From tax suits to tech suites, it's a Recalibrate@Big4: Tech consultants now take up chunk of top advisory space

Time of India

23-05-2025

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Traditionally known for their strengths in audit, tax and deal advisory, the Big Four in India have discovered an unlikely crown jewel in technology consulting. On the back of a post-pandemic digital transformation push, this has grown into the fastest-expanding vertical — now leading in headcount, partner strength and accounting for more than half of all new hires in FY25.Ironically, these very firms—EY, Deloitte PwC and KPMG—globally sold or spun off IT consulting divisions in the early 2000s, and only began rebuilding those capabilities in 2007-08.That slow return has since turned into a full-fledged pivot—with the India market leading globally in both the scale and pace of that shift.'Consulting is now the new frontier,' said Sanjeev Krishan, chairman of PwC India.Among the top four professional service firms, 60% of Deloitte's India workforce and 45% of EY 's now comprise the tech consulting vertical, while PwC and KPMG both have approximately half of their India headcount dedicated to this business.Recruitment will be dominated by technology consulting in FY26. Deloitte plans to hire another 6,000-8,000 people in this vertical. At KPMG, nearly 45 of every 100 new hires in FY26 will be in technology roles. PwC will hire 6,000-7,000 in tech consulting in the fiscal year.Sathish Gopalaiah, president, consulting, at Deloitte South Asia, said the firm had hired over 7,300 people as of April 2025, and by the end of May, that number will be close to 8,000. 'Our total headcount will cross 22,000 by then,' he said. 'Last year, our tech consulting business grew by 38%, and this year, we're on track to grow at 27% by the end of May.'Back-of-the-envelope estimates indicate that IT consulting generated over Rs 20,000 crore of the Big Four's combined Rs 38,500-crore India revenue in FY24—a trend expected to hold in FY25 as well, once all books are closed.Accelerating this business is India Inc's tech transformation drive gaining serious momentum, with large-scale projects underway at companies such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Shell, Unilever, HSBC, and several public sector units (PSUs).'The Covid-19 crisis was a watershed moment, ushering in an unprecedented era of tech-led transformation powered by cloud, data and analytics,' said Rohan Sachdev, managing partner for consulting at EY India. 'Today, AI-driven change is taking centre stage.'A look at tech transformation requests for proposals (RFPs) points to strong deal momentum in the consulting space—with over 30 RFPs valued above Rs 100 crore, more than 50 above Rs 50 crore and upwards of 75 proposals exceeding Rs 25 crore. The firms now have built capabilities to provide services across the IT value chain.'Iconic transformation happens at the intersection of consulting, technology & digital, and data & analytics. We're helping our clients move from opportunities to business outcomes by offering the best customised solution and service set,' said Sanjay Dawar, lead partner, One Consulting, at PwC India.But why are clients increasingly turning to the Big Four for technology transformation work, despite the presence of global tech majors such as Accenture and IBM, Indian IT services giants, a plethora of product companies and other pure-play tech specialists?Akhilesh Tuteja, national leader, clients and markets and technology, media & telecommunications (TMT), at KPMG India, explained, 'The top firms now have deep domain expertise, inhouse consulting capabilities, a technology advisory setup and strong collaborations with global tech alliances, making them one-stop partners for digital transformation.'KPMG has doubled its technology consulting business in the last three years, he added.After years of gaining experience and credibility, the Big Four surged ahead in tech consulting after Covid-19—when digitisation became unavoidable—by being the only ones capable of quickly marrying strategy with tech execution, mobilising cross-functional teams and driving company-wide change through automation and process innovation. 'Speed and RoI (return on investment) on fees is where we differentiate and win,' said Dawar of PwC.Interestingly, it's in the tech consulting domain that the most keenly contested battle in the Big Four is playing out, between early mover and overall market leader EY and aggressive and well-funded challenger Deloitte.Industry watchers say that technology consulting may well be the first front where Deloitte has finally managed to breach EY's leadership in any of the major service lines, with its aggressive investment-led growth, while EY maintains a lead in tax, deals, management consulting and audit.The firms are also investing heavily in technology consulting.It has taken centre stage in the refreshed global strategy of PwC, traditionally a strong player in technology implementation. The New Equation is emerging as the firm's biggest area of focus and investment.Deloitte is investing 9% of its total revenue in technology consulting, while at KPMG, it's 8% of TC earnings, including man hours spent in building solutions. PwC India has spent nearly Rs 300 crore on hiring partners, people and making acquisitions in the last two years.What's also helped the firms gain ground on tech companies is the global network of partnerships they've stitched up with companies such as Microsoft, Google, Intel, IBM and Salesforce, giving them early access to technologies in cloud, AI, data and cyber capabilities, among others.Within the technology consulting vertical, AI has emerged as the top priority, with firms channelling maximum focus, resources and energy into it, and finding strong traction among clients eager to experiment and integrate AI into their operations.'Clients' asks have evolved beyond, 'What use cases can AI deliver?' to strategic imperatives such as 'How do I transform my organisation with AI or embed an AI-first mindset across my business?',' said EY's Sachdev.KPMG's Tuteja said his firm was involved in at least 30 AI assignments and every large project had an AI component. It was becoming central to nearly every tech consulting mandate, he said.Big Four experts say they will be major players even in AI, as they already have a good understanding of clients' tech infrastructure and data setup. 'AI is part of every technology conversation these days. We have completed AI-enabled sales worth Rs 1,000 crore,' said Deloitte's Gopalaiah.Dawar of PwC India said that during 2000-10, consulting evolved from just making strategy decks to driving implementation, and the following decade was about marrying strategy with core technologies.'Post-2020, the focus has shifted to digital transformation—and today, it's largely also about generative AI,' he said. 'To truly leverage GenAI, companies must first get their foundation tech DNA right—by starting with the right infrastructure, data foundation and intelligence layers. It's about bringing these three pillars together and linking them seamlessly to enable tangible business outcomes. The firms have all the capabilities to deliver this end-to-end for clients.'