Technology Business Consulting Industry

Business consulting has grown quickly, with growth rates of the industry exceeding 20% in the 1980s and 1990s. As a business service, providing consulting solutions remains highly cyclical and linked to overall economic conditions. The consulting industry shrank during the 2001-2003 period, but has been experiencing slowly increasing growth since. In 2007, total global revenues for business consulting exceeded the $300 billion mark.

A number of specializations have come into existence, namely information technology consulting, human resource consulting, and others, many of which overlap, and most of which are offered by the large diversified consultancies listed below. So-called “boutique” consultancies, however, are smaller organizations specializing in one or a few of such specializations.

In the current scenario, these types of consulting firms can be divided broadly into four categories:

1. Large, diversified organizations that offer a range of services, including information technology consulting in addition to a strategy consulting practice (e.g. Accenture, Deloitte). Some very large IT service providers have moved into consultancy as well and are also developing strategy practices (e.g. Satyam)
2. Medium-sized information technology consultancies that blend boutique style with some of the same services and technologies bigger players offer their clients.
3. Large management and strategic consulting specialists that offer primarily strategy consulting but are not specialized in any specific industry
4. Boutique firms, often quite small, which have focused areas of consulting expertise in specific industries or technologies. Most of the boutiques were founded by famous business theorists. Small firms with less than ca. 50 employees are often referred to as niche consultancies. If they have a unique concept and market it successfully, they often grow out of this segment very fast or are bought by larger players interested in their know-how.
Business consulting is becoming more prevalent in non-business related fields as well.

As the need for professional and specialized advice grows, other industries such as government, quasi-government and not-for-profit agencies are turning to the same managerial principles that have helped the private sector for years. One important and recent change in the industry has been the spin-off or separation of the consulting and the accounting units of the large diversified firms. For these firms, which began business as accounting firms, management consulting was a new extension to their business. But after a number of highly publicized scandals over accounting practices, such as the Enron scandal, accountancy began divestiture of their management consulting units, to more easily comply with the tighter regulatory scrutiny that followed.

Business Consulting and Search Engine Optimization SEO

When you are starting up a consulting business, one of the first places you should be doing research is on the internet. You should first make up a list of strategic keywords and then you’ll want to start looking into your competition. By doing this the you’ll have a clear picture of the challenge of being listed for your chosen keywords near the top of  internet search engines like Google, MSN or ASK.

As we all know the internet is the preferred venue for business research. The consequences of your internet rankings are significant. As a new consulting practice you don’t have much choice … you need to understand search engine optimization and marketing techniques to compete with other tech savvy consultants.

Having a website, blog, or facebook account is just one part of the Internet marketing pie. The SEO game will take time, energy, creativity and will cost some money. Creating a stunning informational site and obtaining an Internet listing is not a stand-alone marketing or advertising solution. These are merely steps along the Internet pathway.

Committing to SEO
To boost your ranking and maximize the return on your consulting firm’s online presence, you will need to, understand the sometimes daunting process called Search Engine Optimization or SEO. There are many great blogs and websites on SEO out there for you to start learning and applying.

If you don’t want to learn it all yourself don’t fret, you’ll be able to find lots of firms that offer SEO services. Like all advertising decisions, you will need to proceed with caution. With Internet providers, it is easy to be misled, but making the smart, informed decision can reap huge results. Again, your consultancy’s marketing plan and advertising strategy calls for lead generation. The web should be a very cost-effective way to accomplish that goal.

Search Engine Optimization firms use keywords, back links, and a host of other strategies to boost your internet rankings. Some SEO companies will submit your consulting site to many search engine sites for a small fee. Usually these providers reap small returns. Like all forms of advertising, consistency is paramount to success. One-time gimmick promotions generally do not work.

You should consider approaching reputable SEO business consulting firms with credentials and references. Inquire as to their services and strategies and ask them to show you specific results they’ve achieved. I’d also recommend that you get the names and contact information of some of their past clients and call them up to get first hand information.

Get specific pricing for all services. Keep in mind that there are effective and ineffective SEO firms out there. When starting your consulting business, you will need internet leads, while SEO is one way to do this, Google Adwords, and other PPC options are a great way to do this.

There are many search marketing consultants, but treat them the same way you would a larger firm and demand all information and view their past results before going forward. You can take on handing your consulting business’ search engine optimization effort yourself – but be sure, SEO takes a lot of time on a continual basis. It may likely make more sense for you to get someone else to do this for you while you work on other aspects of your business.

Becoming a Business Consultant – Is it the Right Decision

Very few of us spent our childhoods dreaming of becoming a business consultant. However, if you are already involved in the world of business or find yourself intrigued by the latest developments in the field, you may be on your way to a new career. Size doesn’t matter when it comes to this industry; as consultants provide a variety of services to new entrepreneurs, small business owners, and fortune 500 companies.

What does a Business Consultant do?
They offer a long list of services that range from marketing techniques to technological advances. Basically, by joining this lucrative field, you would become responsible for the future of another business. While that may seem a bit harsh, that’s the mentality needed to be successful in this game.

