| | While there are no
reliable signs of
recovery in demand for
consulting, the rate at
which the market is
contracting has slowed,
according to the latest
report from
sourceforconsulting.com,
a management consulting
industry watcher.
sourceforconsulting.co
m carries out quarterly
surveys of client buying
trends, based on data
from 32 large-scale
organisations, including
public sector entities,
which on average spend
between £50m and £75m
per year on consultants.
The results show that
the number of consulting
clients expecting a
decrease in consulting
spend, averaged across
all types of consulting | |
|
| | firms, has fallen from
53% in the last quarter
of 2008 to 42% in first
quarter of 2009, while
the number expecting an
increase has grown from
15% to 24%. Or, put
another way, the number
of respondents expecting
their spend to stay the
same or increase is now
58%.
In the public sector
the number expecting no
change or an increase in
spending, averaged
across all types of
consulting firms, is
significantly higher, at
80%.
Other findings:
The survey also
indicates that IT
consulting will be hit
harder in the next six
months than it has been | |
| |
| |
Having spent the last
two quarters
discounting, consultants
now appear to be saying
there’s nothing left to
discount.
sourceforconsulting.com’s
last report said that
across all types of
consulting firms an
average 48% of
respondents had
experienced a
willingness to discount
(an increase of 14% on
the previous quarter).
That trend now seems to
be slowing; the recent
survey showed the figure
falling back to 38%,
which could be
attributed to increased
confidence on the part
of consultants in the
state of the market, but
more probably reflects
the fact that
consultants have | |
|
| | discounted all they can
(or at least all they
are willing to).
With consultants
showing signs of having
factored in as much
discount as they’re
prepared to, clients
have turned their
attention to their terms
and conditions. 40% of
respondents said they
had changed terms in
response to the
downturn. Information
about what exactly they
have changed is a little
harder to come by, but
it’s safe to assume that
they are focused on
payment terms,
intellectual property
and generally trying to
shift as much risk as
possible in the
direction of the
consultant. | |
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