4 ms·

Did anyone ever had a genuinely positive experience with one of the software consulting giants - IBM, Accenture, Tata etc?

by badpun 4y ago

tazjin 4y ago
No, of course not, but there's plenty of apologists that will show up and tell you that these companies are actually very important because replicating their enormous "domain knowledge" or whatever is impossible. Nevermind the fact that even if such domain knowledge existed in them, they probably wouldn't have a process for transferring it to the juniors they throw in the fire pit to actually "execute" a project. Best you can get with these companies is avoiding a complete crash landing and "only" striking the tail.
sumedh 4y ago
TCS's revenue has been growing for the last 10-20 years so they must be doing something right.
- nopenopenopeno 4y ago
  paying low wages and taking more profit
- badpun 4y ago
  They've found a way to dupe corporations into hiring them and also are riding the ubiquitous "outsourcing for lower cost cutting" trend of late, so no one really questions if it makes sense to hire them. I've seen managers hire them a couple times - usually, it's often when the manager's department is very understaffed, incompetent and frankly a bit clueless (even as to what the strategic direction should be) [1]. Then, in comes the TCS salespeople, who convince the department head to effectively outsource the department to them, and they'll just execute all its functions, and provide strategic direction as well. They promise to implement "top industry standards", and, if you're say a head of department in a bank, it sort of makes sense to believe that these people have been to dozens of banks, and have collected a body of knowledge on what the best practices are. Also, I think it's extremely tempting for the department head, since he'll just have to deal with TCS managers from now on, and not run his department. Not to mention the cost savings. All in all, on paper, their offer is very enticing (also for the manager who makes the decision, as it looks like TCS will make his job much easier), and, given the outsourcing trend in the industry, it's not controversial, so managers very often go for it. Afterwards, the execution is always a disaster and huge disappointment (and manager's career is very likely seriously damaged) - but TCS makes its money in the process. Oh, and on top of that, there's of course also just regular graft, if the manager is willing to take the bribes. Basically, the likes of TCS are a parasite, exploiting systemic weaknesses of corporate management. [1] The other common scenario is when the CEO/CFO demand x% cost cuts from the department and is basically suggesting outsourcing himself.
_kbh_ 4y ago
I have the strangest feeling people hire Accenture because they have a “no one ever got fired for hiring Accenture” vibe about them for some unknown reason.

Did anyone ever had a genuinely positive experience with one of the software consulting giants - IBM, Accenture, Tata etc?

by badpun 4y ago

Did anyone ever had a genuinely positive experience with one of the software consulting giants - IBM, Accenture, Tata etc?

tazjin 4y ago

No, of course not, but there's plenty of apologists that will show up and tell you that these companies are actually very important because replicating their enormous "domain knowledge" or whatever is impossible. Nevermind the fact that even if such domain knowledge existed in them, they probably wouldn't have a process for transferring it to the juniors they throw in the fire pit to actually "execute" a project. Best you can get with these companies is avoiding a complete crash landing and "only" striking the tail.

sumedh 4y ago

TCS's revenue has been growing for the last 10-20 years so they must be doing something right.

nopenopenopeno 4y ago
paying low wages and taking more profit
badpun 4y ago
They've found a way to dupe corporations into hiring them and also are riding the ubiquitous "outsourcing for lower cost cutting" trend of late, so no one really questions if it makes sense to hire them. I've seen managers hire them a couple times - usually, it's often when the manager's department is very understaffed, incompetent and frankly a bit clueless (even as to what the strategic direction should be) [1]. Then, in comes the TCS salespeople, who convince the department head to effectively outsource the department to them, and they'll just execute all its functions, and provide strategic direction as well. They promise to implement "top industry standards", and, if you're say a head of department in a bank, it sort of makes sense to believe that these people have been to dozens of banks, and have collected a body of knowledge on what the best practices are. Also, I think it's extremely tempting for the department head, since he'll just have to deal with TCS managers from now on, and not run his department. Not to mention the cost savings. All in all, on paper, their offer is very enticing (also for the manager who makes the decision, as it looks like TCS will make his job much easier), and, given the outsourcing trend in the industry, it's not controversial, so managers very often go for it. Afterwards, the execution is always a disaster and huge disappointment (and manager's career is very likely seriously damaged) - but TCS makes its money in the process. Oh, and on top of that, there's of course also just regular graft, if the manager is willing to take the bribes. Basically, the likes of TCS are a parasite, exploiting systemic weaknesses of corporate management. [1] The other common scenario is when the CEO/CFO demand x% cost cuts from the department and is basically suggesting outsourcing himself.

_kbh_ 4y ago

I have the strangest feeling people hire Accenture because they have a “no one ever got fired for hiring Accenture” vibe about them for some unknown reason.