Consultants vs SIs: Why Knowing the Difference Matters

A common mistake that occurs in digital transformation initiatives is conflating the roles of the consultant and systems implementer (SI). Some ecosystems curated by platform vendors actively create this confusion for their customers by applying the label “consultant” to what is actually an SI.

The simple way to differentiate these two is:

• A consultant helps you figure out what problems to solve and potential solutions

• A systems implementer helps you figure out how to solve a problem with the system you selected

Defining what your goal is drives the decision of which of these to engage and at what point in your initiative.

If your goal is to change a measurable outcome, a consultant is appropriate to identify how to accomplish that with a mix of changes to business process, technology, and people (e.g. employees vs outsourcing). Then, after identifying the target state, a systems implementer (or several) might be engaged to implement systems as part of the solution.

If your goal is purely to replace or implement a new system for a high functioning business process, a systems implementer is appropriate. As an aside, this is not what I would consider an example of digital transformation; it’s essentially a systems upgrade.

Expecting one to play the role of another often goes sideways.

TLDR: Consultants and systems implementers have fundamentally different skill sets. First engage the one that matches your initiative’s goal.