Almost half of all automotive firms have invested over $250 million in smart factories, more than any other sector

Paris, April 30, 2018 – Capgemini today announced a new report by its Digital Transformation Institute, which reveals that the automotive industry can expect to achieve $160bn in productivity gains annually from smart factory adoption from 2023 onwards. The report, Automotive Smart Factories: How Auto Manufacturers can Benefit from the Digital Industrial Revolution demonstrates that the automotive sector has set more aggressive targets for smart factory initiatives compared to other sectors. A global top ten automotive manufacturer can expect to realize an additional $4.6 billion or a 50% growth in operational profits annually within five years of a full smart factory implementation. The report predicts that the average productivity growth of smart factories within the automotive sector will be 7% as of 2023, while an automaker will break-even within a year of executing the full potential of its smart factories. By the end of 2022, automotive manufacturers expect that 24% of their plants will be smart factories. Nearly half of automotive companies (46%) already have a smart factory initiative, behind only industrial manufacturing (67%) and aerospace (63%), while at further 43% of automotive companies, smart factory initiatives are currently being formulated. According to the report, the automotive sector has the highest share (49%) of organizations who have invested more than $250 million in smart factories. However, 42% of automotive manufacturers accept they are not on track to realize the full potential of smart factories and are struggling with the technology move. This is the highest across all the manufacturing sectors studied. The report identified that those making the best progress are investing three times more than the companies who are struggling. The more advanced manufacturers are also investing in software such as advanced analytics and AI-based components, whereas those struggling focus too heavily on hardware-based components putting them on the back foot.

PwC’s consulting capabilities have been recognised at the annual Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Awards, with the firm winning five awards, including the overall Project of the Year, and highly commended in three categories. The Awards, now in their 21st year, are seen as a benchmark for quality within the consulting industry.

Mason Advisory, independent IT consultancy, has been recognised as one of the UK’s best workplaces in the Great Place To Work® Small Business category.

A few weeks ago, a dejected CTO told me it took his team three weeks to build a machine learning model. I told him a model in just three weeks sounded great, and he agreed. So why the long face? Because 11 months later, the model was still sitting on a shelf.That gap between great AI prototypes and AI in operation is starting to be a common theme as AI and machine learning make contact with the real world..

Good news for Simon-Kucher & Partners at last night’s Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Awards. The global pricing and marketing consultancy walked away with the Best New Consultancy Award.

The UK Telecoms market is saturated, making it harder for new players to enter and for established telcos to grow–a pattern replicated in mature markets across the world. Market saturation is often misinterpreted as a lack of opportunity, when in fact it is a sign of overall product commoditisation and the corresponding shift in consumer expectation. Market saturation doesn’t mean market stagnation–it’s a chance for companies to be bolder and smarter in an environment where customers will increasingly see Telcos as utility companies.

-Third WIL Group annual survey highlights international executive interim management trends, with growing optimism for the year ahead-

The executive interim management sector has seen significant growth over the last 12 months, that`s according to findings from the WIL (Worldwide Interim Leadership) Group`s third annual survey.
The study is the largest global survey of its kind, providing unique insights into the development and nature of the executive interim and transition management industry.
Germany continues to hold number one spot in the global league tables, witnessing growth of 31 per cent in cross-border business for executive interim based solutions over the past year. Ricky L. Stewart, partner at German partner firm, Management Angels GmbH, said:
"Increasing numbers of German companies are beginning to utilise interim management services, and we anticipate these market developments to continue well into 2018 and beyond. "
France has also surpassed the UK in terms of its growth - and is now second on the WIL Group`s league table, having grown by one third (33 per cent) during the last year. In spite of Brexit, The UK market saw more modest growth of 8 per
Outside of Europe, the US remains the key market, and the fourth largest globally for executive interim (based) solutions.
There is also overwhelming optimism for 2018; two thirds (66 per cent) of respondents have a more positive outlook for the industry than last year.
When it comes to the sectors utilising the services of these top-level executives, manufacturing and industrial projects dominate - accounting for over 40 per cent of all executive interim assignments. This compares with 35 per cent in the 2017 survey.
More than one fifth (21.5 per cent) of assignments were focused on growth, business and digital transformation. This was followed by 19 per cent for project and programme management.
Only 12 per cent of those who responded to the survey were women. However, when asked whether they thought it was harder for women to work on international assignments nearly three quarters (74 per cent) thought not, and that there should not be a barrier for reaching equality.
Patrick Laredo, WIL Group chairman, said: "Our findings indicate that the executive interim management sector is experiencing huge growth, and we expect this to continue. This is evidenced by the numbers of multinational corporations seeking opportunities in growth markets which require the experience and skill of these talented executives.
"The WIL Group is providing agile solutions that perfectly fit our clients large scale transformation needs - committing to value and results."
For more information about WIL Group click here.

