It’s close to impossible to describe what consulting is about. Prior to my MBA, I spent over 5 years working as a Transformation Consultant, expert in Organizational Change Management, but if anybody asked me what consulting is all about, I would still struggle giving a consistent answer. Is IT a part of management consulting? Or perhaps we should follow the logic of various outsourcing companies and consider call center an integral part of the industry as well?

Leaving the terminology nuances aside, management consulting is a fascinating area. It offers exciting job, extremely fast learning curve and chances to work with global top players from different industries. Probably it’s this flexibility and mobility, along with the pressure for growth that kept the industry afloat throughout the global crisis between 2008 and 2011. What’s hard to believe, managerial consulting industry still grew over those years by 0.8% per annum*.

Although often people speak about the Top 4 consulting firms, the reality could not be further from the truth. The market is highly fragmented, separated between specialized strategy players (McKinsey, AT Kearney or BoozAllenHamilton) global big brands (E&Y, Deloitte, Accenture), fast growing by acquisition Indian firms (Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services) and thousands of niche, independent firms constituting majority of the market.

For years, Management Consulting has been known for its high competition – both at personal level and corporate level. Niche firms try to steal small chunks of the services cake focusing their competitive advantage on function, industry or local market and cultural awareness, while big players compete against each other over multi-million dollar deals for global market leaders. As a result, clients become more results-oriented and demanding, often basing their decision on signing up another contract with the vendor not only based on the quoted price, but mostly the ultimate benefits from previous engagements.

The industry has a bright future. With emerging number of Business Schools around and world, increased number of young professionals and recovering global economy, Management Consulting industry is expected to grow by 3.8% a year, exceeding the global GDP to the total of over $403 billion*.

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*) Source: IBISWorld Global Management Consulting Report