The Opportunity in the IT Consulting Downturn

by George Westerman

The technology implosion, followed by the sharp downturn in the economy, has wreaked havoc with the IT consulting industry. What once were hundreds of firms vying for the global 2000 market are now far fewer. Many top names of the 1990s have closed or sold out. Powerhouse Cambridge Technology Partners was sold at bargain prices. MarchFirst, the product of a huge merger between Whittman-Hart and USWeb, shut down less than two years after the merger. One of my favorite new firms, Zefer, sold out and closed its doors in September.