Rajesh Garg, an MBA applicant specializing in technology consulting, identifies key challenges in the industry such as increasing demand for transformation, the need for cloud-based systems, and heightened competition from niche players. He aims to add value as a consultant by implementing transformative solutions through a deep understanding of processes, client needs, and leveraging analytics. Garg envisions his role to encompass organizational transformation, strategic client engagement, and improved methodologies to enhance competitive advantage.

1. Essay H. What do you believe are the greatest challenges
facing the sector or industry you would like to specialize
in at IE? What role do you hope to be able to play in this
sector or industry in the medium term?
Rajesh Garg, IE MBA applicant, 2018 intake

2. 2
The industry that I hope to specialize in
I have chosen the technology
consulting industry, which is
highly aligned to my work so
far as well.
Technology consulting firms
act as advisors, mentors, and
partners in helping
implementing business
technology across industries.

3. 3
Contents
 Key challenges facing the technology consulting industry
 The role I hope to play in the industry in the middle-term

4. 4
Large firms within the technology consulting
industry are currently facing five key challenges
Increasing demand for transformation
Clients are no longer satisfied only with efficiency improvements;
technology consultants must today deliver transformation
Anytime, anywhere access
Hosted ERP and CRM systems are on their way out; cloud-based
systems with anytime, anywhere access are in strong demand
The emergence of analytics and automation
Clients increasingly demand Big Data solutions and AI tools
Not just advice, but also implementation
Clients increasingly want technology advisors to walk the talk, and help
them implement many of the suggestions given
Increasing competition from niche players
Small startups are challenging the earlier dominance of large
consulting firms in creating niche industry-specific solutions.
1
2
3
4
5

5. 5
Today, businesses are demanding not just
technology implementation, but organization-wide
transformation through technology
Business technology driven transformation across the organization
 Systems improvement
 Technology systems in the organization may
need to be transitioned from legacy to modern
systems
 The overall process of application development,
maintenance, and testing may require an
overhaul (e.g., code management)
 Process improvement
 Organization wide strategies (for example, six
sigma, lean operations, and agile) can improve
productivity
 Individual business processes and workflows
may need to be analyzed for efficiency and for
their cross-linkages with other processes
 Enabling people
 People need to be trained and empowered to
make the most of systems
 Systems thinking needs to be percolated
through the organization People
Systems
Improvement and
sustainability
Processes
Client
firm
1

6. 6
Technological evolution driving analytics adoption
The NoSQL movement: An alternate to relational
databases, which handle only structured data, thus
enabling storage of unstructured data
Challenges with traditional
technologies
Inability to handle
unstructured data
Handling of large data
sets – time consuming
and prohibitive
Inability to query and
respond in real time
Lack of scalability
Hardening of the Hadoop framework: Works on
parallel processing, thus enabling faster response
time and ability to handle much larger volumes of data
at much cheaper price
Cloud-based utility computing: Provides virtualized
shared servers, thus drastically reducing the need for
upfront capital investment and increasing accessibility
Present and future
analytics solutions
Agile
Exploratory
Flexible
Scalable
Accessible
Analytics or Big Data based systems have emerged as a key
demand of technology consulting clients, as they seek to
improve decision-making through technology
 Traditional data storage and processing technologies were plagued by several challenges. New technologies help
address these challenges.
 Further, there is a significant increase in the number of individuals who are pursuing analytics/data science as a
career option and dedicatedly investing in enhancing their analytical expertise. This creates an adequate talent pool
for analytics implementation within organizations, once it has been initiated.
Evolution in technological and people expertise
Analytics demand
driver
2

7. 7
Anytime, anywhere access has become a norm
across industries; clients demand solutions that
provide seamless access across geographies
India & other
locations in Asia
Eastern Europe
Latin America
 Fast-growing economies (including the
ASEAN ‘Tiger’ economies) that are opening
up new opportunities
 Leading peers have achieved scaled
operations (>1,000 FTEs) with some peers
having very large scale (>5,000 FTEs)
across industries
 A key location for offshoring and for
implementing 24x7 operations with key
North American locations
 Activity in leading CEE locations – Hungary
and Poland with also selective leverage of
tier-2 cities
 Primarily leveraged for F&A and multi-lingual
Contact Center; some evidence of IT service
support also
 Moderate scale of operations (typically 500-
1,000 FTEs) almost across industries
 Leveraged for nearshore
support to North American
operations
 Operations in typically customer
care and IT services, given
nature of talent availability and
timezone similarity
 Relatively smaller scale of
operations compared to Asia,
although some banks also
scaled in Latin America
 Most organizations have headquarters in
this region, and a deep need to understand
the world’s biggest economy
 R&D departments and most corporate
divisions tend to be centrally located here,
requiring 24x7 access to key systems
North America
(U.S., Canada)
3

