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 Information
technology has made many of the old ways of doing business obsolete,
catching companies off guard. To avoid the fate of others and to
keep pace with changing it trends, progressive companies and new-line
businesses are investing staggering amounts of money in it systems
and people. In recent times, however, the tech sector has been passing
through lean times and has seen a 'correction' of sorts in the valuation
of its businesses and stocks. Despite this, companies will continue
to invest in it products, solutions and services with a view to
surviving in the competitive environment and improving their productivity.
Most firms are now beginning to realise that investments in it at
the present moment would be highly productive and will yield maximum
value. And this has compelled them to think long-term with respect
to chalking out strategic initiatives. Current market barometers
and trend analyses indicate that the demand for it consulting and
allied services will continue to enjoy a modest but sustained growth.
Pressure on margins coupled with high attrition
of talent, had forced several it companies to focus their traditional
it consulting or product pool towards mainly meeting the demands
of large enterprises. Today, they are waking up to the possibilities
of customising their consulting solutions and services to small
and medium scale businesses and creating new revenue streams. Most
of these IT consulting companies have already reconfigured their
product-service portfolio to cater to the needs of the small and
medium scale businesses. Apart from standardised offerings that
range from it strategy and architecture to implementation and integration,
and comprehensive service support, it consulting companies are also
providing customised solutions for 'exclusive' industry-specific
business processes.
Unlike in the past, it consulting is today
a buyers' market. Competition has forced several it majors to look
at cheaper development and research options offshore to enable the
cushioning of margins that are under severe pressure. The post-9/11
scenario and the resultant downturn witnessed a downward revision
in it project pricing and consequently the performance metrics of
most it consulting companies witnessed a dramatic change. Today,
it consulting companies are no longer solution- or box-focused but
are value focused, i.e., deliver technology solutions that are measurable
and can maximise return on strategic technology investments.
The status and profile of it consulting projects
and the resultant demand for it professionals has changed in the
past year and a half. New application development centres, it services
and R&D hubs are being set up outside the traditional markets
in high growth, high demand zones.
Companies are investing in communications,
cyber and enterprise security, apart from hardware and software,
to bolster their business productivity. With the development of
advanced applications and platforms, it consulting companies are
now offering a comprehensive suite of end-to-end managed services
to their clients in order to help them better realise their operational
and process efficiencies.
Budding it consulting professionals today should
develop their knowledge base around emerging domains like security
and networking, artificial intelligence, internet infrastructure
and wireless technologies. This has to be coupled with a sound understanding
of current enterprise-applications, architectures and related technologies.
Today, it consulting companies are looking at 'intangible attributes'
from prospective employees to balance out their sometimes conventional
thinking.
Simply put, creative or 'lateral' problem-solving
is what most it majors are looking for. The transient 'shelf life'
of it products and services makes companies in the infotech space
more susceptible to exciting market swings. The constantly changing
nature of it consulting business makes it even more of a challenge
to those professionals wanting to make a career in this field. There
is room for everyone in it consulting, but only the fittest will
survive.
The author is the Chief Executive
Officer of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's
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