How does technology help consultants build a sustainable business?
Introduction
Consulting firms advise their clients on how best to leverage technology to improve their businesses and performance, but consulting firms themselves sometimes struggle to implement digital transformation to improve their own day-to-day work environment.
Professional services operations require cumbersome processes such as time and expense tracking, resource planning, sometimes complex billing processes, on-site and remote work. These operations, if not addressed with the right technology, can lead to inefficiencies and frustration within teams. It is essential for professional services organizations to be equipped with the right technology in order to improve their operations, increase profitability, and increase delivery times.
According to a study conducted by the Zigurat Business School, most consultants mentioned innovation and business model change as one of the benefits. Another great benefit of digital transformation is the improved customer experience.
The definition of advice is changing rapidly. The difference between management consulting and technology consulting is blurred at the moment. More and more companies are trying to integrate management and technology to create a new digital approach. The approach to problem solving is now data-driven. The evaluation of the business model and customer journey is quantified in order to bring value to customers.
How can AI and automation help consulting firms?
If the technology is properly leveraged, consulting firms can gain insights that can help them grow.
Consultancies such as Tata Consultancy and KPMG have used technology to improve their overall services.
Data collection
The biggest advantage is the ease of data analysis. AI has made it possible to analyze massive amounts of data faster than humans. The insights provided by this data help consulting firms give valuable advice on improving their clients' sales, supply chain, and operations, and more.
This data analysis helps to provide a variety of different services to their customers and increase their return on investment. AI and automation help consulting firms and create value for their clients.
Case Study: Deloitte Helps Yamaha Drive Customer Engagement
Yamaha is known for selling high-end musical instruments. It relies on Salesforce to provide customer support around the world. The problem Yamaha faced was that they didn't know how to use the data generated by Salesforce to improve their customer service.
Deloitte stepped in to help the company create a 7-week transformation plan to reduce the customer journey. Deloitte helped Yamaha create a social media-like platform to access all relevant information about each client. This has improved the efficiency of customer service.
Yamaha was able to access customer social activity, up-to-date customer information, and other information from the social platform. The company has also implemented a peer-to-peer communication service to speed up response time and satisfy customers without delay.
Automation of administrative tasks
The most boring part of consulting work is managing paperwork (client invoices, payslips, etc.). It is also time-consuming and forces consultants to deviate from their tasks. Thanks to process automation, ERP software specifically designed for consulting firms like Stafiz (add a link to the website) makes a wide range of tasks easier. Consultants can save time with consulting ERPs that can help them issue invoices, plan projects, report on it, and more.
High-end AI devices like RPA (robotic process automation) help consultants by making business decisions on their behalf. These devices have the ability to make logical judgments or ensure that regulatory forms are completed without fines for non-compliance.
Increased productivity
Financial ERPs such as Stafiz help consultants plan their meetings, keep track of their daily processes and activities. The data presented by Stafiz can be used to improve productivity. There are also a variety of other software like google drive, mailchimp, and zoom to automate their daily operations.
Automated Consulting Solution
Consulting services are expensive and SMEs struggle to keep up with them. However, thanks to new technological tools, the consulting market is striving to provide automated solutions at a lower cost. But this automation comes with challenges. AI loves data and predicts and makes decisions based on big data. Real-life data is filled with various variables that can be used to judge the profitability of a business in different ways.
Unlike humans, AI lacks the analytical skills to evaluate raw data. In addition, AIs cannot predict human behavior. This makes it even more difficult to automate consulting. The human touch is needed everywhere to judge, analyze and provide solutions in the consulting process.
What is technology consulting and how can it drive growth?
This is one of the services offered by most consulting firms. Technology consulting emerged in the field of consulting when companies sought to innovate and use technology to achieve their goals. Today, technology consulting is crucial for the development of businesses in different industries and has created a need for IT consultants, technology advisors.
Technology consultants help businesses stay up-to-date on new tools to increase customer acquisition and engagement. They help companies digitally transform and optimize business processes efficiently.
Adopting these new technologies is a challenge for businesses, as they must rely on their internal teams to achieve this. Partnering with technology consultants will make the process easier and improve their operations. Technology consulting firms help their clients integrate new technologies, train their staff, and create new channels of communication with their customers. At the same time, they provide a set of tools to analyze data and improve its growth.
Conclusion
Consulting in the digital age has helped consulting firms expand their services and solve their clients' technology problems. This evolution has also changed the consulting model for more than a century. This digital transformation is like a double-edged sword: consulting firms and clients are undergoing this transformation together. In this trend, consulting firms are focusing more on strategic data and technology. Firms use this data like oil to move their clients' business forward.
We'll have to wait and see how consulting firms integrate data and technology to engage the workforce, collaborate with clients and partners to solve real-world business problems.
