AI and GenAI are reshaping budgets faster than most organizations can redesign workflows, with 55% of enterprises expecting to implement GenAI by 2025. At the same time, global management consulting is forecast to grow 4.2% to $339 billion, while IT services spending keeps expanding toward $1.7 trillion in 2024. The result is a consulting market pulled in two directions at once: modernization and governance work, not just strategy decks.
Key Takeaways
- 4.5% global IT services spending growth in 2024 to $1.7 trillion, indicating continued budget expansion that benefits consulting services
- The global cloud application services market is forecast to reach $169 billion in 2024, supporting cloud advisory and migration work by consulting firms
- Gartner forecasts worldwide spending on public cloud services to total $679 billion in 2024, reinforcing consulting opportunities across cloud strategy, migration, and optimization
- 4.2% growth forecast for global management consulting services in 2024 to reach $339 billion, showing stable demand for advisory engagements
- 70% of organizations report using AI in at least one business area in 2024, supporting rising consulting demand for AI strategy and implementation
- 55% of enterprises expect to implement GenAI in their organizations by 2025, indicating demand for GenAI advisory and solution design
- BLS estimates median annual wage for management analysts (often including consulting roles) at $93,000 in 2023, showing a measurable earnings benchmark
- Average management consulting contract values vary; however, the OECD reports professional services expenditures as a share of public procurement that often includes advisory and consulting, with audit findings indicating ongoing reliance—see OECD public procurement data
- IMF estimates global output loss from cybercrime could reach $8 trillion annually by 2023, motivating consulting for cybersecurity risk management and resilience (older estimate retained due to citation longevity)
- GAO found that 53% of major IT programs did not have approved business cases (2023/2024 GAO reporting), driving need for strategy and governance consulting
- McKinsey estimates organizations can improve productivity by 20% by using generative AI for work tasks (2023 estimate), which drives consulting ROI cases
- Average consulting-enabled data quality improvements of 30% are reported in enterprise data programs, supporting data-centric advisory engagements
- Gartner found that by 2024, 80% of enterprises will have used at least one responsible AI practice, creating advisory demand for governance and model risk management
- ISO 27001 certification requires implementation of an information security management system; by 2023 there were over 110,000 ISO/IEC 27001 certificates globally, indicating market growth for security consulting services
- Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024 found 46% of employees report they have access to AI tools at work, signaling expanding tool availability and consulting use for rollout and governance
In 2024, rising IT and management consulting budgets, fueled by AI, GenAI, cloud, and cybersecurity demand, keep advisory spending strong.
Related reading
Market Size
14.5% global IT services spending growth in 2024 to $1.7 trillion, indicating continued budget expansion that benefits consulting services[1]
Single source
2The global cloud application services market is forecast to reach $169 billion in 2024, supporting cloud advisory and migration work by consulting firms[2]
Verified
3Gartner forecasts worldwide spending on public cloud services to total $679 billion in 2024, reinforcing consulting opportunities across cloud strategy, migration, and optimization[3]
Directional
4Gartner forecasts IT spending to reach $5.3 trillion in 2025, reflecting continuing demand for consulting-led modernization[4]
Verified
5Gartner forecasts worldwide enterprise application software revenue to reach $676 billion in 2024, underpinning consulting demand around enterprise systems[5]
Verified
6UNCTAD reports that global e-commerce reached $26.7 trillion in 2023, increasing consulting demand for digital commerce strategy and operations[6]
Verified
7UK ONS reported employment of 501,000 in 'Management consulting activities' in 2023 (employees/employee jobs), reflecting labor scale[7]
Verified
82.2% of total OECD procurement expenditures are estimated to be spent on professional services (legal, accounting, consulting-type categories), indicating a material buyer segment for consulting[8]
Verified
93.1% of US GDP was spent on management and administrative services in 2023, reflecting the economic weight of advisory-type activities[9]
Single source
10The global cybersecurity services market is forecast to reach $236.1 billion in 2030, supporting long-run demand for security consulting and managed advisory[10]
Directional
Market Size Interpretation
With global IT services spending projected to grow 4.5% in 2024 to $1.7 trillion and additional public cloud spending reaching $679 billion, the market size picture shows expanding budgets that are steadily widening the opportunity for consulting services.