8. 8
The industry is rapidly becoming segmented, with
rising competition from players in niche segments
Data sets
 Transaction Intelligence for business across
industries
 Competitor analysis datasets with detailed
information across each player
 Data on region and country specific regulations
 Insights into customers and markets across
different segments
 Insight into specific business functions
Locations
Significant activity across:
 Africa: Egypt, Mauritius, South Africa
 Asia: China, India, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
 Central & Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, Hungry, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
 Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Mexico
Industries
 Banking
 Energy & utilities
 Capital markets
 Healthcare
 Insurance
 Manufacturing
 Media & entertainment
 Retail
 Technology
Functions and processes
 Finance & procurement: order-to-cash, source-
to-pay, record-to-report
 Human resources: benefits, recruiting, payroll,
multi-process
 Information technology: infrastructure,
applications
 Contact center: customer support, telesales
 KPO: analytics, legal process
 Banking, financial services, and insurance: core
processes and applications
4

9. 9
ILLUSTRATIVE
Simple benchmarking is no longer enough;
technology consultants need to also provide
operating and strategic models today
Benchmarking cost structures
Benchmarking operating models
Benchmarking strategic issues
5

10. 10
Most client CXOs today expect technology consulting
firms to move from simply ‘knowing’ to helping them
align and then decide
Typical client needs Examples
 Inform growth planning/strategy
 Understand market changes and
opportunities to empower teams
 Market maturity, size, white
space
 Scope and solution trends
 Changing market segments and
opportunitiesKnow
 Calibrate pricing and delivery
 Shape messaging and
differentiation to changing buyer
 Enhance offering portfolio to align
to needs
 Key trends & characteristics
 Competitive intelligence
 Evolving buy-side requirements
 Location dynamics & selection
 Utilize fact-based data to
substantiate unique proposition
 Nurture client-prospect dialogue
with 3rd party insights
 Project thought leadership via
hypotheses and proof points
 Market-facing presentations
 Case studies, white papers,
marketing materials
 Pursuits, sales cycles,
campaignsDecide
Align
5
SpectrumofIT/Technologyconsultingtoday

11. 11
Contents
 Key challenges facing the technology consulting industry
 The role I hope to play in the industry in the middle-term

12. 12
I hope to add value across multiple dimensions as a
consultant; highlighting various personal characteristics too
Managing
oneself
Meeting
challenges
Managing
others
Leadership Management
Sharing Creating opportunityAwareness
Adding value
Hands-on learning
Creating the
future
Contribution and service

13. 13
I hope to help clients implement transformative solutions
through focusing on three critical business planks
Triangulated
approach to
client business
1
2 3
Deep process view
Understand the individual and
cross-functional business
processes across functions
Proprietary firm tools
Implement a deft mix of ERP,
CRM, Analytics, and Lean
tools to help achieve more
efficiency
Local market intelligence
Benchmark across areas to
ascertain performance with
respect to leading players
Key areas of impact:
Operational improvement:
Utilizing my extensive experience in process
improvement, I’ll help businesses to
streamline the processes in terms of
workflow, with the right technology tools
supporting key operational achievements.
Service Levels will be closely monitored.
Suppliers: Outsourcing vs. project-based
work and staff augmentation: Because of
my strong experience in outsourcing model, I
understand that most companies have a mix
of outsourced services, short-term projects
(e.g. product implementation) and need-
based staff augmentation with suppliers like
TCS and Infosys. This can be a key avenue
for reducing cost and enhancing quality by
outsourcing to specialist suppliers.
Geographies: Geographic span of
operations: For this assessment, all
geographies across the world are considered.
Growth and operational expansion targets for
each set through careful market research. I’ll
utilize my significant international exposure to
achieve this target.
1