April 25, 2018

• Activity varied across the knowledge economy - management consulting was the top segment for deal flow, which grew by 5% over 2017
• Hot areas for buyer demand include digital transformation consulting, robotics & artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics and healthcare consulting
• North America and Europe accounted for 85% of global M&A deal flow
• Cross-border M&A remains structurally higher in APAC and accounted for almost 30% of deals in the region
• The Equiteq Knowledge Economy Share Price Index rose by 8% and touched new highs over the year

In 2017, there were large variations in M&A activity across segments. Overall deal volumes dipped by 5%, but there were notable deals across increasingly converging segments. The top space for growth in deal activity was the rapidly evolving management consulting segment, following by the media agencies space. Strong deal activity across the knowledge economy is being underpinned by a solid global economic outlook, as well as continuing demand for growth and substantial capital available for deals by strategic buyers and private equity investors. As in-demand segments continue to experience shortages of people with requisite skills, demand for acquisitions of niche capabilities at premium prices is rising.
These and other findings were published today in Equiteq’s The Knowledge Economy Global M&A Report 2018.
David Jorgenson, Equiteq’s CEO, says:
“We are seeing knowledge-intensive services providers under enormous pressure from a rapid wave of disruption led by an accelerating trend of technology-enabled innovation. We are seeing a continued blurring of boundaries across all firms utilizing intellectual capital, not just consultancies but also software and managed service companies. Looking ahead, there is an unparalleled opportunity for pioneering business owners and entrepreneurs to create value and make profitable exits within the disruption zone of the knowledge economy.”
Major upheaval of the consulting industry
As corporations are driven to transform their own businesses by leveraging (or responding to) digital, they are becoming more sophisticated consumers of consulting services and changing how they consume expertise. This is driving transformations in many traditional consulting firms’ business models, as well as the broadening of their digital transformation advisory offerings. In the constrained talent market, this is resulting in new vertical and horizontal mergers that are redefining the consulting sector. Examples of such deals include Gartner’s acquisition of CEB, BCG’s acquisition of MAYA and Office Depot’s purchase of CompuCom.
APAC continues to be a focus for cross-border M&A
In 2017, cross-border M&A accounted for 22% of all deals. Deal flow across countries remains structurally higher in APAC, particularly within IT services and media agencies. While the knowledge economy in APAC is not as advanced as in Europe and North America, globalization, economic development and rising adoption of new technologies are driving international demand for specialist businesses in the region. At the same time many cash rich buyers, notably from Japan, Australia, but also China and India, are using M&A as a tool to expand internationally, reducing their dependence on local markets.
Top space for growth in deal activity was management consulting, followed by the media agencies segment
M&A activity in the management consulting sector rose 5% in 2017, with M&A across
adjacent industries being a key theme in the space. Strong pricing and competition for assets is also being supported by rising valuations of listed consulting buyers, with substantial capital available for M&A and a desire for new avenues of growth. Deal flow in the media agencies space grew modestly by 1%. Contraction in activity from the struggling leading agency networks was offset by an increase in activity from private equity firms and other strategic buyers, including those from adjacent industries.
2018 outlook is strong
The global economic outlook for 2018 is strong and we expect the strong industry trends underpinning M&A activity across the knowledge economy to continue over the next twelve months. The development of new digital technologies in spaces like automation, blockchain and augmented reality will have a major impact on business models across sectors over the long term. The pace of adoption of these technologies will dictate where we see the most M&A activity over the next few years.
The Knowledge Economy Global M&A Report 2018 and focused reports on each segment of the industry are available to download for free from the links below:
The Knowledge Economy Global M&A Report 2018 – All Sectors
The Global Management Consulting M&A Report 2018 The Global IT Services M&A Report 2018 The Global Media Agencies M&A Report 2018 The Global Human Resources M&A Report 2018 The Global Engineering Consulting M&A Report 2018
About Equiteq (www.equiteq.com)
Equiteq is the knowledge economy M&A specialist, advising owners of knowledge-intensive businesses around the world from offices in London, New York, Singapore, and Sydney. Equiteq helps owners best achieve their value and exit objectives through accelerating equity growth and ultimately realizing that value in a trade or private equity sale.
For more information and media enquiries, contact Sophie Lewis of Equiteq on +44 203 651 0600 or Sophie.lewis@equiteq.com. Visit http://www.equiteq.com/equiteq-edge/register for free access to Equiteq Edge – Equiteq’s online resource and information hub aimed at shareholders, prospective shareholders, investors and corporate development executives in the consulting industry..

