What Is a Digital Consultant and What Do They Do?
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A digital consultant applies technology, data, and product thinking to reach business results. They assess gaps, design solutions, and guide delivery across cloud, data, and customer journeys. You need one when outcomes lag plans. Start with two pilots, measurable KPIs, privacy rules, and weekly reviews tied to value.
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What is a digital consultant?
A digital consultant partners with leaders to turn goals into working solutions across strategy, product, experience, data, and change. Work ranges from shaping digital roadmaps and modernizing platforms to improving digital consulting services such as cloud adoption, analytics, and automation. In short: translate business goals into shipped outcomes.
Why is this role valuable right now?
Investment and expectations are high, while success still varies. Global spending on digital transformation is forecast to approach 4 trillion dollars by 2027, yet long running research shows only about 30 percent of transformations fully succeed. Leaders who build strong digital and AI capabilities can outperform peers on returns. See the key numbers below.
| Finding | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide digital transformation spending outlook | Nearly 4 trillion dollars by 2027 | IDC, 2024 |
| Share of transformations that fully succeed | About 30 percent | McKinsey, multi-year research |
| Leaders with strong digital and AI capabilities outperform | 2 to 6 times TSR vs laggards | McKinsey, 2025 |
| Executives seeing ROI exceed expectations from digital | 56 percent | KPMG Tech Survey, 2024 |
| Definition: what digital transformation involves | Rewiring with tech at scale | McKinsey Explainer, 2024 |
We cite recent global surveys and forecasts and refresh this table periodically.
What do digital transformation consultants actually do?
- Strategy and value cases. Link initiatives to revenue, cost, and risk. See our strategy work.
- Data and platforms. Modern data stacks, cloud foundations, and integration through digital transformation consulting services.
- Customer experience. Faster sites, clearer flows, and self-service that reduce effort and raise conversion.
- Change and delivery. Program cadence, sponsor coaching, and adoption planning with change management.
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When should you hire digital transformation management consulting support?
Bring in help when outcomes lag or scale is high. Examples: multi-system modernization, analytics you cannot trust, slow releases, or a fragmented customer journey. A partner can shape pilots, set KPIs, and coach teams so improvements land on time.
How to start: two low-risk pilots
- Customer journey fix. Pick one flow with value leakage and measure completion, conversion, and recontact. Implement fast changes with digital consulting services.
- Data for decisions. Stand up a trusted dashboard on one priority, with source-of-truth rules and weekly action reviews.
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FAQ
How is a digital consultant different from an IT contractor?
Digital consultants are outcome focused advisers who design, sequence, and govern the work across product, data, experience, and change. Contractors typically fill a skill or headcount gap inside a plan that already exists.
Which skills matter most?
Product thinking, data literacy, platform understanding, and delivery discipline. Add sponsor coaching and the ability to connect technical choices to financial results.
Where does this sit inside the company?
Often with the COO, CTO, or CDO. For large programs, a cross-functional team reports to a steering group with monthly value tracking.
Author and review
Prepared by the team that delivers strategy, product, and data programs across regions. Recent work includes cloud migrations, analytics modernization, and customer experience improvements tied to measurable KPIs.
Sources
- IDC. Worldwide Spending on Digital Transformation is Forecast to Reach Almost 4 Trillion Dollars by 2027. https://my.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS52305724
- McKinsey. Unlocking success in digital transformations. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/unlocking-success-in-digital-transformations
- McKinsey. We are all techies now: digital skill building for the future. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/we-are-all-techies-now-digital-skill-building-for-the-future
- KPMG. Are you ready to thrive in the digital economy? https://kpmg.com/us/en/articles/2024/are-you-ready-to-thrive-in-the-digital-economy.html
- McKinsey Explainer. What is digital transformation? https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-digital-transformation
About the Author
Aykut Cakir, Senior Partner and Chief Executive Officer, has a demonstrated history in negotiations, business planning, business development. He has served as a Finance Director for gases & energy, pharmaceuticals, retail, FMCG, and automotive industries. He has collaborated closely with client leadership to co-create a customized operating model tailored to the unique needs of each project segment in the region. Aykut conducted workshops focused on developing effective communication strategies to ensure team alignment with new operating models and organizational changes.