Sure, we all want to reap the benefits of our own successes but before you jump in feet-first, you have to realize what the business consulting industry is all about. There’s no room for an inflated ego here; success is determined business by helping owners and managers achieve their goals. Ah, it’s a selfless life.

Patience is a Virtue
Catering to someone else’s needs rarely produces overnight results, so if you’re seeking a career with instant gratification, this may not be the right fit for you. In this case, it’s true that the best things come to those who wait. It takes time to execute branding and other marketing strategies, install more advanced software applications, and identify the remaining areas in which a business may be lacking. Business consultants offer their services in a wide range of areas, from marketing, public relations, to communications and strategy, and much more.

You’ll need a bit of detective skills too as they’ll come in great benefit in as you search for undeveloped areas and weak procedures (plaid jacket and magnifying glass not necessary).

Getting Started in Consulting
Best of all, this venture requires very little elbow grease in the start-up phase. An insignificant amount of equipment is required, referrals from clients will eventually stamp out expensive marketing efforts, and your location does not have to be top-of-the-line. You can easily run a consulting business from the comfort of your own home – if you happen to be relaxing on the couch when a client calls, they don’t need to know. Likewise, if you’re weeding your garden during an otherwise professional telephone conversation, well, you guessed it… they don’t need to know. All they care about is whether or not you can deliver results – and that’s should be the top priority.

Finding Your Niche
Since this career spans such a wide range of industries, it is wise to establish an online presence, in addition to other marketing efforts. Keep your services at the fingertips of business owners and you will start building a client base in no time, give or take a few slow days here and there.

You don’t have to be genius to be a business consultant, but you do have to present yourself to others professionaly and convince them of your abilities. The proof will be in the pudding, as they say, meaning the results will speak for themselves. Produce impressive results for just a few businesses and you’ll find yourself engaged in this exciting career in no time!

Infosys Launches Business Consulting in the United States

In a move that may ease concerns about so-called offshoring, India-based Infosys Technologies on Thursday said it has created a U.S.-based business consulting unit. The unit, Infosys Consulting, is concentrating its initial hiring in the United States, and plans to bring on roughly 500 people over the next three years, the technology services company said. Infosys Technologies and other India-based companies such as Wipro Technologies have emerged as significant players in the information technology services market. But their success in winning deals with U.S. companies has sparked concerns about job security.

Infosys overall has about 22,000 employees, with roughly 18,000 based in India. Kris Gopalakrishnan, chairman of Infosys Consulting, hinted that the backlash against offshore outsourcing played at least some role in the company’s decision to launch a division in the United States. “We definitely are investing in the (U.S.) market,” he said. “We’re creating some jobs.”

The Truth about Management Consulting

There are many definitions of management consulting, at times referred to as strategic consulting, and of its application to dilemmas and challenges faced by corporations. Broadly speaking, though, it can be defined either as a professional service or as a method of providing coherent advice and assistance. It refers to the practice of helping companies and executives improve business practices, as well as organizational and individual performance, through meticulous analysis of existing problems and development of future plans.

There is a joke in the consulting industry that says the toughest job consultants face is explaining to their parents what they do for a living. Consulting in its contemporary form is a fairly new profession that was largely developed in the last half of the 20th century, and perhaps more so than any other vocation, it has an extensive range of interpretations and possibilities. But there is no doubt that it has evolved into a specific professional sector and should be treated as such. To quote a leading consultant, “You have to be bullish about consulting. It thrives on change, and this is an era where change is accelerating.”

While strategic consulting as we know it today is almost entirely a product of the late 20th century, it could be said that consulting itself is a millennia-old occupation—one that has been held in esteem and honored throughout history. Ancient rulers often employed court advisors to help with decision making on sensitive state matters. The formation of the United States Cabinet was another example of a leader bringing together a group of highly intelligent individuals to act as an advisory—or consulting—team.

Strategic consulting in its present form appeared and established itself at a time when the management demands of large corporations were increasing considerably. In the mid 20th century, rivalry in many industries intensified due to stronger international trade relations. For instance, several American companies were challenged by an upswing in European exports and thriving Japanese firms.

Management consulting is based on the belief that a company can tenaciously set itself apart from the competition. The longer a market situation prevails, the more predictable the responses of market players become. Only the elite few who manage to break out of the dynamics of convergence are able to escape the sinking margins that result from low degrees of demarcation among competitors. Strategic consulting is all about client results; however, the road toward a successful and practical strategy is strewn with obstacles.

First of all, corporations are obviously incapable of putting into practice strategies that are not consistent with their identities, no matter how enticing and well-thought-out they are. Secondly, unless these identity issues are resolved at the onset of management consulting, they often surface imperceptibly during the strategy-making process. Thirdly, homogenous processes that seriously obstruct the creative development of innovative strategic options can distort future scenarios.

Strategic consulting is always a two-way search for the best of several alternatives for action. Successful consulting strategies are case-specific and do not offer general answers. Pioneering concepts are imperative, while “recipes for success” seldom help. The results obtained from management consulting come from non-standardized processes that are collaboratively driven, and they are never entirely assessable by either consultants or their clients.