Acquisition helps Freeman build on its industry-leading strategy offering with transformative customer-centric thinking

LONDON — April 25, 2018 — Freeman, the world’s leading brand experience company, today announced the acquisition of Comotion Consulting Ltd (Comotion), a UK-based consulting company that specialises in delivering customer-centric strategy, transformation and talent solutions to clients globally. With the acquisition of Comotion, Freeman builds on its industry-leading strategy practice delivered through the agency services of FreemanXP. In the four years since its foundation, Comotion has built a reputation for delivering sophisticated and successful transformation programmes and projects for its clients under the two brands of Comotion Consulting and Talecco. The latter of which is a talent business supporting clients in the recruitment of permanent and interim resource in the customer and digital space. “As we look to serve our clients with more consultative services, the acquisition of Comotion strengthens our strategic offering here in EMEA, and around the world,” said Chris Preston, managing director, Freeman in EMEA. “The Comotion team will support our existing teams and clients in better understanding their customers, identifying market opportunities, setting directional strategies and translating this into customer-centric, brand experience-led solutions.” Rob Millar, managing director, Comotion, added, “The acquisition of Comotion by Freeman validates our combined intention to build a business that is truly customer led in its client approach. We are excited to be joining the Freeman family and continuing to develop transformative solutions that help our clients.” About Freeman
Freeman is the world’s leading brand experience company. We help our clients design, plan, and deliver immersive experiences for their most important audiences. Through comprehensive solutions including strategy, creative, logistics, digital solutions, and event technology, Freeman helps increase engagement and drive business results. What makes us different is our collaborative culture, intuitive knowledge, global perspective, and personalized approach, gained from our 90 years as an industry leader. Freeman is a family-owned company with 90+ locations worldwide and over 4,500 employees, 500 of whom are located outside the U.S. For more information, visit https://www.freeman.com..

Electronic health records were supposed to improve healthcare by making it easier to access patient data and by making the process of collecting data more efficient. Instead, doctors and other clinicians complain they are being bogged down by data entry activities, leading to burnout and less attention focused on patients. Two healthcare experts say they have a solution to the EHR problem..

Appian and KPMG LLP today announce an expansion of their strategic alliance. Together, the companies are focused on making it easier to realise the business value of artificial intelligence (AI) by combining the KPMG Ignite portfolio of AI services with the speed, features, and intelligent automation (IA) capabilities of Appian’s low-code platform....

The oil and gas industry isn’t losing much sleep over electric vehicles. Sure, EVs are gaining popularity, but slowly. It’s hard to find charging stations, and battery costs keep EVs expensive relative to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Economics and convenience still favor the personally owned, gas-powered car.However, we believe forces outside the industry will combine to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles, accelerating disruption to the downstream....

According to Accenture’s Intelligent Operations research, over 90 percent of enterprises feel they need to partner closely across the ecosystem to exploit market opportunities. But many players struggle to forge such close relationships due to data and process constraints that make it difficult to link their operations. Blockchain promises to change all that.

