Consultancy Firms

[[FnG]magnolia]

When they are good, they are very good indeed,
But when they are bad, they are horrid.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

I consult on labour dispute issues. Can't think of a single time when we've failed to address an issue effectively.

 

[Glanza]

I must have only dealt with bad ones that get brought in to companies we've dealt with in the past, no movement at all on their suggestions and recommend the exact same setup with the same software from the same vendors (later found out kickbacks played a huge part in this) and suggest setups that don't work for the client at all.

 

[D3K]

Consultancy companies are to blame. Capgemini etc.

Self-employed consultants are usually very good. They don't last long otherwise.

 

[MikeTimbers]

I've worked for Accenture, Capgemini and Deloitte as an IT consultant and can honestly say the "doing" consultants are great at all three. The problem is sometimes with the "thinking" consultants who have never "done" in their lives but are great at Powerpoint. There are thankfully not so many of those these days.

Such consultancies are very expensive and are often simply hired to ask employees their opinion and then to repeat that in fancy speak and lovely ppt to managers who will now be able to believe it. Don't blame the consultants, they don't like it either.

I've been an independent for nearly five years now.

 

[BUDFORCE]

I've had experience of several management consultants in the mortgage industry over the years.

They go in, charge a fortune, **** everything up, then leave.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

Telecommunications consultancies I’ve encountered in the past have seemed to take 6 months and £100,000 plus to tell management what their experienced engineers told them a year ago.

I reserve the 7th Level Of Consultancy Hell for project management consultants who believe they can run a telecoms project with no understanding of telecoms.

 

[kinetic747]

So it's a 50/50 split, the consultants think they're giving value for money and the rest think not.

 

[dowie]

This is all a bit vague, there is a big difference, for example, between a bunch of generic grads in their early 20s being sent on one of their first projects by say Accenture and some legit domain expert with 10 years+ experience etc..

 

[Converge]

I've worked for Accenture, Capgemini and Deloitte as an IT consultant and can honestly say the "doing" consultants are great at all three. The problem is sometimes with the "thinking" consultants who have never "done" in their lives but are great at Powerpoint. There are thankfully not so many of those these days.

Such consultancies are very expensive and are often simply hired to ask employees their opinion and then to repeat that in fancy speak and lovely ppt to managers who will now be able to believe it. Don't blame the consultants, they don't like it either.

I've been an independent for nearly five years now.

I’ve had the opposite experience of this. In my companies there’s tons of the type that just talk and don’t ‘do’. It’s incredibly irritating.

I’m a consultant these days and make sure I have produced or done something of value each week, or am at least working towards something. I feel like a bit of a **** otherwise!
Currently working at a place where I’ve come in and found the pre-existing consultant has basically done naff all for a year and the company doesn’t know any better and are now saying ‘oh, this is what he should have been doing, isn’t it?’
Don’t know how the guy has the balls to have behaved that way. It beggars belief.

 

[MikeTimbers]

I’ve had the opposite experience of this. In my companies there’s tons of the type that just talk and don’t ‘do’. It’s incredibly irritating.

I’m a consultant these days and make sure I have produced or done something of value each week, or am at least working towards something. I feel like a bit of a **** otherwise!
Currently working at a place where I’ve come in and found the pre-existing consultant has basically done naff all for a year and the company doesn’t know any better and are now saying ‘oh, this is what he should have been doing, isn’t it?’
Don’t know how the guy has the balls to have behaved that way. It beggars belief.

It happens but at least you'll likely get a renewal contract out of it.

 

[Murf]

The Big 4 aren't management consultants, they're accountancy firms.

They don't just provide accountancy advisory services. They provide terrible advice\implementations on all manner of stuff. They think they're technology\implementation specialists.

 

[MikeTimbers]

They don't just provide accountancy advisory services. They provide terrible advice\implementations on all manner of stuff. They think they're technology\implementation specialists.

I think that's unfair. The Deloitte Digital team are excellent with an incredible customer satisfaction rating. They are of course extremely expensive but they do know their stuff.

Accenture's retail technical team is very good and Cap have some very good people too. Notice I haven't said anything about PWC or IBM. And don't ask me about TCS, Wipro, Infosys etc.

 

[Converge]

It happens but at least you'll likely get a renewal contract out of it.

Yes, that's a good way to spin it

 

[Murf]

I think that's unfair. The Deloitte Digital team are excellent with an incredible customer satisfaction rating. They are of course extremely expensive but they do know their stuff.

Accenture's retail technical team is very good and Cap have some very good people too. Notice I haven't said anything about PWC or IBM. And don't ask me about TCS, Wipro, Infosys etc.

That is not my experience.

 

[dlockers]

That is not my experience.

I'm not sure I can trust your opinion as you use backlash not forward slash

Also Deloitte Digital isn't an SI, what were they implementing for you?

 

[Cooler running]

Guess it depends on what you need consulting on. I've seen all sorts of people call themselves consultants.

I've spent a little bit of time talking with some IT consultants, from what I understand the key to them is:

1. Having someone in house that can call them out if they try to bs you.
   
2. Already having an idea of what you need them to advise you on. E.g. if you want advice on launching a mobile App, have a good reason for why you need one and how you plan to monetize it.
   
3. Make them explain their billing structure before signing up.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

I'm not sure I can trust your opinion as you use backlash not forward slash

Also Deloitte Digital isn't an SI, what were they implementing for you?

We might want to consider the separation between personal opinion and fact and how best to display those on a public forum in very, very generic ways which of course is what you meant.

 

[Murf]

I'm not sure I can trust your opinion as you use backlash not forward slash

Also Deloitte Digital isn't an SI, what were they implementing for you?

I was referring to the Big 4 generally, and not a specific part of one of them. I've had plenty of interactions with Deloitte generally on a variety of projects and they're usually extremely expensive and don't add significant value. I find the Big 4 generally procure work through brand power\business connnections rather than competence. Again, just my personal experience.