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AI / Big Data

Impact of Data Analytics in Consulting

“Data scientists, fast computers, and advanced software are replacing traditional decision-making processes and disrupting tried-and trusted traditional consulting methodologies, with Big Data being one of the main forces of disruption” (Tras, 2015).

The words “big data” have become a “buzzword” in the business industry. It is a concept that revolutionised old-school industries, gave birth to a new industry, and made improvements to businesses regardless of their size. Improvements from incorporating big data have resulted from its ability to “[help] businesses tap into billions of real-time conversations to make smarter decisions” according to Glenn Finch, a Global Leader of Data & Analytics (Pham, 2015).

Over time, it has become a necessity for the consulting industry to develop frameworks to address critical business problems with the help of big data.

So, how does big data create value for consulting firms?

  1. Data driven decision making: Big data can “improve decision making, minimise risks, and unravel valuable insights that otherwise remain inconspicuous” (Tras, 2015).
  2. Finding valuable insights: Structured and unstructured data sources can uncover patterns and relationships that reveal customer needs, expose system vulnerabilities and improve productivity and performance. Insights can be generated about customers, employees and business processes on a real time basis.
  3. Creating transparency: Value is created when data is made accessible to relevant stakeholders in a timely manner, for example, in manufacturing if data from research and development, engineering and manufacturing is integrated to enable concurrent engineering. This can significantly cut time in the market and improve quality.
  4. Tailoring products to individual needs: Big data allows an organisation to narrowly segment customers. This method is widely used online to accurately and efficiently target customers and sell customised products and services.
  5. Creating new business models, products and services: Big data provides organisations with the opportunity to identify customer demand, spot trends in the market and develop the next generation of products and services (Tras, 2015).

Big data provides organisations with the potential to achieve competitive advantage. However, for organisations to fully benefit from big data they will need to review their decision-making processes, and become more agile and responsive to new insights in order to realise the full value of big data (EY, 2016). According to Ram Sarvepalli, from EY’s Emerging Markets Center, in the modern business environment, data analytics is the key to success: “Data analytics has become key to corporate competitive advantage. The first company to identify emerging demand trends and tailor its operations to delivery can quickly establish itself as the go-to source for particular goods or services” (EY, 2016).

Organisations that have the ability to incorporate real-time data analytics can build a strong competitive advantage. Rajesh Gopinathan, CFO and Vice President of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), argues that real-time change is transforming corporate decision-making, and that “once you have made that information available instantaneously, business decision-making is happening on the fly” (EY, 2016).

As Laurence Buchanan, EY’s Advisory’s Digital Leader in Europe, Middle East, India and Africa states, “many companies in mature markets have more than twenty years of ingrained cultures, mindsets, business models, ways of working and, of course, technology landscapes that are not necessarily conducive to operating with an agile innovation approach”.

So, how can consulting firms leverage the value of big data more effectively?

  1. Create a responsive decision-making process
  2. Streamline decision-making layers from top to bottom
  3. Act on insights in a timely manner
  4. Coordinate with local levels to act on insights (EY, 2016).

Organisations that have streamlined and become more responsive to real-time insights stand a better chance of surviving in the face of constant digital disruption. It is only by minimising the lag between insight generation, decision-making and implementation that an organisation can capture the real value of big data (EY, 2016). Additionally, in order for the consulting industry to continue adding value for clients, consultants must learn new skills to stay ahead of the digital disruption (Consultancy UK, 2018).

Globally, investment by consulting firms into analytics increased to $43 billion in 2017. This investment was split between developing in-house capability and hiring external consultants. The investment has been a reaction to 91% of partners being convinced that analytics have already generated substantial value for their firms. Digital disruption has become essential to the survival of consulting firms due to its cross-functional impact, proving indispensable to strategy, operations, HR and IT consultants (Consultancy UK, 2018).

Overall, as illustrated by Philip Rowland, a Partner at OC&C Strategy, “for consultancy to remain relevant, the advice and techniques must be more sophisticated than those already [being used by] the client”. This has resulted in consulting firms hiring graduates with knowledge of new tools and techniques that were not previously used by senior consultants such as basic coding and analytics. Moving forwards, it will become increasingly valuable for young consultants to know how to manipulate large datasets and undertake statistical analysis (Consultancy UK, 2018).

Celine Smith is a student at Victoria University of Wellington completing a conjoint degree in Law and Commerce.  Conducting research for the School of Information Systems, she is invested in obtaining a career that advances information technologies.

Image: Pexels

References

How data analytics are changing the consulting industry. (2018, 3 September). Retrieved February 6, 2019, from https://www.consultancy.uk/news/18522/how-data-analytics-are-changing-the-consulting-industry

How is big data analytics transforming corporate decision-making? (2016, July 4). Retrieved February 6, 2019, from https://consulting.ey.com/how-is-big-data-analytics-transforming-corporate-decision-making/

Pham, P. (2015, August 28). The Impacts Of Big Data That You May Not Have Heard Of. Retrieved February 6, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterpham/2015/08/28/the-impacts-of-big-data-that-you-may-not-have-heard-of/

Tras, P. (2015, August 4). (1) Effective use of Big data analysis in consulting business | LinkedIn. Retrieved January 17, 2019, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/effective-use-big-data-analysis-consulting-business-priyanka-tras/

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