14. 14
Transformation will also be achieved through closely
relating objectives, timeframes, and solutions clearly
and directly
Input:TheQuestions
Organizational objectives
Internal readiness
Investment appetite
Target timeframe
Tactical Strategic
Low High
Short Long
Low High
Output:TheDecisions
Possible solution decisions
 Single-country
 1-2 functions
 Third-party outsourcing
Possible solution decisions
 Regional
 3-4 functions
 In-sourcing
Possible solution decisions
 Global
 6-7 functions
 Third-party outsourcing
 The solution to a tactical one-time problem will be focused
on one country and just a small number of functions
 Low internal capability coupled with low investment
appetite and low target timeframe necessitates
involvement of a third party
 To achieve strategic impact, the solution needs to focus
beyond one country and involve 3-4 functions
 Medium internal capability couple with relatively high
investment appetite and target timeframe means that
efficiency can be achieved internally
1

15. 15
1 Assessment of the company commitment to implement a specific initiative
2 An assessment of the timeframe in which a company is most likely to engage in specific activity
Reporting date
Low
High
Likelihood1
Short term (<=9 months)Long term (>9 months)
Timing 2
12
3
4
5 6 7
8
9 10 11 12
13
141516 17
18 1920 21 222324 25 26 2728 29 3031 32
3334 35
3637
3839 40
4142 43
44
45
46
47 48 49
5051 52 53
5455 56
57 58 59 60
Client receives
recommendations in the form
of a similar actionable matrix
EXAMPLE ONLY
I will champion the deft use of Analytics for clients
through helping prioritize key decisions according
to organization-wide data available
2

16. 16
Rather than implement cloud solutions simply as a
buzzword, I will link cloud implementations to costs,
utilization, scalability, and flexibility
Traditional IT challenges
Demonstrating value
 Ongoing budget pressure
 Difficult to link costs to business value
Low asset utilization
 High cost ‘single-tenant’ models
 Underutilization of dedicated hardware/software
 Suboptimal skill mixes
Scalability challenges
 Volume growth and high variability
 Explosion of data and complexity
 Sustainability challenges
Pace of innovation
 “Consumerization” of IT
 Device proliferation
 Compressed cycle time
 Need for on-demand service
Answers from the Cloud
Consumption-linked costs
 Transformational cost-benefits
 Costs linked to actual consumption
Improved asset utilization
 Infrastructure utilization improved by as much as
30-40%
 “Pay per drink” models
 Global delivery model
Scalable solutions
 Ability to size requirement to average, not peak
utilization
 Enhanced resource scalability
 Next generation data centers
Flexible and fast
 Self-service and on-demand provisioning
 Open and innovative platforms for development
 Increasingly easy to deploy with cloud
accelerators
3

17. 17
To counter competition, I will help develop more
comprehensive methodologies, and tools for industry
and competitor research
Backed by extensive experience and
industry relevant research
Extensive tools to quickly and effectively map competition
Acquisition valuation
Industry and market analysis
Comprehensive methodologies
Potential target
identification
Due diligence Deal support
 Identify market segments
and prioritize based on
interest
 Scan the market to
create long list of targets
in the high interest
segment
 Identify high priority short
list based on agreed
upon criteria
 Understand interest, if
needed, in the short
listed targets
 Technical diligence
– Market assessment
– Business assessment
 Business health
 Pipeline/opportunity
 Contract risk
 Platform
 Management
– Identify improvement
opportunity
 Financial diligence
– Valuation support
 Deepen analysis to
confirm valuation
 Negotiation support
Customer intelligence
4

