The Different Tracks of Technology Consulting | Functional vs. Technical Consulting
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
- A common misconception about technology consulting is that you need to know how to code or program or you need a technical background, but it's more of a spectrum between business and technology. There are multiple tracks within technology consulting: there is functional consulting which is more on the management consulting spectrum, and there is technical consulting which is more on the technology spectrum, but both are needed for a successful project.
0:00 Intro
2:31 Functional vs. Technical Consulting
8:01 What You Need To Get Into These Roles
10:31 Let's ask Addison what a Technical Consultant Does
14:06 Closing
Addison Chen’s Medium Articles: / ehxu5brk1eb
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A career in functional consulting is perfect for anyone interested in both management and technology consulting. It’s what I do! If you have any questions about it, let me know down below and I’ll help you out!
Hii I'm a fresher . Is Functional role is good . I got call for functional product configuration is this good
@@itlu_sarvani4867 Good in what way? What are you trying to achieve in your career?
@@ChristineWong based on growth and opportunities.
Consulting has amazing growth and opportunities. Functional or technical, it doesn’t matter, you have to take hold of your own career at the firm.
@@ChristineWong Got it .Thanks for clearing 🥰
Would skills like A+ and Linux be a plus into getting a Functional Consultant? or more towards Technical? Love your videos
Those are definitely more technical! My boyfriend who was COMPTIA A+ certified actually is now on the side of technical consultant (I interviewed him towards the end of this video), and he would be in a similar path as you! And thank you, I’m glad you love my videos!
Hey Christine !!!
It was a informative session.
Do you have any live session for queries.
Thank you! I’m glad you found it informative and helpful!
Hi Christine!
Thanks for the video! I just got my bachelor degree in Computer science and i have pretty good experience in programming (mainly with Java), should i consider going into the technical consulting field even if i have no experience in other programming languages (in my case ABAP for SAP) or should i try functional consulting first and later switch out?
You honestly can start out in an entry level program for either! Most roles out there will not touch Java, it’s mostly on your critical thinking on understanding it and being able to apply that skill to any.
You should make videos on subjects which might be useful for aspiring functional consultants like you mentioned such as the basics of emerging tech, etc.
Great suggestion! I use my podcast episodes for that where I bring on tech professionals and we kind of dive in deep on those topics like AI, UX, product marketing, etc. I also made a poll on if viewers wanted to see videos on tech topics and it was the one with the least number of votes. 😅
You two are cute together ❤😊
Is a career in functional consulting essentially the same thing as a career in strategy technology consulting, or are there some differences between the two?
They are vastly different. Strategy tech consulting is more of a strategy role involving technology as potential avenues that barely involve the tech know how. For example, entering the market of Ecommerce. Meanwhile a functional consultant has the business AND tech know how would gather requirements on what is needed for e-commerce and communicate to the technical consultants on making it happen. One is strategy, the other is the implementation of said strategy.
@@ChristineWong Got it. Thanks for clearing that up for me and I appreciate the quick response!
No problem!
I generally agree, however even as a "functional" consultant you should know how your tech works under the hood & should be tech savy. Latest if you reach senior level functional consulting you need to combine finance and technical know how. Reason is that for seniors the "I will talk to an expert" is not acceptable anymore. You have to answer directly in the meeting if and how something is done technically, and what the rough effort is.
I agree! Functional consultants do require the technical know how to communicate with the technical teams in a way that is reasonable. You technically don’t need the know how but it is highly recommended to succeed as one.
The job duties you performed as functional consultant can be doable by Business Analyst as well then how it is different than BA role?
The consultants would typically be certified or have experience in many other implementations, industries and workstreams. Business analyst just happens to be working on this since the company is focusing on it at the time. So they are more focused on the business’s needs and guiding the process along while the consultants are more focused on the software and providing recommendations. The roles may differ across implementations, clients, and even industries because some clients don’t even have business analysts.