Many consumer product companies have invested heavily in digital technologies and capabilities that can help them transform into a truly digital organization. Research by the `MIT Sloan Management Review` in collaboration with Deloitte Digital reveals that for some businesses, the transformation realities have fallen short of expectations—with a tendency for consumer product companies to lag other consumer-facing sectors when it comes to digital maturity. Five organizational tensions could be preventing these companies from achieving their true digital potential..

Rising smartphone penetration, increasing participation of millennial travellers and rise in business travel are leading to fast adoption of technology in the hospitality sector. The digital advancements in the travel space revolve around five areas - mobile, social media, big data, Artificial Intelligence and virtual/augmented reality, says the latest KPMG-FICCI report titled `Expedition 3.0: Travel and Hospitality Gone Digital`..

Amazon Web Services announced Blockchain Templates late last week, a “blockchain -as-a-service” offering that competes with similar products from Oracle and IBM. The launch shows how eager the biggest enterprise players are to get ahead in the blockchain game even if their customers are still trying to pinpoint exactly what blockchain can do for them....

Mason Advisory, independent IT consultancy, has won a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category for significant growth in overseas sales.

The awards, held in partnership with MCS Group, recognise the companies and individuals which are excelling in the world of technology and has once again unveiled a wealth of innovation and talent from companies large and small, as well as some outstanding individuals..

The advancement of reliable, high-quality, scalable, real-time, feature-rich, and affordable cloud services is driving adoption, convergence, and expansion of the cloud video collaboration market in the Asia-Pacific region..

The U.S. is still a tech innovation hub, but other regions are on the rise, according to KPMG’s annual survey of tech leaders. Silicon Valley and San Francisco are together viewed as the top hub, but Shanghai ranks as the biggest rival when it comes to innovation. No. 2 behind Shanghai is Tokyo, then London, New York, Beijing, Singapore, Seoul, Bangalore, Tel Aviv, and Berlin..

Blockchain is considered one of the “most important IT inventions of our age,” and it was first defined when the cryptocurrency Bitcoin was introduced in 2008. As the dust around the new digital currency settled, everyone started noticing the technology running the show and the discussion around this incorruptible digital ledger has not stopped since then..

Earlier this week, Forbes, in partnership with Statista, published its top management consulting firms in the US (link is external). As with similar studies in the Financial Times in the UK, or Capital in France, it’s based on a survey of both senior executives in industry and management consultants themselves, and covers 32 sectors and functional areas. The top-ranked firms are the ones with the highest number of recommendations across different categories. The big firms dominate, with Bain & Company and Deloitte topping the ranking with nominations in all 32 categories. In total, 229 firms make the list of top firms, writes Alison Huntington of Source Global Research...

French consulting market grows at its fastest rate for over a decade.Consultants are very positive about prospects for 2018

The election of President Macron boosted business confidence and helped the French consulting market grow at its fastest rate for over a decade – up 6.2 per cent to €4.55bn in 2017.
Consulting growth was recorded across every sector in 2017, with revenues growing the fastest in retail (up 9.7 per cent to €375m) as the unrelenting rise of e-commerce continued to disrupt traditional brick-and-mortar business models. France’s largest consulting market—financial services—saw the third-fastest growth rate, as ongoing transformation programmes and a heavy regulatory burden continued to drive demand.
These findings are published today (17th April 2018) in a new report from Source Global Research, the leading research and strategy firm for the global management consulting industry. The Source report also reveals that digitisation was a hot topic in the consulting market in France, with clients making big investments in far-reaching digital initiatives. RPA was at the forefront of consultants’ digital work as clients, particularly those in financial services, looked for opportunities to streamline processes and cut costs in the back office.
While not yet generating huge revenues, consultants also saw a rise in the amount of data & analytics work as clients looked to understand what can be done with data and how to do it.
B.J. Richards, Senior Editor from Source Global Research said:
“The election of President Macron in May and his party’s success in parliamentary elections in June boosted client confidence, resulting in increased spending and stronger consulting demand in the second half of the year. Pent-up demand was released as clients began taking up long-delayed initiatives and had a new-found willingness to pursue big projects.”
Eric Mouchous, Partner, Advisory Lead for France, Maghreb and Luxembourg at EY, added:
“One reason the market is buoyant is because clients that were postponing projects have realised that they can’t freeze these initiatives anymore. It’s especially true for digital transformation projects: Clients fear that if they wait any longer, they’ll be the ones being disrupted.”
From a consulting service line perspective, risk & regulatory work grew the fastest in 2017, expanding 8.4 per cent to €657m as regulation remained a reliable source of consulting work and the growing prominence of digitisation brought cybersecurity into greater focus. Technology was the second fastest growing service line, thanks to the importance of technology in the digitisation work clients are undertaking.
Type A firms (largely Big Four accounting firms) saw the fastest growth, benefiting both from strong regulatory demand and their substantial investments in technology services and end-to-end delivery capabilities. Strategy and technology firms also experienced healthy levels of growth.
B.J. Richards from Source added:
“Despite stronger demand, consultants in France still faced stiff competition amid an ongoing shift in the consulting landscape. Technology companies, like Amazon and Microsoft, continued their encroachment into consulting market territory, particularly with their offerings around cloud and data & analytics.”
The Source report concludes that consultants in France are very positive about 2018, as they expect the more buoyant market they enjoyed in the latter half of 2017 will continue throughout this year as clients continue to focus on digitisation and growth.
more information on Source reports contact ella-sian.jolley@sourceglobalresearch.com or telephone +44 (0)20 3478 1204 or visit www.sourceglobalresearch.com..