18. 18
I will increase competitiveness of my firm through
better delivery, technology, and pricing models, and a
global matrix to deliver consulting across continents
Process
Payment
Invoice
Claim
Business
outcomes
Labor
Material
Facilities
Per Unit of Input
Pricing mechanisms
Value share
Input Model
Transaction/
Output Model
Outcome based
Model
Economic Model Continuum
Service provider risk/reward
Service provider relationship model
Less
Vendor
More
partner
Hybrid Hybrid
Output-based pricing
(Fee for service)
Increasing role of technology in FAO
Tie-and-run Technology
augmentation
Core F&A technology
replacement/
implementation
Pre-integrated
applications and
pre-built
processes, owned
by service
provider, with
pricing built into
the FAO contract
Platform-
based FAO
IT infrastructure and/or
core F&A application
implementation
bundled with FAO
services. Technology
ownership resides with
buyer
Limited role of
technology where
service provider
plugs into the
buyer’s existing
systems to
deliver services
Service provider
tools that serve as
“add-ons” around
the periphery of the
existing systems to
address specific
gaps
F&A outsourcing
services    
Enabling tools &
technologies   
Core F&A processing
system(s)    
Different flavors of technology in FAO and role of the service provider
Traditional
model
Prevalent
model
Technology modelsDelivery models
Out-tasking
model
Comprehensive
outsourcing model
Selective/componentized
outsourcing model
Key
characteristics
Consideration
for adoption
HighDegree of outsourcing
 Can include one or more
recruitment processes
 Short-term project-based work
 Typically restricted to one type
of hire at a time
(e.g., executive hire, temp hire)
 Restricted to external hires;
does not include internal hire
management
 Includes components of recruitment
process; can be front-office
(employer branding, sourcing, etc.)
or back-office components (applicant
tracking, offer letter management,
technology management, etc.)
 Ongoing long-term (multi-year)
relationship
 In case of fuller scope, typically
includes one or two types of hires/
job-families
 Can include both external and internal
hire management
 End-to-end outsourcing of
recruitment process to the
service provider that includes
both front-office and back-
office components
 Ongoing long-term
(multi-year) relationship
 Typically includes almost all
types of hires
 Includes both external and
internal hire management
 The need is specific and one
time
 Buyers want to keep direct
control over the recruitment
process
 In some specific recruitment
processes, buyers need expertise on
an ongoing basis
 The buyer wants to dip its toe in the
outsourcing model
 The buyer wants to transform
the entire recruitment function
 The buyer wants to expand
the value creation beyond the
“selective” model
Low
Prevalence
 Most frequently used  Most frequently used now  Least frequently used currently
but gaining traction
Pricing/economic modelsLocation capabilities for specific skills
Predominant language skills available by delivery region
English skills
available in
meaningful scale
Other languages served
in moderate scale
include German, French,
Dutch, Portuguese
Also providing
Spanish
language support
Supporting Japanese
and Korean in addition
to other oriental
anguages, e.g.,
Chinese, Mandarin,
Malay
Other languages
served include
Arabic and French
Multi-lingual European language
skills, e.g., French, German,
Italian, Russian, Spanish, and
Portuguese
Primarily
providing French,
German, Turkish
Mono-lingual
French in scale
Predominantly
serving U.S.
English market
Japanese skills
also available
Portuguese Oriental (e.g., Japanese and Korean)
English Multi-lingual
Spanish French
Dutch, Africaan,
and French skills
also available
4

19. 19
I also hope to develop unique frameworks to ensure
that my firm’s recommendations can be smoothly
and usefully implemented by clients
Implementation
Support
 Region-specific
and function-
specific rollouts
 Agile and Lean
process
implementations
 Consistent and
constant
monitoring
 Understanding
the functions and
operations that
will undergo
change
 Creating plans to
minimize
disruption during
change
[2]
Assessing
Readiness
 Assessing the readiness of
various divisions for change
 Putting in place transient
structured to ease the transition
 Appointing change champions to
oversee progress
5

20. 20
Conclusion: Through my work, I hope to help not just clients,
but also foray into consulting work for technology providers,
industry investors, and market analysts
Technology providers
 What is the changing role of technology within telecom
services?
 Can market leaders act as a growth channel for technology
offerings?
 What should be my alliance and partnership strategy in
emerging segments?
Client organizations
 What are current tech trends in the market?
 What are the right tech models to realize value?
 What are the service provider options and their capabilities
specific to my business?
 What can I learn from the tech approaches of my peers?
Service providers
 How is the competitive landscape
changing?
 How do I align my capabilities with
evolving demand needs
 How do I effectively articulate my
capabilities to the market?
 What are opportunities due to
market consolidation?
Key questions
I can help
answer
Investors
 Are there attractive investment
opportunities in different market
segments?
 Are my existing investments winning
or losing market share

21. THANK YOU
Rajesh Garg, IE MBA applicant, 2018 intake