Over the past decade, new and more affordable IT technology has changed the way many companies work, with the result that many business sectors have seen their business models change. Of all sectors, the consulting industry has perhaps experienced the most change in the way it works. In this blog, we discuss 5 key challenges that consultancies and consulting firms are facing.

Broadly speaking, they face the following five challenges:

• More intense control by customers, expectations have grown and customers are demanding more
• Lower prices of products and services offered, making it more difficult to deliver top and bottom line growth
• Additional complexity of projects, now involving more stakeholders than ever
• A changed workforce that no longer tolerates having to spend their working days with paperwork, manual and mind-numbing processes 
• Increased risk of reputational damage from information leaks or use of misinformation 

Improving the customer experience

In a world where people can find most answers on the internet, the need for specialised knowledge is coming under pressure. This is especially true for consulting services. Twenty years ago, large consultancies could use specific and exclusive expertise to retain clients, this seems almost impossible now. Knowledge is spread everywhere and used by freelancers, boutique firms, targeted consultancies and internal strategy departments to help companies with their challenges.

Consulting firms face a buying market

As clients become more centralised, the price of the services provided is increasingly under scrutiny. Today, it is easy for clients of consulting firms to shop around in search of a fixed and transparent price. Deltek found that 54% of COOs in professional services believe that providing added value at the same cost is a key challenge for the future of their organisations. A second survey found that leaders of consulting firms are looking to better control costs, especially project costs, to increase profitability.

The complexity of projects

When a consultancy is hired, an ad hoc team of experts is assembled and a project is launched. Being able to deliver the project on time and on budget is fundamental to project success and client satisfaction. Almost 60% of consulting firm managers see projects becoming increasingly complex. Partly because of the involvement of multiple stakeholders to tackle a particular issue - subcontractors, independents, partner companies, as well as the clients themselves comprise more and more parties.

New staff with today's demands

Consulting firms are carried by the people who work there. The services that consultancies provide are only as good as their staff. Over the past decade, much has changed in the way we all manage our personal and professional lives. Our expectations have shifted, especially what we want from our work and our propensity to change. It was once normal to stay with a company for most of your career, sitting at a desk from 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, often working on trivial tasks. Today, we want work that is flexible, collaborative, temporary and supported by the latest technology.

Keeping customer information safe

Consulting firms handle a huge amount of confidential client information. From strategic and reorganisation plans to details of mergers and acquisitions, sales and marketing data, personal identification data and classified business communications. If this information falls into the wrong hands, as a consultancy firm, you can shake things up with your client.

How intelligent information management consultancy is helping with these challenges

The volume of documents and data that every business has to deal with will only increase in the future. Consulting firms are no exception, and since time is their most valuable - and limited - resource, they need to turn their wealth of information into a catalyst for growth rather than a hindrance. To find out how intelligent information management is tackling the digital transformation of the business consulting world, download the free eBook: