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BANGALORE:India‘sbigITcompaniesarebuildingstrongconsultingpracticesthataretakingthemintospacestraditionallydominatedbythelikesofAccenture,Deloitte,PwCandevenMcKinseyandTheBostonConsultingGroup.

Infosys‘s$350-millionacquisitionofSwitzerland-headquarteredLodestone,aconsultingfirmfocusedonSAP-enabledbusinesstransformation,isonlythelatestindicationofhowseriousITcompanieshavebecomeaboutconsulting.Cognizanthasbeenorganicallybuildingitsconsultingbusinessbuthasalsomadefiveglobalacquisitionssince2005thathavestrengtheneditsconsultingcapabilitiesintelecommunications,media&entertainment,ITinfrastructureservices,high-endprogrammemanagementandITtesting.

HCLacquiredUK-basedAxonin2008thatbroughtcapabilitiesinSAPconsulting.

WiprohasbeenfocusingonbusinesstransformationconsultinganditsheadofconsultingservicesKirkStrawserhassaidthecompanyintendstobecome"thelargestpure-playbusinesstransformationconsultingpracticeintheworld",with5,000consultantsby2015.Thecompanynowhas1,750consultantsthatofferadvisoryservicesondesigning,adoptingandoperatingnewbusinessmodelstooutpacecompetitors.

SundararamanViswanathanofglobalizationadvisoryfirmZinnovManagementConsultingsaysIndianITcompaniesareincreasinglyseenasviableoptionsforsomeofthecostlierofferingsfromglobalconsultingcompanies.

ForITcompanies,consultingbringsatleasttwobigbenefits.Oneis,asGartnerIndia‘sdistinguishedanalystParthaIyengarsays,theymakefor"stickierclientrelationships".AlotofconsultinghappensnotwiththeCIO-thetraditionalinterfaceforIT-butwithotherCXOs.Thishelpsgetmindshareincompanymanagementsandboards,whichthentranslatesintodeeperandlonger-termclientrelationships.

"Wesell40%ofourconsultingservicesthroughCXOssuchasCEO,CFO,COO,chiefmedicalofficer,chiefmarketingofficer,chiefrisk&complianceofficer,andchiefmerchandisingofficer,"saysNatRadhakrishnan,VPinCognizant‘sbusinessconsultingdivision.Hesaysinthelastoneyear,consultingalsohelpedtoget25newclientsforCognizant.

Thesecondbenefitisthedownstreamone.MostconsultingassignmentswilleventuallytranslateintoITorders,becauseanybusinesschangeandtransformationtodayinvolvestechnologytransformationortheuseoftechnology.IyengarnotesthatCognizanthasastrongapplicationportfoliomanagementpractice."IfacustomerhiresCognizanttoanalysetheirapplicationportfolio,andthecompanyspends6monthsdoingit,thenthecustomerwillinevitablyalsogivetherecommendedapplicationworktoCognizant.Ibelievealotoftheirapplicationdevelopmentandmaintenancedealsarearesultoftheirstrongconsultingpractice,"hesays.

Acquisitionscanaccelerateandaddtothesebenefits.Anacquisitionnotonlybringsnewconsultantswithaccesstonewcustomersandgeographies(whichwilleventuallyhelptheITbusiness),itcouldalsobringbettertoolsandframeworkstodiagnoseproblemsandrecommendnewways.

Itisthesereusabletoolsandframeworksthatareaconsultingmodel‘sstrength.

RayWang,CEOofConstellationResearch,saysLodestone‘smethodologyandculturewouldtransformInfosys."LodestonebringsitstrademarkIDEAmethodology.IDEArepresentsinsight,design,executeandachieve.ThisapproachalignswithSixSigmastandardsandSAPASAP(theroadmapforimplementingSAPsolutionsinacost-effective,speedymanner)toimprovethequalityofimplementationoutcomes,"hesays.

Gartner‘sIyengar,however,warnsthatITcompaniesshouldnotover-reachthemselves.Hesaysconsulting‘ssweetspotiswhenacompanystrategizesaroundthework(ITservicesinthiscase)thatitisdoing;suggesttoclientshowtodotheirITbetter,howtooptimize.

"Butifyoutrytodohighendmanagementconsulting(organizationdesign/structure,generalstrategyetcthattheMcKinseysdo),itmaynotworkout.ManyclientshavetoldusthelastthingtheywantfromIndiaisanothermanagementconsultingfirm.Wedon‘thavethecapabilityandmaturitytoprovidesuchconsulting.Andacquisitionswillnothelpeither,"hesays.

HebelievesInfosyshastendedtogetintohighendmanagementconsultingintheUS."Thejuryisoutonthat.Therecouldbeshorttomediumtermchallenges,"hesays.

Cognizanthasalsobeenreachingintothosespaces.It‘sworkingwithSaint-GobainBuildingDistributionintheUKandIrelandtoimproveitsbusinessprocesses,andidentifyareasofimprovementandunlocksynergiesamongitsmanybrands.

It‘sworkingwithapublishingcompanytotransformthemintoanintegratedmediaplay.Technologyisjustasmallpartoftheseexercises.

Onthecontrary,Wiproseemsfocusedontechnology-enabledbusinesstransformationconsulting(transformingbusinessesthrough,say,newertechnologieslikemobility,cloudetc),whichsomefindappealing.

ResearchfirmForresterrecentlyanalysedITfirmsthatareintosuchconsultingandsaidthatamongstthepure-playIndianITvendors,"Wiproisthemostadvancedintermsofitsapproachanditsvisionfortransformationalconsulting".......