Richard Davies wrote: The UK has a good crop of technology pioneers in cloud computing - for example ElasticHosts, FlexiScale, Flexiant, OnApp - and also some strong government initiatives such as G-Cloud.
We will have to see whether this kind of technical leadership converts into swift mass-market adoption or not.
Global IT consulting firms have spent the better part of 2009 trying to
regain momentum. The global recession hit consulting firms harder than
most, as many CIOs and IT managers were forced to cut what they viewed
as discretionary projects to reduce costs. Although consulting revenues
this year have taken a dive, firms are anticipating some minor growth in
2010 and slightly more aggressive growth in following years. In order to
deal with the current economic realities and prepare for what they hope
will be a consulting rebound, firms have attempted to evolve their scope
and capabilities, embracing what they see as areas of potential growth
and services that customers will need as the economy improves. Of
course, it remains to be seen whether these moves will be enough to
jump-start the IT consulting market, or when customers will be willing
to make larger consulting commitments and investments. However, these
firms are betting that they have made the right investments now so they
can capitalize on any forthcoming rebound - if and when it materializes.
Key Topics Covered:
Executive summary
In a nutshell
Key messages
IT consulting is down but not out
Firms push cost reduction linked to transformation
Business analytics as a conduit for innovation
Consulting firms prepare for growth in verticals and geographies