Digital strategy services firms can expect both their business and the demand for their skills to grow rapidly through the rest of this decade, according to IDC Research.
The global market research and analysis company released its findings from a study that predicts digital-related consulting will be central to 80 percent of all business and information technology consulting and consequently drive a market for digital strategy services approaching $97 billion by 2019.
The study, titled Worldwide and U.S. Digital Strategy Services Forecast, says such discussions currently constitute only about 50 percent of similar engagements. But as more companies demand measurable business value outcomes from a combination of social, mobile, analytics, security, and cloud technologies, their need for comprehensive digital strategy services will increase.
These services are crucial to establishing the leadership, vision, goals, talent requirements, and data and technology priorities in successful digital enterprise and digital transformation initiatives.
“As digitization alters the nature of business, competition, supply and servicing operations, a growing number organizations of all sizes and maturities will adopt elements of a digital strategy to create and/or maintain a brand, product, and operational advantage,” said Michael Versace, an IDC research director of digital strategy research, in a news release today. “As more firms adopt digital strategies, consulting engagements must contain a larger digital strategy services capability.”
Among the areas IDC sees as key drivers in the demand for digital strategic services:
- Agility and growth as fuel for digital strategies
- Technologies and data becoming strategic business assets
- Digital talent
- The slowing pace of IT productivity
“A big question in the digital strategy consulting services market is around business risk-taking: Is now the time to execute more innovative business methods or operational experiments? Or to expand and diversify digital services, offerings, and technical capabilities, as well as client demographics?” Versace said. “The question remains one of how best to hedge against fluctuations in demand, execution risk, the broadening capability of digital pure plays, and the digital aspirations of traditional IT consulting and systems integrators.”
The study is the first forecast of digital strategy services through an analysis of worldwide business consulting, IT consulting, custom applications design, risk advisory, and digital agency markets, IDC says.
