Insights from the Meeting of the Minds
Technology advancement is continuous. The cumulative change in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has been enormous. Not only has the software evolved, but the way it is developed, licensed and sold has changed dramatically.
At the 90 Minds, Meeting of the Minds annual conference, Basil Malik, Anne Sawyer and I had the honor of facilitating the Future of Consulting roundtable discussions. Approximately 60 individuals with consulting experience ranging from 5-40 years discussed the Future of Consulting. We anticipated technology and artificial intelligence to be the “hottest” topics. Surprisingly, it was the human element which dominated the discussions.
The Human Element
Although the cloud, subscription pricing and artificial intelligence were thoroughly discussed, there were numerous human elements that overshadowed the future of consulting.
Remote Work
End users are not the only ones working remotely. Consultants discussed how some, if not all the consulting activities of systems implementation have become remote. On-site services are often restricted to discovery. It is hard to “walk” the warehouse or see the pained faces resulting from bad processes via teleconference.
Although activities like training can be online or performed offsite, remote work impacts human connection. Consultants need to become the customer’s trusted advisor, and it is hard to connect on a human level on Teams or Zoom. Getting to know someone over a meal, hear about their kids and learn their favorite teams is part of relationship building.
Customer Self Service
In the “old days,” customers got their information from their CPA, lawyer, or industry peers. With the rise of the internet, and now large language models, customers are increasingly getting their information online. Sometimes “Claude” can point you in the right direction. At other times it lacks that human connection. AI knows what its trainers taught it on or what it finds. An AI does not how the customer feels about the specific criteria.
More importantly for the future of consulting, intelligent agents and copilots will provide services formerly performed by the consultant. When a user needs a query or report, the AI can find, organize and present the requested information. AI can even provide some general insights based upon how it was trained.
Consultants must learn use their technical expertise and experience in business as an advisor. How can the customer use the new tools to meet business objectives? How can the customer take the insights and turn them into action? More importantly, what could go wrong if they just take the advice of an AI chatbot!
Immediate Gratification
Customer self-service is immediate. As a result, the customer also expects their consultants to respond equally as quick. A 72-hour service level agreement (SLA) for responding to a support ticket is no longer acceptable. Why would a customer wait for something an AI can do “almostly” as well.
Although instant implementation is not a current expectation, fast implementation is. For years people have been touting implementations in weeks instead of months or years. Templated implementations shorten cycles, and this expectation is only increasing.
Technology Advancements
Technology advancements are not only impacting the software, but the way software is implemented. Even formerly technology resistant industries, such as manufacturing, are increasingly implementing in the cloud. Starlink and cellular connectivity has reduced or eliminated the “I can’t be online” arguments. The future of consulting will continue to be impacted by even more rapid technology advancements.
As A Service
Online systems have eliminated the “upgrade revenue” and much of the “break-fix” revenue of consulting firms. Cloud ERP is almost exclusively sold as a service. Licenses are now being sold on a consumption (by the transaction tier) basis. The option to shift technology costs from a capital expenditure to period expense changes the customer’s mindset. “If I can pay as I go for technology, why do I have to pay up front for implementation?” Leading edge firms are experimenting with “all in pricing” for software and consulting as a service.
Incorporating Technology in Service Delivery
Pre-Covid some consulting firms touted on-site delivery of services as a competitive advantage. Post Covid efficient use of remote collaboration tools is expected. Incorporating technology into how consulting services are performed is not a choice, but a necessity. Artificial Intelligence is not just for the end-user community. Consultants are using the latest technology to:
- Speed development activities.
- Develop customized documentation and training materials.
- Improve performance or previously developed reports.
- Automate manual processes.
- Manipulate and convert data.
- And so much more.
Uncertainty and Certainty of AI
There is definitely a ton of AI hype. Will the AI bubble bust and are bankruptcies in our future? Time will tell. However, artificial intelligence is not going away. Furthermore, there is still much we must learn.
AI Uncertainty
Hallucinations and horror stories fill the headlines. Some people believe that you just can’t trust artificial intelligence. Fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) are a part of any shift in technology. However, there are a real concerns which consultants and their customers must address around AI.
The roundtable discussions point out the need for AI Governance policies. When is it appropriate or inappropriate to use AI? How do you use AI responsibly, so customer data is not exposed to the public. How do you ensure that the answers and results generated by AI are accurate?
AI Certainty
Consultants use AI in a variety of ways today and expect to use AI more in the future. Common current uses include:
- Meeting transcripts and summaries.
