Lanny Cohen
Global Chief Technology Officer, North America Board Chairman
Capgemini Group
Q: Can you sum up where the firm is today?
A: Capgemini had a good third quarter and is on track to finish out the year on a strong note, with a healthy pipeline of new business opportunities across our North American market. This is due in large part to our strategic growth initiatives being well aligned with the market, including our Business Information Management, Mobile Solutions and Smart Energy Services, respectively. We are continually reviewing these areas to ensure they support the needs of our clients and partners and the direction the market is going in. What was surprising is that despite the market uncertainties across the financial services sector, our financial services unit turned in a strong performance.
Q: How would you describe your firm's outlook for 2014?
A: While tentativeness in the market remains, more companies will proceed with their transformation initiatives. Digitally enabled transformation will be more expansive. Whether to improve customer-facing operations, the supply chain, back-end operations, talent retention and development initiatives or other areas of the business, these transformations will require deeper industry insights and technology solutions.
Q: What signs are you seeing that suggest an increase in demand?
A: Leaders view technology as the answer to their business transformation needs and ask, "What should we do?" Customers and prospects are now more fully engaged in the idea that emerging technologies and a focus on innovation can drive greater competitive advantage. Emerging technologies like the cloud, mobility and advanced analytics are no longer just technology considerations. They are now part of the broader business discussion, all the way up to the boardroom.
Q: How do you see the consulting profession evolving in 2014?
A: Consulting firms will look to diversify their portfolios and service offerings as the separation between business strategy and technology solutions becomes more blurred. We may see some of the strategy houses getting more into the technology domain. We'll also see a bigger push by firms to recruit professionals who possess more specialized skillsets. For instance, as areas such as machine-to-machine (M2M) communications evolve, firms will look to bring in more product engineers.
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