Using Data Analytics in Consulting

Is this the beginning of the end of the classic consulting business? Some people think so. Producing Powerpoint charts with AI is not a big deal. But AI goes much further. The article mentions creating draft proposals through AI tools. But this is only a first step. Many consulting projects are "program directed" meaning the consultants follow pre-determined steps (a program) when working with clients. For example, most cost cutting projects follow this path. "Pure" tailor-made strategy work for top management is rather the exception in today's consulting assignments. And even in this field, tailor made strategy solutions will soon be offered by AI applications. As a result, consulting fees will fall and new non-consulting competitors will appear. I had an eye opening experience a little while ago. An entrepreneur asked me to critique their AI based program to make Private Equity investment decisions through an AI program. Initially skeptical, I changed my mind quickly. Already in BETA version, this program was phenomenal. Since then, I have seen BETA initiatives in many industries such as Investment and Commercial Banking, education, and many more. I hate to say this as a former consultant, but the old days of management consulting are gone and a new, in many ways more effective and cheaper approach to consulting will emerge faster than most people may anticipate. This is great news for clients and bad news for traditional consulting companies. What do you think? Do you have any experiences with this topic? I am looking forward to hearing from you. #consulting #ai #privateequity #investmentbanking

The consulting pyramid is breaking. The big firms are freezing graduate intake and reshaping how they operate because leverage through junior staff is no longer the engine it used to be. AI is now doing what the bottom of the pyramid used to do. This is not a theory. It is happening now. If your growth strategy still relies on hiring more people to deliver more work, you are building on a model that is getting weaker by the day. The firms that will win over the next three years will not be the ones with the most headcount. They will be the ones that turn their methods, frameworks, and IP into AI powered delivery systems. Not as an experiment. Not as innovation theatre. But as the way work actually gets done. If your IP still lives in documents, decks, and slideware, you are running a people business in a product world. The real shift is this: From selling hours To delivering systems From knowledge in heads To capability in platforms The question every consultancy leader should be asking right now is simple: Are you building an AI powered firm Or are you hoping the old pyramid still holds. This is the work we are doing with clients now. And if you are sitting on IP that has not been turned into delivery capability yet, you already know what you should be doing in 2026. #loadinggrowth

Over the past few weeks, a viral headline has been circulating: “𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐜𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐲.” The claim is seductive, designed to stoke disruption anxiety. After all, if AI can analyze data faster, generate strategies instantly, and produce polished slides in seconds—what’s left for consultants to do? But this narrative misses the deeper story. 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐜𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐲, 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐲𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐄𝐎𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞. For decades, the consulting model rested on two pillars: - Knowledge arbitrage: Firms like McKinsey had proprietary methods, benchmark data, and the smartest analysts in the room. - Influence capital: The credibility to stand in a boardroom and shift how leaders think. AI is collapsing the first pillar. Knowledge is no longer scarce—it’s abundant, cheap, and on‑demand. A founder with GPT‑5 has access to analytical firepower that rivals a team of associates. That much is true. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐍𝐨 𝐀𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞, 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬, 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝—𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐲—𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦. Here’s the paradox: AI will eat the mechanics of consulting—analysis, synthesis, even writing recommendations. This will only elevate the premium on what AI can’t do: building alignment, exercising judgment, driving real change. In this sense, 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐜𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐲—𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧. 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟. 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰‑𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. So yes, 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐈𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬. And this is where the real disruption lies. The firms (and individuals) that survive won’t be those who can out‑compute AI. They’ll be those who can out‑connect, out‑influence, and out‑lead.

Many people are talking about the Bloomberg story on former McKinsey, BCG, and Bain consultants training AI models to automate parts of the strategy consulting work (The link to the article is in the comments). Some see this as the beginning of the end for the consulting industry. It is not. It is the end of one model of consulting and the emergence of another. For decades, the consulting value chain was built on analysis: gather data, benchmark competitors, synthesize findings, deliver a deck. Today, AI can perform much of this faster, cheaper, and at scale. If consulting was only about analysis, then yes, AI would replace it. But strategy was never just analysis. The real work has always been about judgment, interpretation, decision-making, alignment, mobilization, execution, and building strategic capability inside the organization. This is the shift I wrote about in "Strategy Consulting Reinvented: A New Partnership Model" (The link to my article is in the first comment) - AI is commoditizing data and insights - The differentiator is now the ability to help organizations think strategically - Clients no longer want answers delivered to them - They want capacity built with them The future of strategy consulting will be defined by: (1) Partnership, not prescription Strategy is co-created, not handed over. (2) Contextual intelligence, not generic best practices What works in Silicon Valley does not automatically work every where else. (3) Capability building, not dependency The goal is to leave behind stronger leaders and stronger strategic muscles. (4) Continuous strategy, not episodic projects Strategy becomes an ongoing system of sensing, learning, and adjusting. So yes, AI will replace a certain kind of consulting. The kind that equates thinking with slide production. The kind that confuses frameworks with judgment. The kind that treats strategy as analysis rather than synthesis and leadership. But the consulting firms and advisors who will shape the next decade are those who help organizations build strategic capability: the ability to embrace complexity, navigate uncertainty, resolve ambiguity, explore futures, make trade-offs, act with agency, and learn continuously. The question is no longer: Can we get the analysis? The question is: Can we think strategically, together, in a world where the answer keeps moving and generates more questions? The future of strategy will belong to those who learn faster, adapt faster, and co-create the path forward. #Strategy #Consulting #Leadership #CapabilityBuilding #StrategicThinking