But they are very similar that business analysts sometimes act as an internal consultant to gather the requirements and then they go to us and share it with us for us to do our jobs.
@@ChristineWong Thanks for the response , make sense. Your channel is valuable and potential to make positive impact people working in IT and consulting domain.
Thank you, and I hope to make a positive impact on more people with my channel!
Hi... Can you pls advice in SAP non coding job which field is having high demand but less employees?
That sounds like SAP functional consulting. I wouldn’t say it’s “high demand and less employees,” but that can be a firm specific problem. Network along to other consultants at other firms to see how the hiring is like! Right now pretty much everything is hiring!
Competition could be more on SAP vs. other technologies. If you want “high demand but less employees,” it would be to expand to other more desirable and growing technology.
Do we have scope to shift to a product companies like Google from working as a technology consultant at a IT services company? If yes what can be the roles that we can target at a company like Google which is equivalent to consultant?
Honestly industry may not matter when it comes to your clients. I think most technology consultants can be solutions architects, solutions consultants, technical sales consultants, or field engineer. These are all examples of roles recruiters sought me for based off of my background in technology consulting. I’m also doing a CZcams live on April 28 where I can go over that!
@@ChristineWong thank you for the brief reply, looking forward to the CZcams Live on april 28th
See you there!
whats your opinion on oracle based technical consultant?. i mean i got a offer from a company who uses oracle fusion in their system so i am concerned whether oracle erp have demand in market or not and how can i build my career out of this
Use it as a stepping stone to learn the skills as a technical consultant! It’s pretty transferable and you don’t have to worry about locking your skills in Oracle. I try not to build a career out of a product to prevent yourself from being obsolete.
@@ChristineWong Thanks for your response. I want to ask another question regarding this. I love coding, and I do a bit of full stack development. I just graduated with my master's degree. Unfortunately, I didn't get any offers related to this domain, but I did received one for a technical consultant position based on ORACLE Fusion. I'm a bit scared that if I choose to go into this domain, I might not be able to switch to a domain related to web development or cloud computing, which is where my interest lies. However, I need a job right now, and I live in India, where the job scarcity is damn high. What is your opinion on this? Your insight would be greatly appreciated.
I said the above because, switching domains is quite hard in my Country 😕
@@subhodeepbasak9092 I say any experience vs. none at all right out of your masters is really good, especially if it’s a technical consultant role. It will only add to your experience, never detract. I will also say that even when you are in the role, you can still look for other jobs that are more in line with what you’re looking for, so it’s not a death sentence! It’s all about how to tailor your experiences to the roles. My husband is a technical consultant yet he codes and does programming, so it only adds!
I am workday intigration certified and have only been on very small projects till now I wouldn't say I have a lot of experience. Now I am being pushed in to doing student functional certification as there is requirement for the company(I am ok with going into it but not fully aware). What do you think the scope of growth in that is ?? And any advice as a functional consultant... Do's don'ts.
That’s a whole different product for Workday Student! In my opinion, a very clunky and cumbersome software. It could be good to niche down so you can be known for student and integrations though but you will be mostly getting education clients. If this isn’t something you’re interested, I would move to a different product such as HCM, Payroll or Financials.
@@ChristineWong Thanks for the advice. The problem is I have only worked for a year and no actual big project experience. So right now my focus is to get project experience as much as possible and gradually expand into other domains. Both technical and functional. And any important areas which you think I should focus on to be a good functional consultant???
Functional consultants are most known for being the “management consultants” on a tech consulting implementation so you need to know how to be a good consultant and communicator and all the soft and people skills most importantly. Everything else will come with time!
@@ChristineWong That's great. Thanks Christine 🙌🏼
Of course and good luck!
Which one is better in terms of growth?
Which kind of consultant makes more money?
Your answer will mean a lot to me.
