Strategic planning

By Margaret Cameron-Waller.

I recently visited PwC’s cyber security experience centre in Florida.  This showcased the impressive breadth of work the firm is doing in this area, but was a very timely visit because cyber is such a hot topic globally amongst the clients we interview.  Cyber is consistently one of the areas where clients anticipate that spending on consulting will increase and where they can make a clear case for investment. “There’s no limit to how much we’ll spend on this,” is a much-repeated message from our interviews.

Our research also tells us that technology firms dominate clients’ choice of firm when they are considering consulting support. This is interesting because, while technology is the foundation of any successful cyber response, it’s unlikely to be the complete panacea.

By Julie Ahadi.

Next time you are at home, snuggled up on the sofa with the lights off watching shark documentaries (just your average weekend in my house), wait for a close up of a shark gliding through the ocean. At some point, you will notice that these fearsome creatures are anything but solitary– they have constant company. Little pilot fish (measuring about 60cms) swim, cocky as you like, alongside menacing jaws, safe in the knowledge that there’ll be a constant meal on offer (in the form of small pieces of food from the shark’s teeth) and the kind of protection guarantee that most sea life could only dream of. For their part, sharks get life-long free dentistry (which is really important when you’re a shark). In biology terms, it’s what’s known as a “mutualist” relationship, where different species work together and each benefit.

With a rapidly maturing market—corners of which are already growing by double digits year on year—you’ll be hard pressed to find a consultant in Africa who doubts the continent’s long-term potential. But those actually living and working on the ground often find they have an uphill task in convincing their bosses back home to make the investments that will have them in pole position when that promised future finally arrives.