What is digital consulting?

Digital consulting links strategy, operating model, data, and technology to measurable outcomes. Teams assess the baseline, design a roadmap, improve data quality, and deploy AI and automation with change and value tracking.

Global digital spend is nearing $4 trillion by 2027 and AI use is widespread. Evidence shows large value at stake and common execution gaps, which a disciplined consulting approach can close.

Where do projects start?

Start with a short audit, two pilots with clear KPIs, a data quality plan, and a governance cadence that ties weekly actions to value.

September 16, 2025

Digital Consulting Services Guide 2025: Audit, Roadmap, Data, AI, Change and ROI

Author: Aykut Cakir

Published: 2025-09-16 • Updated: 2025-09-16

Quick answer:
Digital consulting connects strategy to execution through audit, roadmap, data quality, and practical AI. It matters in 2025 because digital spend is surging and AI use is widespread. Start with a 2 to 4 week audit, two pilots tied to KPIs, and a weekly value cadence owned by finance and delivery.

Need a fast, practical plan? Talk to a consultant

What Digital Consultants Do

Audit. Baseline goals, process, tech, data quality, risks, and quick wins.
Roadmap. Prioritize initiatives by value, effort, and time to impact.
Data. Define sources of truth, rules, and ownership for KPIs.
AI and automation. Target use cases with clear savings or revenue lift.
Change and PMO. Sponsor coaching, cadence, RAID, and adoption checks.
ROI tracking. One table of record reviewed weekly with finance.

Why It Matters In 2025

~$4 T by 2027

Projected worldwide digital transformation spend. IDC

78%

Companies using AI in at least one function. McKinsey State of AI 2025

25 to 30%

Agent efficiency lift reported with modern assistance. McKinsey

11.4%

Average investment wasted due to poor project performance. PMI

Selection checklist: outcome-based references, time-boxed pilot, named leads, data controls, and a weekly metric cadence.

Audit: What To Review In 2 To 4 Weeks

Goals and value drivers. Revenue, cost, and risk targets with owners.
Flow and backlog. Top leaks, cycle time, quality, and incident drivers.
Tech and data. Platform fit, integration gaps, quality rules, lineage.
Org and skills. Role clarity, decision rights, sponsor coverage.
Risks and controls. Privacy, security, change windows, dependencies.

Roadmap: How To Prioritize

Impact vs effort. Put quick financial wins first, then scale patterns.
Capacity. Model teams and critical path. Avoid overcommit.
Proof. Define success for each stage gate and stop work that misses.

Data Foundations

Source of truth. One KPI definition per metric with finance sign-off.
Quality rules. Freshness, completeness, uniqueness, and reconciliation.
Governance. Stewardship, access, lineage, and audit trails.

AI And Automation

Start where the numbers are visible. In service, modern assistants can reduce handling time and improve quality. McKinsey documents 25 to 30% agent efficiency lift and QA savings above 50%. See AI in customer care. An NBER-cited field study also showed higher resolution and lower time per ticket with AI guidance. Read McKinsey summary with study links.

Change And PMO

Transformations often miss goals. McKinsey cites success rates near 30%. Strong sponsor engagement, manager toolkits, and weekly reviews raise the hit rate. See survey details.

ROI: What To Track

Revenue. Conversion, cross sell, retention, and pricing hygiene.
Cost. Cycle time, recontact, automation coverage, cloud cost per unit.
Risk. Incident rate, recovery time, audit findings, policy adherence.

Evidence And Sources

**Key numbers and references**
Finding	Figure	Source
Global digital transformation spend outlook	~$4 trillion by 2027	IDC Spending Guide 2024
Companies using AI in at least one function	78%	McKinsey State of AI 2025
Agent efficiency lift with AI assistants	25 to 30%	McKinsey Customer Care
Investment waste from poor delivery	11.4%	PMI Pulse 2020
Transformation success rate	About 30%	McKinsey 2021

Start In 30 Days

Audit. Two to four weeks. Baseline, risks, and two quick wins.
Pilots. One growth and one efficiency use case with weekly KPIs.
Data quality. Define rules for the metrics you will publish.
Cadence. Weekly review with actions, owners, and exit criteria.

Request a digital roadmap review

External Sources

IDC. Worldwide Spending on Digital Transformation is Forecast to Reach Almost $4 Trillion by 2027. https://my.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS52305724
McKinsey. The State of AI 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai
McKinsey. AI Mastery in Customer Care. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/operations-blog/ai-mastery-in-customer-care-raising-the-bar-for-quality-assurance
McKinsey. Economic Potential of Generative AI. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-economic-potential-of-generative-ai-the-next-productivity-frontier
PMI. Pulse of the Profession 2020. https://www.pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2020
McKinsey. Successful Transformations. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/successful-transformations

About the Author

Aykut Cakir

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.