Tuesday 31st Jan, 2017
By Fiona Czerniawska.
Go to the top of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and you can see not only the ornate, blue swirls of the marina below, but also miles across the desert to the point where the dust and the desert blur. Look at it from the bottom, and it’s hard to imagine that it’s possible to build something even higher than its fragile, filigree pinnacle.
Tuesday 31st May, 2016
By Margaret Cameron-Waller.
I recently visited PwC’s cyber security experience centre in Florida. This showcased the impressive breadth of work the firm is doing in this area, but was a very timely visit because cyber is such a hot topic globally amongst the clients we interview. Cyber is consistently one of the areas where clients anticipate that spending on consulting will increase and where they can make a clear case for investment. “There’s no limit to how much we’ll spend on this,” is a much-repeated message from our interviews.
Our research also tells us that technology firms dominate clients’ choice of firm when they are considering consulting support. This is interesting because, while technology is the foundation of any successful cyber response, it’s unlikely to be the complete panacea.
Monday 23rd May, 2016
By Julie Ahadi.
Next time you are at home, snuggled up on the sofa with the lights off watching shark documentaries (just your average weekend in my house), wait for a close up of a shark gliding through the ocean. At some point, you will notice that these fearsome creatures are anything but solitary– they have constant company. Little pilot fish (measuring about 60cms) swim, cocky as you like, alongside menacing jaws, safe in the knowledge that there’ll be a constant meal on offer (in the form of small pieces of food from the shark’s teeth) and the kind of protection guarantee that most sea life could only dream of. For their part, sharks get life-long free dentistry (which is really important when you’re a shark). In biology terms, it’s what’s known as a “mutualist” relationship, where different species work together and each benefit.
Tuesday 27th Oct, 2015
With a rapidly maturing market—corners of which are already growing by double digits year on year—you’ll be hard pressed to find a consultant in Africa who doubts the continent’s long-term potential. But those actually living and working on the ground often find they have an uphill task in convincing their bosses back home to make the investments that will have them in pole position when that promised future finally arrives.
Monday 6th Jul, 2015
By Fiona Czerniawska A long time ago I found myself schlepping around the local offices of a major consulting firm asking what their plan was for the next couple of years. The answer to my question was inevitably “We want to be the first-choice firm in this market”. “Gosh,” I’d say summoning a falsetto of enthusiasm rarely seen outside the jolly-hockey-sticks stories of Angela Brazil, “how absolutely marvellous.” Smiles all round: “but how,” I’d say, delivering my coup-de-grace, “do you plan to do that?”
Thursday 4th Jun, 2015
By Margaret Cameron-Waller Over the past couple of years, we’ve been actively tracking M&A amongst consulting firms – and there’s been plenty to track. In the US alone, we estimate there’s been an average of 5.5 deals every month for the last 2+ years. In some deals, the aim is to acquire a specific technical capability – digital being particularly popular right now. In others, it’s to build scale and extend reach, fuelled by globalisation.
Tuesday 3rd Sep, 2013
By Fiona Czerniawska Recent months have seen a plethora of articles and reports on the return of manufacturing to North America, but shifting economics will change consulting firms too.
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