Back in High school, my best friend and I used to play out this scene from the 1999 science fiction action film The Matrix. I have always been a movie buff, especially drawn to well written dialogue, and this scene from a movie released at the frontier of new tech design and innovation, resonates with the way I have been observing how the past few years have been going:
[AGENT SMITH]: “You hear that Mr. Anderson?… That is the sound of inevitability… It is the sound of your death… Goodbye, Mr. Anderson…”
[NEO]: “My name… is Neo.”
(Dramatic pause….)
We were hooked not only to the action, but the immediate change in the atmosphere of the whole film. When Neo asserts his new identity, he rapidly steps into his future, one which disrupted life as he knew it. All this to highlight, that while we are (hopefully) not in the dangerous world of The Matrix, the future is inevitable and the only constant thing is change.
Technological innovations are making a huge impact on different organizations, especially those pursuing a wide range of transformations and moving towards modernizing internal systems and operational infrastructure. We are seeing more and more organizations embedding automation in their processes to improve primary activities, such as client relationship management, resource management, as well as project execution management. Moreover, they also leverage technology in their secondary activities, such as human resource management, financial accounting, together with internal administration and reporting. Technology is helping consulting firms manage, scale, and connect with their talent more effortlessly. Those remaining, utilizing processes which are standardized and optimized for “human touch” thus become vulnerable to disruptions caused by efficiencies resulting from technological innovations happening around them, such as those operating in the Consulting Engineering market.
As an example, it has been my long running opinion that, in a few years’ time, the largest Consulting Engineering firms in the world will be the present-day large Tech companies.
There is value in Data, and the lifeblood of a quality consulting advisory service is providing an opinion, or assessment, or design based on accurate collected Data. Here lies my point of contention. If the data is collected, utilizing training data and simple A to B mapping, to train models and algorithms to come up with a standardized result, then that also increases the effectiveness and efficiency of collected data. Server based Big Data Management solutions, have made the collection and management of large volumes of data easier and more streamlined. Machine learning algorithms applied to Engineering standards also mean that Artificial Intelligence systems can be trained to complete Solution Design tasks as what is being done is to “follow” set standards throughout the entire Project life cycle. All this to say, ways of combining automated data collection methodologies, with Big Data Management, applying Machine learning algorithms to train data in a neural Artificial Intelligence network in the workflows of a consulting firms processes, are very possible and are already being done to deliver optimum and standardized results.
To produce a quality deliverable, one requires quality Data. To minimize the potential of having erroneously collected data and have an easily repeatable process workflow for the collection and processing of large amounts of data, Data Scientists have argued that automating processes and removing “humans” in that workflow, becomes the optimum solution.
According to some industry advocates, even though some monotonous tasks could be completed by robots, there will always be a need for a human input to the process of determining an “engineered solution”, and to a certain extent they are correct. One cannot be blind to the fact that in the past few years, the rate of innovation in the Tech Industry, coupled with the need to provide consumer-centered products, has increased tenfold.
In this new reality of Smart Urban Infrastructures, which combine integrated Internet of Things solutions with real-time sensor captured data, Consulting Firms need to take a deep internal dive into what their “identity” is. Environmental, Social and Governance considerations are being championed in open societies, with the need remaining to balance societal expectations with realization of a return on investment for company shareholders. Different approaches, different perspectives, and different viewpoints, thus become a necessity to become an innovative consulting company of the future.
Technology as an enabler, when left to its own mechanisms tends to end up consuming the entire Industry. As the Covid-19 Pandemic has already proven, change can sometimes come at an unforeseen pace.
So, what does this mean for the Consulting firm of the future? Well, at the very least, change in the operating environment, both internal and external. It is important to be aware of technological advancements happening in your industry. Listen to and utilize various opinions from your team, no matter what, age, sex, race, background the person providing information is. To drive a positive culture in your organization, breakdown silos and try adjusting the perspectives of gatekeepers within your organization. A word of caution though: “culture change will be difficult as some employees, including those at the highest of levels, who have been integral to your operations and may be stuck in the old hierarchical ways of working, and may resist changes. Most importantly, figure out your competitive advantage, which ideally should not be some re-hashed/copied strategy or confusing operational plan, but a truly differentiating strategy which will help your firm evolve and grow in a new reality.
Now, back to The Matrix for the last parting wisdom which can be used by organizations, when taking action in light of a changing world and the new reality:
[MORPHEUS]: “There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”
And if the path to digital adoption and strategizing ways of embedding technology into creating additional value for clients, is not walked, a lot of consulting firms will ultimately face extinction disruptions to their businesses.