Technologies.................................................................................5

3. 2
“How Technological Progress is Changing The Ways of Dealing With Clients In Consulting?”
Introduction
Technological advancements have shaped our lives and the way business is conducted due to its
continuous evolvement. The old fashioned way of conducting business does no longer exist as it
has been replaced with new business models to secure survival in today’s business market, and its
fierce competition. On a daily basis, the list of “next big things” is growing even longer than it
used to be due to the emergence of new technologies, where some of them have the potential to
continuously alter and disrupt the way people live, interact, work, add value and lead entirely to
new products or services.
Several studies has been conducted to speculate such changes, its effect and implications in order
to predict these trends and how to deploy them in order to gain competitive advantage, bring more
customers, defend current territories and inspire to invent new visions and strategies.
Governments, policy makers, and corporations are working to clearly understand how these
disruptive technologies will be shaping the global economy, and society over the coming decade
especially when it comes to demographic shifts, force expansion, urbanization, industry structures,
profit pools, new capital formation, and how to adapt current policies, forms of educations,
infrastructures, and our environment for a continuous prosperity within this emerging disruptive
effects.
As businesses, organizations and corporations seek adaptation to the continuously evolving
situation mainly in the domain of technology; services, solutions, and strategies provided to major
clients in such a working environment through management consulting practices also changes.
Consulting practices and processes in dealing with clients, understanding their needs, investigation
processes of the core problems and delivering solutions and expertise will all be affected. The level
of client’s niche for management consulting expertise and solutions will also be altered as
automation is invading today’s business world. Before getting any deeper, it is important to
identify the main technologies affecting the global economy with main focus on its effect in
management consulting practices and how it will shape the clients’ and consultant’s world in the
next two decade.

4. 3
Technologies that Matters
According to a research study done by McKensey in 2013, it is difficult to truly identify the
technologies that matters, but the study managed to sort out technologies that have a huge potential
impact over substantial economic and disruption in the next two decades. No matters from which
scientific discipline they emerge, they all share the same four characteristics:
 Rapid Advancement: It include technologies which evolve at a rapid change rate in
capabilities in term of price and performance relative to subtitles.
 Broad Potential Scope of Impact: Disruptive technologies must be able to affect and
influence industries, and corporations in every aspect, giving rise for a wide range of
machines, products and services. An example would be Mobile Internet, and Internet of
things which allow the emergence of intelligent devices and machines around the word,
thus reducing labor/operational cost.
 Significant Alteration of Economic Value: It must have the capability to create a massive
economic impact. The value at stake must be larger in term of profit opportunities which
might be altered. An example is the Cloud technology which could improve the
productivity of global IT business, thus creating new lines of products and services.
 Potential Disruption of Economic Impact: It include technologies that have a great
potential in causing dramatic change. It has a big influence over people lives, work, and
their businesses, leading to a new comparative advantage for nations.
The following figures from McKensey research study shed the light on the main potential
technologies and its potential impact on the economy over the next two decades. This small insight
was essential in understanding the growing rate of change for some technologies relatives to other
ones and its impact on the economy and the business world, where consulting firms operate,
provide solutions and expertise on daily basis.

5. 4
Figure 1. Twelve Potential Disruptive Technologies. McKensey 2013

6. 5
Figure 2. Estimated Potential Impact of Technologies.
From Figure 2. We can conclude that Mobile Internet, Automation of Knowledge, Internet of
Things, Cloud Technology and Advanced Robotics will continuously have great influence over
how businesses and services are conducted, thus altering the management consulting firms
processes, and approaches in dealing with potential clients, in addition to business structures and
working environment, thus diminishing certain management consulting services and creating new
ones at the same time that best fits the new environment.

7. 6
The Future of Management Consulting and Disruptive Technologies
The conducted research study done by McKensey in 2013 is the result of a campaign or series of
business model innovations in the domain of management consulting which started to reshape the
relationship between global consulting firms and clients. This campaign was initiated in 2007 as a
result of ten years of debates, research and study. McKensey found that the forces that shaped and
disrupted many businesses from steel to publishing are starting to shape the world of consulting.
New grounds for competition with new business models based on technology have been created
where the traditional strategic firms with their models are steadily decreasing.
Having a closer look into the major consulting industry trends, we can notice the following
adaptations to the disruptive effect of major technological advancements, thus changing the ways
of dealing with potential clients within different industries:
 Consultancies Adopting Analytical Technologies: Technology empowered clients with
the necessary analytical tools, software, knowledge and expertise in certain fields and
industries where old practices no longer function properly. Previously, it was difficult for
clients to judge the performance, and capabilities of the consulting firms, in addition to
the quality of execution, management transition, passage of time and influence of the
consultants’ recommendations, due to clients’ lack of expertise and unavailability of the
necessary technological advancements through IT and analytical software. In today’s
world, all has been changed. As a result, consulting firms recognize the need to offer
deeper insights and differentiated solutions by continuously embracing change through
the adaptation of Advanced Analytical Software in order to deliver more client value,
compete and survive the challenges presented by potential clients and other main similar
players in the market.
 Rise of the Machine: The rapid emergence of Big Data and analytics platforms has
enabled clients to gain greater in-house analytical capabilities and sophistication unlike
old times. Even the working environment, its structure and the way the tasks are done has
shifted to a new era where they depend more and more, on daily basis on machines
especially when it comes to the Automation of Knowledge of Work and Mobile Internet.
These days, intelligent software systems side by side with computing systems can perform
knowledge work tasks through unstructured command and subtle judgements. Due to this