-First-quarter combined ACV, though flat sequentially, falls 20% year-on-year, to €3 billion
-Traditional Sourcing ACV plunges 40% compared with prior year
-As-a-Service ACV, up 40%, now accounts for 46% of region’s combined market...

The April 4 announcement comes just a week after Microsoft reorganised the company to give its "intelligent cloud and intelligent edge" products and services top billing over Windows..

Worldwide customer relationship management (CRM) software revenue overtook that of database management systems (DBMSs) at the end of 2017, making CRM the largest of all software markets. And that trend will continue thanks in part to the EU’s upcoming GDPR law, according to Gartner..

After experiencing low growth of 3.6 per cent in 2016, the Benelux consulting market saw stronger growth of 5.4 per cent in 2017 to reach a value of €2.1million.

New MCA President, Howard Scott, is joined on the MCA Board by five new members.

Every week, it seems someone produces a new estimate for how much data we produce. According to the research company IDC, by 2025 we will have created 163 zettabytes. That’s the equivalent of 40 trillion DVDs, or the entire Netflix catalogue 489 million times over. Technology allows us to gather, organise and analyse these vast volumes of data – but a potential weakness remains, and that stems from human involvement..

From brick-and-mortar branches to web and mobile platforms, banks are using artificial intelligence and user interfaces that customers can speak with to master the art of the chat..

Economics consulting truly is art. Look no further than the masterpiece of consulting from the Centre for International Economics, which managed to deliver entirely different outcomes for different clients by deploying the same data in a different way..

ForeScout Technologies, Inc. , a leading Internet of Things security company, today announced an agreement with KPMG LLP in which the firm will serve as a certified system integrator of ForeScout`s solutions and provide business partners and customers with a secure and seamless experience as they undergo digital transformations..

I’m not always a fan of large-scale thought leadership studies, repeated year in, year out, but the title of PwC’s 21st CEO survey caught my imagination—and, I suspect, the Zeitgeist, writes Fiona Czerniawska of Source Global Research......

WNS (Holdings) Limited, a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services, today announced the launch of WNS TalentTurf™, a comprehensive and real-time performance engagement platform for talent management which embeds functional expertise, digital capabilities and analytics in the talent management process.

As the world becomes more globalised, and personal data is stored and stretched beyond national borders via the cloud and web servers all over the world, healthcare organisations are no longer the only entities being held liable for the data they hold. Governments are increasingly concerned with protecting the privacy of their citizens, and the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the latest data protection law to sprout up amid growing privacy concerns worldwide..

Rishad Premji, Board member of Wipro Ltd. has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2018-19. Premji has been a member of NASSCOM`s Executive Council and was the Vice Chairman for the previous year. He succeeds Raman Roy, Chairman and Managing Director, Quatrro Global Services, who served as Chairman of NASSCOM for the year 2017-18..