- Crafting e-mails, blogs and creating support case documentation.
- Writing queries, scripts and code.
Many customers and consultants are already using help chatbots. Some consultants report routing and simple use of agents. Most consultants expect that publishers and large consulting firms will use agentic AI more extensively in the future.
Future of Consulting is Bright
AI is not a magic bullet. Although large enterprise success stories are everywhere, similar successes in the small to midsize business market are fewer and further between. There is general consensus that few customers are past the early adoption phase and most have work to do to really benefit from AI. The unreadiness creates consulting opportunity!
Process Understanding
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a code-based tool used to automate business processes based upon rules. The next level of improvement is autonomous AI Agents that learn and can handle situations which are not explicitly defined in code. However, this jump in productivity is fraught with potential issues.
- How often is the process defined and documented in the SMB space?
- If it was defined and documented, is that how it is actually being performed?
- What potential issues will arise if automated?
- How can you train and test the agent?
There is nobody more qualified to help guide the end user organization than the partner who implemented the system and countless others like it!
Data Cleansing
Like advanced inventory planners and other great ERP tools, AI is only as good as the underlying data and supporting large language models. ERP consultants are experienced at data cleansing, modeling and manipulation for conversion and data warehousing. Consultants are already using AI to save implementation time and costs associated with converting data. The consultant’s experience is valuable in preparing organizations for a future with AI.
Advisory and Advocacy
At the current AI maturity level, consultants are uniquely positioned to guide companies in the adoption of modern technology. Artificial Intelligence development tools are rapidly evolving and improving but typically do not have the business context. A great AI developer with no practical experience cannot replace the human intelligence of the experienced ERP consultant.
It is incumbent on our community to learn enough about the current technology to advise our customers. In the minds of many, AI consulting will become a larger opportunity than ERP consulting. After all, everyone has business management software, but very few have AI embedded in their business processes.
Action for Future Minded Consultants
Consultants who participated in the roundtable discussions were not single-minded. Although the momentum is in the favor of subscription, some customers prefer consumption-based billing. I heard conversations about an acquired practice that had subscription-based support having their customers transition back to time and materials (T&M) billing. Furthermore, for baby-boomer practice leaders who are winding down their careers may not want to change.
Future Minded Consultants Must
- Educate and Embrace Learning about AI: The pace of technological change is ever increasing. As we age, we learn slower. If you are not staying up to speed on the latest changes you are falling behind fast. You don’t have to develop AI agents to understand their value, their current maturity, and how they can or will be applied to your client base.
- Improve Your Prompting Skills: Prompting AI is very different than searching the internet. Different large language models also require different prompts to be most effective. For example when prompting Claude you should include:
- Role: Let it know who it should answer as. For example, “You are an ERP consultant” or “I am a marketing strategist.”
- Clear Task Description: Be direct about what you want to define. For example, “Convert chart of accounts…” or “Write a blog post…”
- Context and Background: Provide necessary information to make results better. For example, in consulting you may want to include the customer’s industry, company size, web page, etc. to guide the response.
- Constraints and Rules: Define both what to include and what not to do. Be as explicit as possible. Consider asking your copilot to help you what constraints and rules it would recommend!
- Shift from Configuration Expertise to Outcome‑Based Advisory: As AI begins to automate many traditional ERP implementation tasks, the consultant’s value shifts toward measurable business outcomes. Build skills such as KPI design, value tracking, and continuous optimization rather than relying solely on system configuration expertise.
- Strengthen Process, Data, and Change Management Skills: Consultants who can help SMB clients clean, standardize, and redesign processes, while guiding users through AI‑driven ways of working, will be far more valuable than those focused only on technology features.
- Build Expertise in AI Governance, Risk, and Responsibility: Clients will increasingly look to advisors for guidance on controls, auditability, transparency, and compliance. AI agents and generative features must operate within well‑defined governance guardrails, especially in finance, supply chain, and HR processes. Consultants who understand AI risk models, data lineage, and compliance implications will differentiate themselves in a crowded market.
Next Steps
I-BN’s central core value of “Do What is Right.” This incorporates being ethical, efficient and proactive. Combined with another core value of professionalism drives our community involvement in organizations like 90Minds, Acu-Connect, B1Community, and the Information Technology Alliance. These communities provide not only excellent professional education, but platforms for networking, practice management, and consolidation within our industry. Joining our community and professional organizations can help you increase your exposure and expand your practice.