Challenging the Status Quo in Digital Strategy Consulting

6 min read

The age of technology outsourcing is over. Learn why the boutique digital strategy consultancy is the way of the future

Over-budget projects, missed deadlines, and subpar support have taught companies that working with big technology consultancies can cause headaches. The key roadblock? They lack agility when supporting strategic projects that give their customers a competitive advantage. At the same time, your digital strategy has never been more important for your success.

Properly executing that strategy requires the right kind of technology partnership; a technology partner who understands your vision, can help you turn it into reality, and delivers outcomes — a boutique digital strategy consultant. Read on to learn what has changed in enterprise technology partnerships and how SoftServe’s digital strategy philosophy helps clients respond to the new competitive landscape.

The new technological standards for businesses

As the march of technological advancement accelerates, companies view their tech stack as central to their bottom line — often more so than their core businesses. The shift has occurred across verticals, with powerful tools improving offerings, reducing costs, and driving revenue increases.

The key to success in this new competitive environment is two-fold: You must first identify your inherent technological and competitive advantages. Then, you must monetize your existing technology stack by correctly supplementing it. That’s called enacting your digital strategy, and it’s what your technology partner should help you do.

So, why do big technology consultancies struggle to deliver this outcome for clients?

A paradigm shift for technology partnerships

For decades, companies outsourced their entire technology strategy to one consultant. Recent years have borne witness to a dramatic shift. Savvy business leaders have a long list of good reasons for their change of heart:

Lack of competition: The largest technology consultancies have developed into oligopolists, leading to delayed timelines, inflated costs, and subpar results.

Secondary outsourcing: Many consultants outsource projects to offshore IT teams, resulting in communication failures, continuity issues, and knowledge loss.

Skills gaps: Forward-thinking companies understand that a technology partner will help upskill their internal teams. The largest firms rarely offer this service.

Strategy-execution misalignment: The most critical technology projects are now happening at the margin. That requires a deeper collaboration than large consultancies can offer.

A lack of dedicated teams: As tech projects become more targeted and bespoke, continuity is key to driving outcomes. The staffing turnover in large consultancies cannot accommodate this need.

Strategic, project-based technology partnerships have emerged to fill the gap. They address companies’ need to drive outcomes by leveraging their tech stacks, as well as the wealth of data they’ve accumulated over the years. That kind of collaboration enables the crucial next steps in your digital transformation.

Outcomes-driven technology partnerships

SoftServe specializes in supporting companies to swiftly execute their technology strategies. That means bridging the gap between the necessities of day-to-day business, and the high-level strategic impulses from the CDO, CIO, and CTO offices. Our client testimonials paint a clear picture: A combination of attentiveness, speed, and proficiency is what sets us apart, and delivers for our clients. Here’s what a few of them have to say:

SoftServe’s team gave us the speed, reliability, and flexibility we seek from a partner. Not only did their team coordinate seamlessly with our teams; they coupled a proactive approach with rapid execution to propel our project forward for on-time and on-budget delivery.

— Simon Berridge-Burley, Global Product Owner, Vodafone

Project: Vodafone collaborated with SoftServe to leverage Google Cloud Apigee X as its API management and build Developer Marketplace to monetize its API library with an enhanced developer experience, improved functionality, and added features.

SoftServe's AI and machine learning expertise has brought a new level of precision and efficiency to our energy management. The team's innovative approach has addressed business challenges and significantly enhanced how we deliver value to our clients.

— Chris DeBenedictis, Vice President, Technology, Budderfly

Project: Budderfly leveraged advanced AI and machine learning to gain a clearer picture of what to install for its customers as part of its energy-as-a-service model. They solved key challenges in baseline calculations, installation strategy, and energy consumption diagnostics — enhancing the overall accuracy, efficiency, and reliability.

This partnership is a great example of our best-of-both business strategy, where we combine the best technology with deep human expertise, to give our customers a first-class experience.

— Russ Thornton, CTO, Shawbrook Bank

Project: During a longstanding, synergistic partnership with SoftServe, Shawbrook Bank modernized its data infrastructure and streamlined digital workflows for productivity improvements, process optimization, and cost savings for the bank and its customers.

Challenge the status quo in digital strategy consulting

Technology has changed the competitive landscape. That’s not news to you. But how will you use it to turn your competitive advantage into increased revenue? At SoftServe, we believe that our clients deserve an outcomes-driven technology partnership. That means:

Dedicated, continuous, and scalable teams
Robust exchange of skills and knowledge
Strategic alignment with the business
Agility, efficiency, and collaboration
On-time, in-budget delivery

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Our dedication to this style of boutique digital strategy consulting is why we were recognized as a Challenger in the October 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Custom Software Development Services, Worldwide.

If you are ready to harness the full potential of your competitive advantage through a new kind of technology partnership, let’s talk.

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