8. 7
fact, the labor is being replaced by flawless automated force which crystal the commanded
tasks with absence of any human error. In order for consulting firms to survive the
dynamically changing working environment, they are trying to reinvent themselves again,
and this would definitely change the way of dealing with clients, as their needs is
dynamically changing and the means to fulfil their needs as well.
 Consulting Firms Surpassing Geographical Borders: Due to Globalization and
changing rate of technology, firms and businesses are changing the way they structure
and organize themselves. There appear to be a wide consensus about the direction of travel
as they tend to expand internationally beyond the local borders seeking new customers
and markets. As a result, the geographical delineation, consulting firms are no longer
suitable to serve the clients’ needs as they become more and more international. There is
also a growing tendency for the clients to be served with local consulting firms in the
international markets who are fully aware of the new market, culture, consumers and
every aspect which might affect their expansion and business. Due to this fact, consulting
firm not only have to exceed the geographical borders, but to create consulting
bases/branches interconnected through an international network in every single emerging
market to fulfil the clients’ needs.
 Consulting Firms Getting More Specialized: The convention of general consulting firms
and one size fits all consulting solutions are diminishing with time as technological
progress invades industries around the world. What clients really need these days is
Specialism. In the next few years, supply will exceed the demand for consulting services,
and due to this fact we will see more often an ex-consultant in senior managerial roles
who are more confident in addressing their needs, negotiating with consultants, evaluating
the quality and the performance of consultant and the time frame used to implement the
recommendations not to mention the required fees. Clients will have proper understanding
of the consulting market and they will tend to look for the best breed out there with the
best expertise which they don’t have or not yet developed in-house. In order to adapt,
consulting firms will embrace specialism in specific field and industries, and they will be
more willing to use outsourcing by hiring external specialists such as niche firms,
contractors or even academics. The future consulting firms not only will formalize

9. 8
specialism within its company structure but will tend to have an extensive network of
external partnership to call on where necessary.
 Price Standardization: As consulting firms are and will continue to globally expand,
there is a tendency to standardize the fees of their services among geographies. It is
something that clients will talk about as it is an unavoidable consequence of globalization
and technological progress. The clients will tend to negotiate the price especially if the
same service from the same firm is provided with less price in different geographical area.
Difference in prices will tend to be a major problem which might affect the relationship
with clients, thus standardization of consulting fees will be a must.
 Focus on Output not Input: Clients will tend to focus more and more on outputs rather
than inputs, the process being implemented or even its structure, especially as they get
more knowledgeable through their in-house expertise or through the advanced analytical
tools they adopt. Clients will want more commitments from the consulting firms and to
hold accountable for what they do, and how they do it in order to mitigate the effects of
failed projects. Consulting firms will need to focus more on the output, and how to add
value so to move away the conversation with the clients about consulting fees.
 Consultancy & the Virtual Era: In the last past few years, Mobile Internet and its
applications dominated our daily lives and our daily conversational topics. In today’s
environment, technologies are driving us toward a new era, the Virtual Era. Slowly,
clients are allowing their own staff to work remotely and flexibly from any place they
desire. As a result companies and businesses are traveling into the direction of virtual
companies and businesses without any need for a tangible location or even structure. So
far the impact on consulting has been minimal but it is growing due to the rapid change
rate in technology. This will mainly alter the consulting firms’ structure, how consulting
services are provided, meeting with clients, and even the internal means of
communication with them. It is true that you can get more when people are physical in
the same room working and interacting together to understand a need and address a certain
solution, but as the world around us changes, so the means of conducting business,
communicating, interacting, and delivering solutions will also change. The virtual world
will dominate.

10. 9
Conclusion
Technology progress rate is dynamically changing our world, shifting old ways of doing business
into completely new dimensions, fading the old mystique of management consulting as clients and
consultants have lot in common these days as a result of the technological advancements. They
both now talk the same business language, as most of the clients these days been ex-consultants
themselves, not to mention the huge technological advantage technology has provided businesses
around the world, causing difficulties to consultants who are being challenged with the broad
knowledge and expertise of the clients. As stated before, in order to survive the 21rst Century,
consulting firms need to reinvent themselves again in every single aspect. Reinventing themselves
means adopting continuous advanced analytical technologies by leading and expecting where
technologies is being directed, surpassing geographies and borders while standardizing prices and
embracing specialism, focus more on output while adapting the internal structures, working
environment, and means of communications with clients to the new rising virtual era. Even with
such adaptations, from a personal perspective, I believe that we will in the future come to the point
where there is no need for consultants, and they will no longer exist as they will be replaced by a
completely new type of services. Just as they didn’t exist 50 years ago and they were the
consequence of strategic thinking and terminologies, they will extinct as a consequence of the rise
of virtual, and automated machine era.

11. 10
References
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Review. N.p., 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.
https://hbr.org/2013/10/consulting-on-the-cusp-of-disruption
McKinsey Global Institute by: Manyika, James, Chui, Michael, Bughin, Jacques, Dobbs, Richard, Bisson, Peter, and
Marrs, Alex. 'Disruptive Technologies: Advances That Will Transform Life, Business, and the Global Economy'. N.p.,
2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.
http://gcenode.no/files/McKensey---Disruptive-Technologies-Executive-Summary-May-2013.pdf
Mckinsey, 'Global Forces Shaping the Future of Business and Society'. N.p., 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/global_forces_shaping_the_future_of_business_and_society
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Apr. 2015.
http://www.careers-in-business.com/consulting/ideascon.htm
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Mlicki, Jason. 'Is IT Consulting Becoming Commoditized?'. Rattleback.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
http://www.rattleback.com/is_it_consulting_becoming_commoditized