The disruption of the IT consulting business by large language models : an analysis of implications
Roima, Aleksi (2023)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023102627981
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023102627981
Tiivistelmä
The quick appearance of open and public large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 and Bard has triggered a paradigm shift across multiple industries. The technology appears to be influencing both the workflows of individual knowledge workers and the strategic directions of entire companies. At the same time consulting industry has been seen as a resilient business for long time. This research aims to find the implications of LLMs on the IT consulting industry. The study focuses especially on understanding how these new and advanced systems influence business models, project types, and team structures within the sector. Similar research doesn’t yet exist, and the timing is critical for the IT consulting companies to define how they will survive the possibly biggest disruption in the history of the field.
The research utilizes a case study approach, focusing on a specific IT consulting company to provide an understanding of the impact of LLMs on their business. The research methodology combined theoretical insights with empirical findings for a comprehensive analysis. The theoretical part of the study collects and presents relevant existing literature on IT consulting and LLMs, and creates the theoretical construction based on their intersection. The empirical section involves semi-structured interviews with relevant experts from the case company to iterate and expand the proposed model. Data was interpreted using thematic analysis to derive meaningful insights.
The study proposes a bifurcated model: five micro-implications describing changes in individual and team level, and five macro-implications describing industry scope changes. The study reveals that LLMs have the potential to be a disruptive force in the IT consulting industry that will start a larger paradigm shift. However, a major part of how this will happen, and the final magnitude is currently unknown. At the same time LLMs should already be influencing individual consultants’ ways of creating value and how IT consulting companies deliver customer projects.
This thesis fills a critical gap in current literature by providing a focused point of view on the industry effects of LLMs, offering actionable insights for IT consulting companies.
The research utilizes a case study approach, focusing on a specific IT consulting company to provide an understanding of the impact of LLMs on their business. The research methodology combined theoretical insights with empirical findings for a comprehensive analysis. The theoretical part of the study collects and presents relevant existing literature on IT consulting and LLMs, and creates the theoretical construction based on their intersection. The empirical section involves semi-structured interviews with relevant experts from the case company to iterate and expand the proposed model. Data was interpreted using thematic analysis to derive meaningful insights.
The study proposes a bifurcated model: five micro-implications describing changes in individual and team level, and five macro-implications describing industry scope changes. The study reveals that LLMs have the potential to be a disruptive force in the IT consulting industry that will start a larger paradigm shift. However, a major part of how this will happen, and the final magnitude is currently unknown. At the same time LLMs should already be influencing individual consultants’ ways of creating value and how IT consulting companies deliver customer projects.
This thesis fills a critical gap in current literature by providing a focused point of view on the industry effects of LLMs, offering actionable insights for IT consulting companies.