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'''Introduction'''<br>

Advancement of ICT and low cost competition from emerging market as suppliers changed the dynamics of consulting businesses. It became much harder for consulting firms to differentiate themselves without in-depth knowledge and experiences. <br>

'''2010-2013'''<br>

The end of 2010 saw the emergence of technological innovations in ICT. Cisco was emerging as a pioneer in developing technologies for future. Their �Telepresence� product had already brought about a revolutionary change in ways businesses were being conducted. The traditional ways of teleconferencing were becoming obsolete. Cisco�s products provided a substantial improvement in quality of relationships that was hampered by traditional teleconferencing. Public interests on Sustainable development also impacted need for travel of companies. The clients cut their business travel budgets. Travel frequency of consultants for visiting several client sites also decreased. For some project, consultants did not need to reside at client office. However, the experts in the industry were of the opinion that advancements in ICT could have been integrated with the basic consulting framework. The new innovations could only enhance the way consulting was conducted and it seemed highly unlikely that it would substitute consultancy. <br>

Several advancements were made in software development to accommodate various uncertainties surrounding the business environment. As the world was emerging out of great recession, organizations felt that they were better off absorbing the problem automatically. The software providers saw a tremendous business opportunity in reducing costs for their clients by developing smarter systems that could completely wipe all the problems arising from business uncertainties. As always consulting companies too saw this opportunity and proactively developed smarter systems under their umbrella and envisioned an industry moving towards e-consulting services. Many pilot projects were implemented that were consulted across the global without requiring physical presence of consultants. <br>

By 2013, emerging markets had already established a strong foothold in world economy. They brought a low cost advantage that firms from the developed world could not replicate. As most of the consulting assignments were shifting towards emerging markets, the traditional consulting firms saw a stiff competition from the local consulting firms. New boutique/specialized consulting firms faced low entry for barriers in developing e-consulting practice area. E-consulting became an important tool in the industry. However, the industry still was facing the challenge of addressing the quality and the credibility issues of e-consulting. <br>

Major enhancements in holography and teleporting were achieved by the end of year 2013. Scientists started claiming that human teleporting would become a reality. This would impact all the industries drastically. The consulting industry anticipated it to foster the growth of consultancies. Clearly, there was a trend in the industry of standardizing the services but it remained to be seen how such a model would evolve.<br>

'''2014-2017'''<br>

Starting from 2014, a clear trend towards commoditization of consulting services within the consulting industry continued. Advanced and smart software programs implemented in earlier years made it possible to automate standard procedures and address issues such as project management, auditing, quality and lean management, IT consulting, process and operations management and others. E-consulting sector had continued to grow rapidly and was earning its reputation as an industry for delivering good value for money. Companies started to outsource a lot of their operations that helped to drastically cut costs within the organizations. E-consulting was challenged by security issues, however by the end of 2015 the securitization of the industry allowed e-consulting to prosper.<br>

Such advanced development of e-consulting industry made it possible for consultants to work anywhere in the world which resulted in more employees working from home. This substantially brought the costs of the consulting companies down. On the downside, the fees of consultants also went down and caused much of top talent to re-consider their career path within consultancy industry due to lower pay. <br>

'''2018-2020'''<br>

Commoditized services and automation of the range of processes within consulting companies changed consulting model to concentration only on the services that added substantial value to the client. Dynamics of the relationships between consultant and the client had completely transformed as less and less contact between client and the consultant was needed. This alteration, however, loosened the problem of retaining long-term consultants and simplified the procedure of changing the consultants. Virtual sessions pulled consulting costs down, but at the same time relationships in some cases became weaker. Competition within consulting industry increased and new players appeared on the arena. Traditional consulting companies created e-consulting branches to be involved in this industry move.<br>