| First, it
was in the world of academics, where the Indian
guru made a mark, rising to top positions in Ivy
League tech and business schools. The next logical
step is into the equally knowledge-heavy world of
consulting, where Indian talent is making an impact
world-wide. As the world gives India monikers like
‘knowledge capital of the world,’ consulting
majors — the Brahmins of global business —
have realised that India has an important role to
play in their industry as well.
Consultants in
all hues and shades, right from blue-blooded strategy
formulators like McKinsey and Bain, to mid-level
firms like AT Kearney and Monitor, to IT-centric
consultancies like Accenture and Sapient, are each
adding an India element to their global strategies.
So while Bain
puts up its knowledge centre in Gurgaon, IBM is
talking about hiring thousands in India, and other
firms are increasingly using Indian consultants
to service overseas clients. If the number of Indians
working overseas in various consulting firms is
any indication, India is clearly emerging as the
next big sourcing centre for consulting talent.
KPMG has set up KPMG Resource Centre Private Ltd
(KRCPL), which will not only provide support but
will also train people in business advisory services
apart from other audit functions.
Meanwhile, all
pure play consultants are looking at hiring Indian
talent, which often flows abroad for long and short
stints. One big shift has been the growing acceptance
of Indian consultants by overseas clients. In the
least few years, there has been a growing realisation
that Indian talent is good at consulting. McKinsey,
the Boston Consulting Group, AT Kearney and PwC,
all made their highest number of offers across all
B-schools in India this year. At IIM-Ahmedabad alone,
consulting firms made 41 offers, nine of which were
for overseas jobs.
The big consulting
firms have resorted to a more globalised trend of
staffing and, as a result, more and more Indians
are filling the ranks. And a close look at the financials
of consulting firms in India will reveal another
secret: the money coming in from Indian consultants
working for overseas clients is becoming a strong
revenue stream for the firms. Many global consulting
firms are changing their business models to improve
their profitability, and Indian consultants working
abroad are boosting the firm’s revenues.
As some consulting
firms go in for verticalisation, the concept of
a New York office or a London office is being replaced
by teams of domain specialists who can be flown
in anywhere in the world according to demand. So
Indian consultants from traditionally strong areas
like BPO are flying out more.
Globally, consulting
is under a lot of cost pressure, and as clients
expectations are changing, they are demanding better
services at more reasonable prices. Consulting firms
are trying to deal with the situation by offshoring
parts of their work to low-cost geographies. McKinsey
took the lead and launched its Knowledge Centre
in India in 1997, giving the consulting world a
new way to get quality research done at lower costs.
Now, others like Bain, AT Kearney and KPMG are also
leveraging their India capabilities, by setting
up captives in India.
Even if some
consulting firms have decided not to have a captive
knowledge unit in India, they are still tapping
into the Indian advantage by using third party KPO
(Knowledge Process Outsourcing) firms. The low cost
factor, the access to talent and the time zone play
is simply a proposition that no one wants to let
go.
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