Consulting firms are no longer just competing with each other. They are competing with SaaS. Clients aren’t paying for advice anymore. They expect something tangible left behind: a tool, a platform, an algorithm they can use the day after Consultants leave the building. Big-ticket, multi-year strategy programs are becoming less frequent. The growth is in lower ticket, higher volume work that can be packaged, priced, and delivered at high margin. The shift is clear. PwC has embedded managed services across all eight advisory divisions, effectively creating subscription-style Consulting. Deloitte now mandates AI in every significant engagement, ensuring each project carries a productized layer. Even boutiques like Lovelytics are winning share with Databricks-enabled “AI in a box” offerings. In every case, delivery is being turned into data, data into IP, and IP into recurring revenue. The economics are obvious. Consulting has always been episodic and people heavy, while SaaS thrives on recurring, predictable revenue. Firms are rushing to close that gap by productizing insight, packaging knowledge into assets that scale. Clients want results they can see, measure, and keep using. They want speed, repeatability, and ROI baked into every engagement. The question is whether this makes Consulting better, or simply more commoditized. The firms that will win are not the ones that look most like SaaS. They will be the ones that find the right blend: lean teams, embedded industry specific AI, tangible tools, and the judgment to solve problems that no platform can. Consulting is being reshaped into a product business. The challenge is to avoid losing its value in the process.

🚨PwC US leadership recently made something very clear: resistance to AI isn’t just a skills gap anymore - it’s a strategic misalignment. And in a business built on expertise, that’s a big statement. What stood out wasn’t just the headline, but the direction of travel behind it. Moving away from hourly billing. Turning parts of advisory into AI-enabled, self-serve tools. Exploring subscription and outcome-based pricing. These aren’t incremental tweaks - they challenge some of the core assumptions consulting has operated on for decades. For a long time, the model was relatively simple: more people, more hours, more revenue. AI starts to erode that equation. If elements of due diligence, tax advisory, or operational analysis can be automated or even partially productised - then the question shifts from “who delivers the work?” to “what work should exist at all?” That shift is already showing up in talent conversations. Candidates are asking different questions: not just about role and progression, but about how firms are embedding AI into their core offering. At the same time, hiring patterns are evolving - with more emphasis on data, engineering, and hybrid skill sets, and less reliance on traditional volume-based leverage models. This isn’t just a technology upgrade. It’s a commercial reset. How services are priced, how value is defined, and ultimately what clients are willing to pay for are all being rethought in real time. PwC has simply said it out loud. The more interesting question is: how many others are already thinking the same, just not saying it yet? #AI #Consulting #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork #ProfessionalServices #Strategy #Leadership

The question was never “Will AI replace consultants and experts?” It was: What part of consulting actually still works? Because here’s what the data is already telling us: – Entry-level consulting roles are shrinking – AI is eating the repeatable work – Clients are no longer paying for “thinking alone” And yet… Demand hasn’t disappeared. It has concentrated. Not around strategy. Around execution under volatility. That’s the shift most people are still missing. But here’s the uncomfortable part: Most consultants don’t have an execution problem. They have a tool problem. Their toolkit was built for a world where: → Change was a project → Strategy came first, execution followed → Stability eventually returned None of that is true anymore. We’re not managing change. We’re operating inside it. So what do you actually do if you’re in this shift? Not theory. Practice. Here’s what I see working: 🚨 1. Stop selling strategy as the product Strategy is now expected. Execution is what gets funded. If you’re not involved after the deck is presented, you’re already being commoditized. 🚨 2. Replace “projects” with capabilities Clients don’t need another transformation initiative. They need the ability to adapt continuously. If your work ends, your value disappears. If your work builds capability, your value compounds. 🚨 3. Upgrade your toolkit — not your positioning Most people react by: → Adding “AI” to their title → Rebranding as “fractional” → Re-packaging the same tools designed for the 20th century hoping they will still deliver in the 21st It doesn’t work. Because the real gap is deeper: Your tools assume stability. Your clients operate in volatility. 🚨 4. Focus on reinvention, not just innovation Innovation creates something new. Reinvention transforms what already exists while it’s still running. That’s the work clients are actually struggling with. And the capability most consultants don’t have yet. 🚨 5. Design for smaller, higher-impact delivery The old pyramid is breaking. What’s replacing it: → Smaller teams → More senior involvement → Faster cycles → Direct accountability If your model depends on leverage, it will feel the pressure first. AI is not removing consulting. It’s removing everything that was never that valuable to begin with. What remains is harder. More human. More embedded. More accountable. So no— Consulting isn’t disappearing. It’s being stripped down to what actually matters: Judgment. Execution. Reinvention. Everything else was optional.

I see consulting firms saying that they have an AI strategy. But they are using AI like a productivity hack to summarize notes, speed up proposals etc. That’s fine. It’s also the lowest-value use of AI. What if we can have mid-level consultants operating at an expert level if we use AI properly? By using AI to • surface patterns across hundreds of engagements • anticipate client risk before it shows up • turn institutional knowledge into something every consultant can access instantly. And that changes everything • Faster diagnostics • Stronger recommendations • More confidence in the room The future isn’t AI replacing consultants. It’s consultants who are amplified by AI. It requires firms to change how they are actually delivering, not just how they market. It requires systemizing knowledge. It requires letting go of the “hours = value” model. That’s hard. Politically and financially. At IBM, we built the Intelligent Delivery Suite for Salesforce to tackle exactly this, giving every consultant real-time access to the latest Salesforce innovations, IBM’s collective delivery experience, and AI-guided insight at the moment it’s actually needed. The result is consultants who show up like they’ve seen every version of this problem before, because in a real sense, they have. That’s the force multiplier effect. Individual expertise, amplified by everything the firm knows, available to everyone. The firms building this capability now are raising the floor on what good looks like. So yes, AI will create a massive advantage. But only for the firms willing to rethink how they operate at the core. #ConsultingatIBM