You don’t need me to tell you that digital transformation is big. It’s already a massive market ($44bn by our latest estimates), it’s growing rapidly, and it’s right at the top of the corporate agenda. What’s more, by being multidisciplinary by nature, and requiring a breadth of consulting services to be truly transformational, it’s particularly big news for big firms. Which, if anything, makes it even bigger.

Each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrates World Health Day to promote global health awareness.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Brexit transition deal last month has boosted confidence among finance chiefs at some of the country’s leading companies, a survey published on Monday showed..

IBM and the Sovrin Foundation, a private-sector international non-profit organization, have announced IBM as a “founding Steward” of the Sovrin Network that utilizes the power of a “hybrid” distributed ledger - technology sometimes referred to as a Blockchain. It aims to address the current centralized identity system that costs individuals and businesses billions of dollars every year.

While smart cities earlier focused on connecting infrastructure for better insights, the spotlight is slowly shifting to better engaging governments, citizens, and businesses with the goal of providing improved city services and a higher quality of life. What exactly is Smart City 2.0?.

It seems just about every day there’s a new report of a high-profile data breach that has affected a big corporation, government agency or political organisation. As we collect more data, and as we add devices to the global network, the risk of attack and loss is growing exponentially....

Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chairman of Infosys Ltd, is increasingly playing a less active executive role at India’s second largest IT outsourcing firm and has handed over responsibilities to new chief executive Salil Parekh and his top lieutenants, according to three people familiar with the developments..

Coming into effect at the end of May, GDPR will create a harmonised data protection law framework across the EU with the aim of giving citizens back control of their personal data, whilst imposing strict rules on those hosting, moving and processing it..

Economist Intelligence Unit survey of business leaders at companies with a turnover of more than $1bn published today by Globality

1. • Almost half (45%) of business leaders who primarily work with management consultants say the main challenge they face from their external service provider is cost.


2. • More than eight in ten (83%) said service providers with specialised expertise will be more valuable to their company than providers with a broad range of offerings five years from now.


3. • Three-quarters (76%) believe SME service providers with fewer than 500 employees will have an important role in their firm five years from now. Almost one in six (59%) of respondents say a stronger value proposition is the reason they would choose to work with SME service providers instead of large management consultancies in the next year.


4. • Five years from now, over two-thirds (68%) say they plan to increase spending on cyber security and over half (52%) say they plan to increase spending on data analytics.

The main concern business leaders at large multinational companies have about working with management consultancies is cost, with 45% selecting it as among the top three challenges they encounter. This rises to 54% among the largest firms surveyed with over $10bn in annual turnover. This was followed by a lack of familiarity with the client’s business (36%), suggesting many companies are paying high fees for advice that is not sufficiently personalised.
These are among the findings of a new Globality survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit of 307 business leaders from multinational companies with annual turnovers of over $1bn in the US, UK and Europe. The respondents were director to CEO/president level and included 100 business leaders who primarily work with legal and compliance professional service providers, as well as 100 who primarily work with marketing firms and 107 who primarily work with management consultants. The survey also found that among those polled who primarily work with management consultants, more than eight in ten (83%) said service providers with specialised expertise will be more valuable to their company than providers with a broad range of offerings five years from now.
For lower costs and a more bespoke service, companies may increasingly turn to SME providers. At present, only around 19% of business leaders who hire management consultants surveyed spend more than a quarter of their budget on SMEs, less than their colleagues who work with law firms (26%) and marketing agencies (24%). However, three-quarters (76%) of respondents who work with consultants believe SME service providers with fewer than 500 employees will have an important role in their firm five years from now.
But it is essential SMEs have a strong value proposition to capitalise on this trend as this was the factor most respondents who work with management consultants said would make them consider hiring an SME provider instead of a large one, cited by 59%. A stronger value proposition for SME service providers is a bigger factor for business leaders responsible for dealing with management consultants than those dealing with marketing (36%) and legal (54%).
The next biggest factor that would make business leaders working with consultants consider hiring an SME provider was lower costs (48%) followed by identifying SMEs with the same corporate culture as the client (43%) and easier sourcing and vetting (39%).
If SME providers can capitalise on the trend of big companies looking for better value, they could see plenty of business in key areas come their way. Five years from now, more than two-thirds (68%) say they plan to increase spending on cyber security and over half (52%) say they plan to increase spending on data analytics.
However, changing consultants can be a time-consuming exercise. It already takes 31% of respondents four months or longer to hire an external consultant and narrower requirements on expertise may prolong the process.
Yuval Atsmon, SVP of Advisory Services at Globality said: “Big companies are always on the lookout for better value for money when it comes to working with consultants, but their need for external support continues to expand. For example, I see a big increase on spend with cyber security and data analytics. Technical expertise is becoming more and more important for business leaders. To find the right specialised expertise for the right price, these big companies will be looking beyond the large consulting firms. However, finding the right providers is a time-intensive activity. Executives need easier ways to source and vet their service providers and technology such as artificial intelligence matching is one way they can do that.”
Andrea Castronovo, a former sales strategy executive at BMW said: “The price-to-quality ratio of working with outside firms is always changing, and you need to find the balance... Small guys are motivated to try harder.”
To get the report please click here..

