Companies worldwide are continuing to embrace digital transformation in their quest to stay competitive, with global spending forecast to reach $2.8 trillion in 2025. That’s more than double 2020’s spend, according to IDC’s Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide released in late 2021. The trend of information technology modernization efforts is driving significant growth in markets around the world, and consulting firms are strategically expanding to meet the new levels of demand.
BCG Platinion, a strategy consultancy firm specializing in digital technology, recently announced that it opened a Middle East office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to better serve the growing market in the region. The firm has a well-established record of operating in the Middle East as well as in other regional and international markets. The timing could not be better: according to the firm, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has invested $11 billion in digital transformation, with the UAE closely following with an $8 billion spend.
The firm was founded in 2000 as a subsidiary of Boston Consulting Group, in an effort to combine BCG’s strategic consulting practice with digital expertise. The firm has designed, developed, and deployed digital products, platforms, and solutions worldwide, employing 750 people spread across 39 global locations.
“We have high ambitions to grow in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia and other markets over time. There are many ambitious IT experts in the region who will have the chance to develop dynamically with us. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to build a team here that will add real value to the Middle East,” says Alain Schneuwly, Managing Director of BCG Platinion, who is slated to lead the Middle East practice going forward.
The firm will begin with a team of ten consultants with experience in complex digital transformation projects and will gradually expand, growing from Dubai to encompass the rest of the Middle East. BCG has seen great demand for digital expertise, particularly in the financial services, energy, technology, media, and telecommunications sectors, in addition to the public sector. As the Middle East continues to expand its digital presence, the region should prove to be a ripe market for consulting firms able to meet the growing demand.
