Methodology

Megamodel: our global data model

The quantitative market data comes from our unique model of the global professional services market.

Rather than making high-level assumptions, this model has been built from the bottom up, sizing the market capability by capability—assessing how much work a firm earns delivering each professional capability within each sector and country. This results in a robust view of the size of the supply-side market, which can then be broken down to view the size of the market by country, sector, line of business, capabilities, and market segments.

This year’s model has been expanded, with a new capability taxonomy and a much broader range of professional services firms included— all of which reflects convergence and other changes we see in the industry. For the purposes of this report we’ve focused on types of firm and market segments that broadly equate to traditional definitions of consulting. As a result of these changes to our methodology, there are changes to our market sizing data, which take into account that conventional consulting firms now compete in many non-consulting markets—in essence that their addressable market is larger. Historic data has been restated to match our new definitions, but the inclusion of new types of firm and additional services may also have an impact on growth rates.

Alongside this market segmentation, we also limit our market sizing and analysis to what we at Source call “big consulting”—work done by mid-and large-sized firms (those with more than 50 people). Please note that we don’t track the long, thin tail of work done by contractors and very small firms, as most readers of this report would not seek or be able to compete in this part of the market.

All of the data in the model is calibrated through extensive interviews with, and surveys of, professional services firms and their clients, allowing us to discuss broader trends in the market alongside detailed dimensions such as headcount. These interviews and surveys are supplemented with desk research, which allows us to assess the impact of wider macroeconomic trends on professional services. This, combined with our detailed modeling, results in a long-term view of the market that is able to support both historic and forecast data.

 

Glossary

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• Australia
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• Bahrain
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• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Cameroon
• Canada
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• Russia
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• Singapore
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• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
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• Turkey
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• Ukraine
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Venezuela
• Vietnam
• Zambia

 

Lines of Business 1 Cybersecurity 2 Risk 3 Forensic 4 Financial management 5 Design & UX 6 Innovation 7 Technology 8 Data & analytics 9 Research 10 Deals 11 Strategy 12 Real estate 13 Operations 14 Sustainability 15 HR & change 16 Architecture 17 Audit & assurance 18 Business process outsourcing 19 Civil engineering 20 Legal 21 Litigation 22 Marketing & creative 23 Network engineering 24 Product engineering & R&D 25 Recruitment 26 Sof tware engineering 27 System integration 28 Tax

Capabilities 1ACybersecurity advice 1BCybersecurity incident response 1CPenetration testing & wargaming 2ATechnology & securit y risk services 2BOperational risk 2CProgramme risk 2DResponding to regulation 2ERisk management 3AeDiscovery 3BForensic accounting 4ABudgeting/financial planning process 4BDebt advisory 4CFinance function 4DFinancial advisory 4EFinancial restructuring & insolvency 5ACorporate identity 5BCustomer journey & UX benchmarking 5CGraphic & UI design 5DUX & service design 6AIdeation 6BInnovation management 6CInnovation strategy 6DStrategies for growth from innovation 7ACloud advice 7BERP consulting 7CIT strategy, planning & review 7DIT training 7EProgramme management 7FVendor selection 8AAdvanced analytics 8BData visualisation, business intelligence & semantic layer 9ACustomer feedback 9BCustomer segmentation 9CEmployee feedback 9DEnvironmental & social impact research 9EMacro/microeconomic research 9FMarket research 10ACapital allocation strategy 10BCommercial due diligence & valuation 10CFinancial due diligence 10DM&A transaction strategy 10EOperational due diligence 10FPortfolio & investment strategy 10GPublic-private partnerships 10HTechnology due diligence 11ABusiness & financial modelling 11BCategory management 11CChannel management 11DCorporate recovery & turnaround 11ECorporate restructuring 11FCorporate strategy 11GMarket analysis & strategy 11HPolicy formulation 11IPricing 11JStrategic sourcing/offshoring services 12ACorporate, occupier services & facilities management 12BIntegrated real estate developer services 12CReal estate deal/transaction services 12DReal estate strategy 13ABenchmarking 13BBusiness continuity & recovery 13CCost cutting 13DCustomer service 13EDevOps 13FDistribution strategy 13GLean & Six Sigma 13HOperational review 13IOutsourcing advice 13JPost-M&A integration 13KProcess design, re-engineering & automation 13LProcurement/purchasing 13MProperty & estate management 13NSales & distribution planning 13OSales force effectiveness 13PSupply chain management 13QTarget operating model 14APurpose-led strategy & change 14BResource-efficiency implementation 14CResource-efficiency strategy 14DSocial impact & trust 14ESustainable workforce 14FSustainable supply chain 14GClean technology 14HGreen IT 15ABenefits, compensation & pensions, excluding actuarial & investment advice 15BChange management 15CDiversit y & inclusion 15DEmployee engagement 15EGovernance & board ef fectiveness 15FHR strategy & ef fectiveness 15GLeadership 15HOrganisational design & culture 15IOrganisational training & development 15JOutplacement 15KPension fund evaluation & advice 15LPerformance management 15MStakeholder management 15NTalent management 15OTeam effectiveness & collaboration

 

 

Sectors 1 Energy & resources 2 Financial services 3 Healthcare 4 Manufacturing 5 Pharma & biotech 6 Public sector 7 Retail 8 Services 9 Technology, media & telecoms

Sub-sectors 1 A Energy 1 B Primary resources 1 C Utilities 2 A Banking 2 B Capital markets 2 C Insurance 2 D Investment and wealth mana 2 E Private equity 3 A Healthcare 4 A Aerospace 4 B Automotive 4 C Construction 4 D Consumer electronics 4 E Consumer packaged goods 4 F Industrial products 5 A Pharma 6 A Defence 6 B Education 6 C Not-for-prof it 6 D Public sector 7 A Retail 8 A Business services 8 B Leisure 8 C Logistics 8 D Real estate 8 E Transportation 9 A High-tech 9 B Media 9 C Telecoms