Consulting Disruption Redux: From Noise to Signals

It's been three years since Clayton Christensen argued that the forces of disruption were reshaping the world of consulting. The pattern was familiar and apparent, he wrote at the time: traditional consulting firms were ignoring new competitors with nontraditional business models that the market has increasingly accepted and considers the new basis of competition. To be fair, there has been some movement by traditional consultancies since then to defend against the market disruptions outlined by Christensen. The examples are few and far between, however, and most providers appear resistant to the signals.

The case for denial is strong. Traditional consultancies are returning to growth following a protracted recessionary cycle. According to ALM Intelligence, global consulting market revenues grew by nearly 5 percent in 2015 over 2014. While all domains saw some degree of uptick, digital consulting is the most significant driver and the only segment where double-digit growth is estimated through 2018. Let's face it: Disruption has always been good business for consulting, but only when it is the client being disrupted. What about those pesky signals and what do they mean for the consulting firms themselves?