Market conditions

2011 turned out to be another difficult year for public sector consultants in the UK, with little improvement even on the horizon, our research shows.  A “nuclear winter” was how one firm characterised it.  Some money is still being spent on consultants, particularly on new technology, security and international aid, but there’s also been a change in what organisations are looking for: the emphasis now is on deep expertise, not using consultants to plug gaps in line management.

Consulting in the manufacturing sector has traditionally either been big business or virtually no business depending on the country you work in.  A hugely important part of the German economy, the sector accounts for more than a quarter of all consulting there,  it’s only about a tenth of the UK market where it’s dwarfed by financial services.  It’s a substantial market in India but negligible in the Middle East.

The thing about a double, whether an espresso or a recession, is that it implies that the second experience is the same as the first – and that’s a mistake.