With technical advances coming rapidly in 2024, the need for digital transformation within businesses is rising as companies compete for market share and growth. While many businesses have development and IT resources in-house, the data, lower risk profile and accelerated project timelines that come hand in hand with partnering with a digital transformation agency make seeking support from a specialist digital transformation firm extremely appealing.
Below, the top digital transformation consultancies of 2024 have been listed, providing a suitable transformation agency for every business size, budget and sector looking to innovate and lead their market.
Top digital transformation companies in the UK
1. Plug & Play
Plug & Play is a digital transformation agency that specialises in mid-market transformation projects. As a smaller transformation firm, their clients benefit from senior and experienced teams (no juniors), competitive pricing and timelines that simply can’t be achieved by the enterprise digital transformation firms.
Known for their solution architecture and practical solutions that are manageable and implementable for businesses, their transformation projects typically cost between £250k-£5m.
Project specialties: eCommerce, Internationalisation, Headless, Omni-channel, User Experience & Digital Product Development
2. McKinsey
McKinsey works with enterprise organisations to transform their technical ecosystems at scale. With AI becoming a hot opportunity for businesses undertaking digital transformation, McKinsey helps forward-thinking businesses incorporate AI into their technical transformations while also offering traditional modernisation services.
3. Accenture
Accenture delivers technology transformation projects for enterprise organisations. Known for their global footprint and established technical team, their transformation projects deliver solid technical foundations while incorporating innovations in AI and other technologies as part of a holistic approach.
4. EY
EY‘s technology transformation projects help their clients manage risk while capitalising on new opportunities. Known for their assurance, consulting, strategy and transactions, and tax services, they bring deep sector knowledge to their projects to drive responsible growth.
5. PwC
PwC offers transformation services that span technology, risk, people and customer experience, providing enterprise businesses with a full service transformation experience. They are experienced in delivering effective strategies and have deep knowledge of regulations impacting their clients.
6. Deloitte
Deloitte operates cross-sector and have a large client base in finance, healthcare and the public sector. Known for their technology capabilities in data analytics and cybersecurity, they offer technology transformation as part of broader business transformation projects. For example, they worked with one of the UK’s leading banks to transform their cybersecurity and reduced security incidents by 40%.
7. IBM
IBM’s strategy consulting services accelerate business growth with hybrid cloud and AI. They combine deep knowledge of emerging trends with strategic technical partnerships to deliver growth and innovation to enterprise organisations. Their expertise attracts clients from all sectors but they have strong experience in technology, healthcare, and telecommunications. Investing in research and development, IBM has established itself as a leader in quantum computing and AI research which is becoming an increasing part of their digital transformation portfolio.
8. Bain & Company
Bain & Company offers end to end digital transformation projects, leveraging their multi-disciplinary team to help businesses thrive in the digital era. With a particular focus on enterprise technology, analytics and design, they accelerate digital transformation processes in global companies.
9. Capgemini
Capgemini has an established presence in the UK and offers digital transformation services to enterprise businesses. They have specialist experience in manufacturing and consumer goods, and with a strong portfolio of work involving Cloud and AI, they are able to provide unique insights and expertise to help businesses adapt.
10. KPMG
KPMG is strong in the financial sector with a number of high profile clients. They bring expertise in data management, compliance and risk management to their transformation projects, offering strategic and considered business change.
11. Atos
Atos is a lesser known digital transformation consultancy compared to many of the others on this list. While still a large established consultancy, they offer competitive pricing and a flexible approach. They specialise in technology transformation, particularly cybersecurity and IoT. Many of their clients are in the public sector and healthcare, however they also serve other sectors and have recently been announced as the official UEFA Euro 2024 IT partner.
12. Baringa Partners
Baringa Partners are leaders in the energy and utilities industries. They help business transform by focusing on 4 key pillars: purposeful outcomes, people, precise delivery, and producing a lasting impact.
If you’d like to discuss a digital transformation process, book an initial consultation by emailing [email protected] or calling 0203 0111 641.
What is digital transformation?
Digital transformation describes the process of undertaking significant technology change within an organisation to create an integrated and efficient ecosystem that enables a business to grow, innovate and increase efficiencies. Technology transformation often goes beyond the digital sphere and often reaches into cultural and operational change as well.
Why undertake digital transformation?
Businesses undertake digital transformation to achieve growth at a pace that would be impossible without it. For ambitious businesses looking for operational efficiency, de-risked and compliant architecture, and market leading customer experience, digital transformation presents an opportunity to innovate and gain traction in their market.
What is a digital transformation agency?
Digital transformation agencies are specialists in the delivery of large scale technical change. They combine deep technical knowledge with insights from successful transformation projects in similar businesses to strategically create a transformation roadmap for their clients. With multi-disciplinary teams, they have the expertise to advise on the full spectrum of technology transformation including digital product innovation, cybersecurity, technology selection and team enablement to de-risk and accelerate projects.
What services will a digital transformation agency provide?
Digital transformation agencies typically provide an end to end service on transformation projects, providing services including:
- Discovery & Research
- Technical Assessments
- Digital Transformation Roadmap Planning
- Solution Architecture
- Proof of Concepts
- Change Management
- UX Design & Development
- Cybersecurity
- Data Analytics
- Cloud Computing
- AI and Machine Learning
- DevOps
- eCommerce
- Internationalisation
- API Integrations and Management
- Digital Marketing Strategy
How long does digital transformation take?
Digital transformation projects vary in length depending on a number of factors. At Plug & Play, we deliver digital transformation projects for mid-market businesses and they typically take 1-2.5 years. Larger transformations for enterprise businesses can take considerably longer and fall in the range of 4-6 years.
The delivery of digital transformation is typically phased, providing continual progress over time rather than a single launch date. In this way, risks can be better managed and the business can be engaged to a greater degree. A phased delivery also supports the change management process and team onboarding, while providing value and return to the business sooner.
Although a digital transformation project can be delivered in line with business objectives and a functional scope, a transformation is never truly completed. Technology doesn’t stand still and new technical opportunities emerge over time. The most forward-thinking companies will have stakeholders who are responsible for continual digital innovation and strategy.
What impacts digital transformation timelines?
- Technical start point of the business
- Goals and objectives
- Functional scope
- Stakeholder engagement, alignment and availability
- Complexity of technology and change
- Resource availability
- Data integration and migration required
- Configuration vs customisation of selected technology and platforms
- Legal considerations
- Onboarding, training and people management
How much does digital transformation cost?
Much like digital transformation timelines, the cost of transformation processes can also greatly vary. The enterprise digital transformation agencies are typically more costly than smaller digital transformation agencies like Plug & Play.
At Plug & Play, we support mid-market businesses with their digital transformation strategy and implementation. Our projects typically cost between £250k – £5mil. Larger transformation projects for enterprise businesses will cost much more than this depending on requirements.
Can digital transformation be delivered in-house?
It is possible for in-house teams to implement digital transformation, especially where the skills, resource and expertise is available. However, the best results are often achieved by combining internal teams with an external digital transformation consultancy.
A digital transformation agency brings the experience of a whole team that have worked on tens of digital transformation strategies and implementations. They have knowledge from recent projects and a team that is already set up to deliver the transformation strategy and IT roadmap. Although it is possible to hire people with this experience in-house, it is rare that it is achieved to the equivalent standard. The partnership between in-house stakeholders that have deep knowledge of the business and an agency that brings objectivity, insights, data and experience of managing large scale technical change creates a hybrid team with the experience and expertise to deliver a successful digital transformation.
If you’d like to discuss a digital transformation process, book an initial consultation by emailing [email protected] or calling 0203 0111 641.
