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Introduction to the Consulting Industry, Business and Industry Trends Analysis

Global consulting industry revenues (including HR, IT, strategy, technical, operations, management and business advisory services) will be an estimated $925 billion in 2023, according to Plunkett Research estimates.  In the U.S. alone, consulting of all types, including management, scientific and technical, generated $307.3 billion during 2022, up from $303.3 billion the previous year.  Accounting and related services (such as tax return preparation) generated an additional $198.9 billion during 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census and Plunkett Research estimates.  Over the mid-term, structural changes in technologies, regulations, global markets and government will create opportunities for many types of consultancies, particularly those able to give their clients a true return on investment along with innovative ways to cope with rapid change.

Positive factors for the consulting industry over the mid-term:
1) Continued growth in health care expenditures, along with significant changes in health services companies’ ownership will create demand for consultants.  This includes a focus on greater operating efficiencies and cost controls for care providers, creating a perfect environment for consulting.  Also, consultancies that assist enterprises in big data projects, in such areas as personalized medicine and patient outcomes analysis, will be in demand.
2) In nearly all business sectors, consultancies that focus on projects that clearly reduce business costs and enhance operating profits in a reasonably short period of time will find a ripe corporate market (such as consultants who focus on cash flow enhancement, supply chain efficiency and automation).
3) Vast labyrinths of government regulation in the U.S. and in the UK/EU, for example in the ecommerce, consumer privacy and banking and investment industries, are creating numerous opportunities for consultants who can show companies how to navigate rapidly changing relationships between government and business, or how to deal with government oversight.
4) Consultants who assist firms in lowering employee costs are in high demand, as are those who specialize in change management (such as work-from-home) and employee productivity enhancement.
5) Consultants and advisors in information technology will be in high demand in the hot areas of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, the internet of things (IoT), data analytics, cybersecurity and technologies that enable remote/mobile workers.
6) Defense spending in the U.S. and some EU nations may lead to additional opportunities for defense-related consulting.
7) Generative AI is enabling operating efficiencies in consultants’ own research, writing and presentation creation.  This will speed up project completion, increase the scope and nature of assignments that consultancies are able to complete, while at the same time increasing consultancies’ profitability.
Source: Plunkett Research, Ltd.

     The top specialties in the consulting field are management consulting and technology consulting.  Management consultants assist companies and major organizations with restructuring or strategy development, in order to enhance operating efficiencies, increase productivity and increase return on assets, as well as significant assistance in identifying and merging with other firms that are targeted for acquisitions.
Technology consultancies offer skilled services across the full spectrum of technology needs.  This includes consulting in telecommunications, software development, supply chain enhancement, factory automation, logistics, systems implementation and enterprise-level databases.  In recent years, much of this work has shifted to projects involving cloud computing, data analytics, mobile apps and mobile tools for workers in the field.  Machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) work are leading the fastest-growing specialties for the long-term.  Consulting firms based in India have carved out a very significant market share in the technology consulting field.  Other significant sectors within consulting include human resources and employee benefits consulting; risk management; and environmental and regulatory compliance.


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