Both have the potential to make a lot of money depending on the trajectory you take. A functional consultant can make a big impact with impressive client facing and consulting skills or solving big problems. High visibility, higher chance of promotion. A technical consultant can stand out if you have exceptional technical skills or specialize in a field that not many do and could be very desirable which could be a target for many recruiters to achieve higher compensation.
Functional consultants get and use a lot of soft skills that can be transferable to other roles. Technical, depending on the field, you could get pidgeonholed or well known in one field or specialty so you can grow your expertise there, but could be a little more difficult if you wanted to switch out.
Thank you Christine for your reply ❤️
You’re welcome!
Which role is best for as fresher functional or technical.??
Both are! It’s just the matter of which space you have more skills and experience in could make it a little easier.
I am fresher....mam....which skills need to become an technical consultant?
The video went in depth on them. Did you get to watch it?
Can I do sales functional consultant without coding???
Do you mean like a solutions architect or sales engineer? Functional consultants don’t have to code but understanding code helps. I’m not so sure what you meant by sales functional consultant.
@@ChristineWong actually I mean dynamic 365 sales consultant
@@funnycatvideos1199 I’m not sure about the dynamic 365 sales consultant roles, but I would double check with what exactly the job description in the listings ask for or network with the others and ask if they don’t have to code.
Do you conduct any live session?
Actually because I recently hit 5K subscribers, I’m going to do a CZcams live in April! I’m targeting April 28!
@@ChristineWong :-okay
Hi Christine! Can i apply to Accenture USA from INDIA??
I graduate next year with a computer engineering degree.
PS: Currently i'm doing a virtual internship at Deloitte Australia.
You certainly can apply, but I don’t think you’ll have much success. I know it’s hard to transfer or get a job in the US as an international student due to visa reasons, but I know Accenture does not currently sponsor. I would talk to the recruiter about this because I’m only judging this off of people I know who have applied or are trying to transfer. You could try to transfer from Deloitte Australia (if you get a full time offer) to the US so Deloitte would sponsor you and then move to a different firm within the US.
What are the certifications need to become a software at Accenture.
What roles within software? Like software engineer?
IT consultant role
@@bond27534 that’s a pretty big umbrella (almost synonymous with technology consultant), if there isn’t a specific type of role in mind, then the first step is to look at all the roles within IT consulting to see what you’re interested in and find certifications for that role! It’s similar to a teacher, there’s many types and even levels of education but the certifications all vary depending on the specific type of teacher. Even specialized teachers may need more certifications or training beyond the typical teacher role.
I accepted an offer and have a waiting period before I start in the technology Development program. During my down I would like to earn a couple of certifications that would help me be promoted quickly with in. Have you heard of the technology development program? If so can you do a video the program and what to expect when starting! Thank you!
@desblack8398 I was in the program as well! Honestly, it’s less so a program, more of a time period when you aren’t tied to a particular org. Usually around 3-5 years in, you’re supposed to align with an org and specialize. There will be tons of certifications and training you can do at Accenture and funded by Accenture, so I would honestly wait until you start, that way you can at least get it paid by Accenture and paid to train and learn for your time!
I’ve been working as a technology consultant in Deloitte. Even I’m a functional person. I’m working on implementation of SAP S4 Hana. Well, here goes my question.
If I opt for an executive MBA(I have a work ex of 5years in SAP), how significant will be the impact. Should I even consider going for an exe. MBA ?
I think an MBA as a functional person CAN be helpful, but to be honest, it only really makes sense in my opinion in management or strategy consulting. You can still do the MBA if you want, but in tech or with implementations, certifications, experience, and skills matter more!
Most people use an MBA to pivot into management or strategy consulting or a business role from tech. If that’s what you want, go for it!
Why does this sound easy yet I feel like it's actually harder than it appears?
What exactly sounds easy? Technology consulting or breaking down the two concepts of functional vs technical?
and i am a techo functional consultant🤪🤪🤪
There’s definitely a hybrid of the two as well!
Wow 👍👍
I also have a channel
Great!