Technology consulting spend to pass US$400bn in 2025 as companies up investment

The new Technology Consulting Market Report from Source Global Research also forecasts that there will be a bounce back for technology consulting services across most regions after a small slowdown in growth rates in 2024. North America, Europe, and Central & South America will accelerate growth by a percentage point each, and the Middle East will remain the fastest growing region at 13% to become an $11bn market in 2025 as longer-term visions for the region such as Vision 2030 mature.

The report also found that over the last three years, 87% of tech consulting clients surveyed by Source Global Research had undergone a digital transformation, with 92% turning to external help for their transformation, as only 8% undertook it on their own. However, the success of each digital transformation varied depending on the type of firm hired.

The happiest consulting clients were the ones that hired technology consulting companies, with 84% reporting that the transformations were successful and their businesses are now operating more efficiently. Clients that hired Big Four firms were also largely satisfied with the work delivered, with around two thirds (64%) reporting that the transformation was successful and their businesses are now operating more efficiently. However, clients that hired strategy firms were the least happy, with nearly a sixth (15%) saying transformations were only partly successful, with some promises not upheld and components missing, and nearly half (49%) reporting that although the transformation was successful, it is already outdated.

Tony Maroulis, Principal Consultant at Source Global Research said: “The technology consulting market is set to witness solid growth of 7% over the course of 2025. Indeed, it is increasingly difficult for companies to have conversations about future strategies that do not include the potential for technology-based solutions. While spend is at its highest in North America and Europe—the Middle East is the fastest-growing region with 13% growth.”

Tony Maroulis continued: “Clients seemed to have very different experiences depending on the type of firm they chose for their digital transformation, and this could be due to the clients’ differing mentalities and ambition levels. But what is clear is that non-tech firms need to make sure they remain up to date with the latest tech services and forge the right alliances to ensure they can offer their clients a service with longevity.”

Other key findings from the report included:

Technology implementation is by far the largest area of tech consulting –This area is larger than tech advisory and tech-supported consulting combined. On its own, it accounts for over US$200bn of tech consulting revenue, the majority of which is made up of the integration of ERP systems such as SAP or Oracle.

Advanced analytics – This area is largely seen as a precursor to large-scale AI solutions—and data visualisation & business intelligence are expected to accelerate in growth throughout 2025, growing globally by 11%.

Sector performance - Energy & resources, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare were the fastest growing sectors in 2024, and are all expected to reach double digit growth in 2025. In contrast, the largest sectors (financial services, manufacturing, TMT, and public sector) experienced slightly slower growth, growing at a pace only slightly faster than 2024’s slowest growing sector, retail.

Where consulting firms should be placing their big growth bets in tech in 2025 – GenAI, data & analytics and cybersecurity.