Saudi Arabia and Qatar show strongest potential for growth…
Last week (7th June 2012), Source (www.sourceforconsulting.com) launched its GCC market report in Dubai, entitled: Planning for growth in the GCC management consulting market. The report found that the combined GCC consulting market grew by around 20 per cent from 2010-2011; and is now worth $1.5bn. This makes the GCC consulting market about the same size as the market in Spain.
The report found that Saudi Arabia which now represents 32 per cent of the GCC market ($480m) and Qatar (13 per cent of the market) represent the bright spots of the GCC consulting industry. Growth has been driven by heavy government investment in physical and social infrastructure. The consulting market in Qatar is now worth around $195m. The report says that not all of this can be attributed to the 2022 World Cup, but events of this size, in a country as small as Qatar, are big news.
Richard Shediac, Senior Partner and Leader of Public Sector Practice, Booz & Company commented that: “There’s been an increase in focus on Saudi Arabia and Qatar recently.” Whilst Stuart Smith, Managing Director at Bourton Group talked of the ‘tsunami of work’ that lay ahead for Qatar as it attempts to get ready for the tournament.
Sectors in the GCC market, which are identified in the report as having ‘high’ growth prospects over the next 12 months include the public sector; energy, natural resources and utilities; telecoms and high tech and healthcare.
The report also highlights the extent to which strategy work dominates the GCC consulting market, accounting for 26 per cent of all consulting, and worth more than $390m. It says that this is both an indication of the extent to which this is a young market, and of the buoyancy of GCC economies. In contrast, in Western Europe, strategy has long since been overtaken by IT consulting and improving operational performance.
Whilst demand for advice about marketing and selling advice was worth just $46m, and represents just 7 per cent of the market, it’s growing faster than any other service (up 66 per cent), as private sector clients shift their focus from back-office to front-office functions. The report says that most demand is coming from the energy, telecoms and banking sectors; as they become increasingly competitive markets in which differentiation and the relationship between an organisation and its customers matter most.
Edward Haigh, a director of Source and author of the report concluded:
“A combination of factors is checking the growth stride of GCC consulting market. These include ongoing global financial uncertainty, slowdown in the UAE, and maturing clients. But whilst expectations of the GCC consulting market may have been reset, they’re still looking considerably more exciting than prospects in most of Europe.
What’s more, if GCC economies are to continue developing to the point where they resemble their large, western and far-eastern counterparts, then there’s every reason to believe that the consulting market has a big gap to close. It’s a crude measure but the UK economy, for example, is about two-and-a-half times the size of the GCC economies combined and has a consulting market about eight times as big.”
-ENDS-
For further information about this press release, please contact:
David Pippett, DWP Public Relations
Tel: 07899 798197
Email: david@dwppublicrelations.co.uk
Joy Burnford, Joint Managing Director, Source
Tel: 07966 279689
Email: joy.burnford@sourceforconsulting.com
For the Dubai Office, contact Jodi Davies:
Tel: +971 (0)529 895224
Email: jodi.davies@sourceforconsulting.com
About the report ‘Planning for growth in the GCC management consulting market’
The report provides the most detailed and sophisticated view of the GCC consulting market ever published and also contains information about growth rates by sector and service for 2010-2011 and forecasts by sector, service and country, for the next 12 months. The report is based on in-depth interviews with around 40 consulting firms across the GCC region; information that has been supplemented both by the collection of revenue data from many firms and with desk based research. We are immensely grateful for the contribution made by consulting firms to our research.
About Source
Source is a leading provider of information about the market for management consulting. Set up in 2007, with offices in London and Dubai, Source serves both consulting firms and their clients with expert analysis, research and reporting. We draw not only on our extensive in-house experience, but also on the breadth of our relationships with both suppliers and buyers. All of our work is underpinned by our core values of intelligence, integrity, efficiency and transparency.
Sourceforconsulting.com is owned by Source Information Services Ltd, an independent company, which was founded by Fiona Czerniawska and Joy Burnford. Fiona is one of the world's leading experts on the consulting industry. She has written numerous books on the industry including: The Intelligent Client and The Economist books, Business Consulting: A Guide to How it Works and How to Make it Work and Buying Professional Services. Joy Burnford was Marketing and Operations Director at the UK Management Consultancies Association between 2003 and 2010, and prior to that worked for PA Consulting Group and has extensive experience of marketing consulting services.