Deltek Report: Trends and Challenges in the Consulting Industry

How does your consulting business compare to the industry globally?

To understand the problems facing the professional services industry in more detail and explore possible solutions, Deltek surveyed 700 senior decision-makers from around the globe. The results were surprising to say the least, and suggest a pervasive concern about the future. Read on to find out what’s keeping business leaders awake at night, how to overcome the top challenges and discover what actions our clients have taken to stay competitive and profitable in this uncertain climate.

Client Demands

52% of consulting firms said responding effectively to client demands will be a top business development priority in five years’ time.

Delivering projects profitably has become more difficult, clients’ demands are more complex, margins are getting tighter and the competition is increasing. With just over half of our respondents highlighting this as a top challenge, it’s an issue that’s being taken seriously, but are the right actions being put in place?

To manage this increased complexity, consultants need to show a good understanding of their projects in terms of expected costs, schedules, risk, required resources, and revenues. This insight allows contracted firms to focus their resources appropriately and maximise efficiency, making their organisation more competitive in the process.

Action: Implementing the right business software, such as an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, helps consulting firms monitor project progress and resource utilisation to make sure delivery is on time and within budget. This will ensure that client expectations are met.


 

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Insight to Action: The Future of the Professional Services industry

 

 


Risk

82% of consulting firms say they are unprepared for the risks posed by legislative changes.

For consultants, the challenge of staying on top of new legislation and applying it to their own internal operations is clearly crucial. Yet, according to the results of our survey, many are struggling to keep up with the deluge of new rules being introduced.

Action: In order to become fully compliant, firms should devise a detailed compliance strategy, backed up by the right software tools, and maintain up-to-date internal records.

Business Foresight

59% of consulting firms said that they spend hundreds of hours producing reports. A further 52% say that their reports for important decisions come too late.

Our findings reveal that a large proportion of consulting businesses spend too much time working on reports to enhance business performance and planning. These critical reports provide leaders with the right foresight to be able to make important business decisions in real time. However, spending so many hours producing these reports manually is a waste of valuable resource. Efficient and easy reporting processes are key.

Action: Consulting firms must urgently focus on automating their reports to reduce production time and get clear and instant visibility of pipeline, projects and people. A system that connects disparate.

How does your business and the consulting industry as a whole stack up against other professional services businesses?

These findings are just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to delve deeper and learn from decision makers across the globe from a range of professional services businesses, then get your free copy of Deltek’s report Insight to Action: The Future of the Professional Services Industry.