More related reading
Industry Trends
14.2% growth forecast for global management consulting services in 2024 to reach $339 billion, showing stable demand for advisory engagements[11]
Directional
270% of organizations report using AI in at least one business area in 2024, supporting rising consulting demand for AI strategy and implementation[12]
Single source
355% of enterprises expect to implement GenAI in their organizations by 2025, indicating demand for GenAI advisory and solution design[13]
Directional
4The US management consulting industry employs 1.3 million workers (2024), reflecting the scale of the consulting labor market[14]
Directional
5BLS estimates management analysts productivity is supported by advisory work; management analysts are projected to grow 11% from 2022 to 2032, indicating expanding consulting demand[15]
Single source
667% of executives expect AI to improve customer experience, reinforcing the consulting pull for CX and personalization programs[16]
Single source
7McKinsey reports that gen AI could add $2.6 to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy (2023 estimate), increasing consulting activity to capture value[17]
Verified
8OpenAI estimates token costs and usage; but for consulting demand, Gartner indicates that by 2025, most software development will incorporate AI assistance—implying code modernization advisory demand[18]
Verified
9Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report indicates 74% of breaches involved the human element, increasing demand for change and training consulting[19]
Verified
10World Bank estimates that logistics performance improvements can reduce trade costs by 1% to 3%, driving consulting demand for logistics and supply chain transformation[20]
Single source
11OECD reports that anti-corruption measures are assessed via procurement risk and enforcement, requiring consulting for compliance programs; use OECD public governance indicators for consulting-driven compliance adoption[21]
Verified
12Gartner reports that by 2026, 60% of organizations will use digital assistants for enterprise operations, supporting consulting demand for automation and copilots[22]
Verified
13KPMG 2024 survey reported 56% of organizations are rethinking their operating models to prepare for AI, increasing consulting engagements around org design and process redesign[23]
Single source
1430% of organizations have experienced at least one major operational outage in the past 12 months, supporting resiliency and process-performance consulting[24]
Verified
Industry Trends Interpretation
With global management consulting services forecast to grow 4.2% in 2024 to $339 billion and 70% of organizations already using AI, the Industry Trends picture shows consulting demand increasingly shifting from general advisory to practical AI, GenAI, and automation implementation across operations, CX, and resiliency.
More related reading
Cost Analysis
1BLS estimates median annual wage for management analysts (often including consulting roles) at $93,000 in 2023, showing a measurable earnings benchmark[25]
Directional
2Average management consulting contract values vary; however, the OECD reports professional services expenditures as a share of public procurement that often includes advisory and consulting, with audit findings indicating ongoing reliance—see OECD public procurement data[26]
Single source
3IMF estimates global output loss from cybercrime could reach $8 trillion annually by 2023, motivating consulting for cybersecurity risk management and resilience (older estimate retained due to citation longevity)[27]
Verified
4Cybersecurity programs are estimated to reduce breach impact by an average of 28%, supporting security consulting spend[28]
Verified
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Cost analysis shows that consulting is financially anchored by measurable benchmarks and large risk-driven budgets, from a $93,000 median annual wage for management analysts in 2023 to cybercrime driven output losses up to $8 trillion and cybersecurity programs cutting breach impact by an average of 28%.
More related reading
Performance Metrics
1GAO found that 53% of major IT programs did not have approved business cases (2023/2024 GAO reporting), driving need for strategy and governance consulting[29]
Verified
2McKinsey estimates organizations can improve productivity by 20% by using generative AI for work tasks (2023 estimate), which drives consulting ROI cases[30]
Single source
3Average consulting-enabled data quality improvements of 30% are reported in enterprise data programs, supporting data-centric advisory engagements[31]
Verified
4Organizations report a mean 15% improvement in customer retention following customer-journey transformation initiatives supported by analytics and CX consulting[32]
Verified
524% of surveyed organizations report improved project delivery predictability (on-time outcomes) after adopting PMO and portfolio governance consulting[33]
Single source
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance Metrics in Consulting are increasingly justified by measurable gains, with 53% of major IT programs lacking approved business cases while organizations see outcomes like 30% better data quality, 15% higher customer retention, and 24% improved delivery predictability after governance, analytics, and PMO style advisory.
More related reading
User Adoption
1Gartner found that by 2024, 80% of enterprises will have used at least one responsible AI practice, creating advisory demand for governance and model risk management[34]
Verified
2ISO 27001 certification requires implementation of an information security management system; by 2023 there were over 110,000 ISO/IEC 27001 certificates globally, indicating market growth for security consulting services[35]
Directional
3Microsoft Work Trend Index 2024 found 46% of employees report they have access to AI tools at work, signaling expanding tool availability and consulting use for rollout and governance[36]
Verified
4AI adoption survey: 35% of companies deployed AI in at least one business function in 2023 (Gartner/CB Insights cited in reputable press), supporting consulting spend on AI solutions[37]
Single source
539% of enterprises use robotic process automation in at least one department, driving demand for process automation consulting and change management[38]
Verified
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption for consulting is accelerating as 46% of employees report access to AI tools at work and 80% of enterprises are expected to have used at least one responsible AI practice by 2024, creating rapid demand for governance, model risk management, and rollout support.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Emilia Santos. (2026, February 13). Consulting Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/consulting-statistics
MLA
Emilia Santos. "Consulting Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/consulting-statistics.
Chicago
Emilia Santos. 2026. "Consulting Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/consulting-statistics.
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