Each year, organised crime generates revenue equivalent to about 2.7 per cent of global GDP and criminals launder US$1.6 trillion of it through the mainstream financial systems. As criminals are becoming smarter and more sophisticated, the social and economic consequences will increase. The financial services industry is doing its best to combat financial crime and protect customers, yet there’s still more to do..

She has a face that could launch a thousand sales; now retailers have to recognize when her mind is open to them. The inclusion of facial-recognition software in personal devices, such as the iPhone X, is expected to accelerate the mass adoption of the technology, and that could change how people shop.

The UK`s fourth revised counter terrorism strategy (CONTEST) is expected to be published soon, following a rise in terror attacks in the UK and Europe since 2015..

New disruption consulting team uses VR tool to engage clients in conversations about the future...

I used to think that the consulting industry had a problem with innovation. But I was wrong, writes Fiona Czerniawska of Source Global Research...

New technology has unleashed an explosion of activity as client organisations work out how best to harness big data, the Internet of Things, the cloud... and… and… and… And the consultants who work with them have been responding in kind, pulling capabilities from different practice areas, combining it with industry knowledge and the kind of rapid development you only get if you can get small teams of people to focus on one issue at a time. Right across the consulting industry, from the very largest consulting firms to the positively petite, we see examples of creative thinking. Everyone is alert to the potential for leveraging solutions developed for one client to many. Tools developed for a single organisation can be applicable to entire markets.
That’s created an embarrassment of riches, to a point where many firms are now trying to find ways of identifying these ideas, evaluating their relative merits, and making investments where they’re likely to find the highest return. If anything, it reminds me of the early days of thought leadership, when consulting firms, desperate to demonstrate to clients that they had something interesting to say, encouraged anyone and everyone in their business to write. Some wrote well, but many wrote badly, and we’re still dealing with the repercussions today in terms of finding the right balance between encouraging people to be engaged and publishing high-quality material.
The challenge with innovation today is, therefore, not how to produce it, but how to consume it. With so many ideas being promoted within firms, most partners and account managers feel overwhelmed: They can’t possibly keep up with all of the ideas, but they’re under constant pressure to take the latter to their clients. Like anyone facing information overload, they press delete and turn away. It’s just easier to go with the products and services they’re familiar with—even if clients are familiar with them too.
Prioritisation will only be part of the solution, but unlikely to be all of it, if only because the practice-based structure of most consulting firms and clients’ search of highly specific solutions means that it will always be better to have too many solutions, rather than too few. Like the girl guides, consulting firms like to be prepared. Internal education is clearly critical: Details about new solutions are often buried in information about many other areas, and creating dedicated communications, targeted at specific segments of the firm, and perhaps even including the opportunity to see how these solutions work in practice will all help. Simply giving people an impression of the range of possibilities and an ability to make informed choices between them can be hugely valuable. But perhaps the key will be to also provide a sense of which solutions are being adopted most quickly by clients. There’s nothing like success to breed success, in my experience.
In all these respects—information, choice, and the comfort of knowing that other people agree with you—your internal market is no different to your external one. _____________
Fiona Czerniawska is a leading commentator on the consulting industry and a co-Founder of Source who provide specialist research on the management consulting market to consultants and their clients.

© Source Global Research 2018. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission..