Boston Consulting Group, one of the management consulting sector’s Big Three firms, is doubling down on the IT market with the launch of a new business unit called BCG X.

More than 3,000 professionals in 60-plus cities will work at BCG X. Many of them are presumably existing Boston Consulting Group employees who were pulled from other divisions and have IT-related skill sets.  

The new BCG X unit will have two major focus areas. 

The unit’s first major focus area is assisting companies with the task of using technologies such as AI to streamline their business processes. That might mean, for example, deploying an AI application to forecast customer demand at a retailer’s brick-and-mortar store network.

In parallel, BCG X’s will also take on project design projects. 

Building “AI and digital industrial-grade software” is one of the items on BCG X’s go-to-market agenda. The mention of industrial-grade software suggests that the division is expected to do a significant amount of work for companies in sectors such as manufacturing.

Digital marketing will be another focus for the BCG X. Besides marketing campaigns, the division will also work with clients such as retailers to streamline their e-commerce operations.

Because BCG X is part of one of the world’s three largest management consultancies, its service lineup also includes business advisory offerings.

In particular, the unit will work with corporate clients to start “standalone and new core businesses”. This type of deal often includes management consulting services: launching a new business requires developing a business plan, a task for which large companies often turn to Boston Consulting Group.

Boston Consulting Group marked the launch of its new BCG X unit with the release of a well-timed market report. The report’s main takeaway is that 60% of the executives the firm polled expect their company to increase spending on digital transformation projects next year.

“Many CEOs I speak with are grappling with the challenge of delivering their business strategy through major digital transformations,” commented Boston Consulting Group chief executive Christoph Schweizer. “To tip the scales, we are doubling down on BCG X, our nearly 3,000-person tech build and design unit.”

The launch of BCG X marks a fairly significant industry development because Boston Consulting Group is one of the consulting sector’s most respected, and most profitable, players. The firm generated $11 billion in revenue last year and counts a sizable portion of the world’s largest corporations as clients.

The firm is also notable for having indirectly helped launch one of its biggest competitors, fellow Big Three consultancy Bain & Co. Bain launched in 1973 after its founder, Bill Bain, left a senior executive role at Boston Consulting Group to start his own venture.

text

text