Consulting marketplace XpertiseNow launches in Australia
XpertiseNow, a Singapore-headquartered consulting marketplace, has launched in Australia with a digital-focused proposition – spanning digital banking, telecom, procurement, people, operations, finance and customer experience.
Australian-origin former consultants Sundi Balu and Fraser Ross launched XpertiseNow in early 2020, with the aim of shaking up the consulting industry – currently rife with inefficiencies. “Big players are weighed down by hierarchical, unproductive and costly structures,” noted Ross, who operates as XpertiseNow CEO.
“Top consultants are trapped in selling large projects to keep armies of juniors busy and too many administrative tasks instead of advising clients directly. This is sub-optimal for both clients and the top consultants.”
With a focus on the omnipresent emerging tech landscape, XpertiseNow connects potential clients with a sea of advisors – independent and otherwise – with the time and flexibility to provide tailored solutions. The platform has big ambitions to transform the incumbent advisory model globally.
Having launched in Singapore and expanded to Indonesia, the firm has now set up in Australia – where the consulting market generates over $6 billion in revenues. Per an XpertiseNow statement, clients in Australia are increasingly “sophisticated and demanding more value from their consultants.”
“They want access to real and global expertise and the best new technology solutions,” it added. XpertiseNow wants to help feed this demand, not only by matching clients with the right advisors but also through its own legacy tech solutions.
The platform worked with former banker and consulting veteran Chris Wilson to carve out a strategic list of services to be delivered in Australia, which includes digital banking, digital telecom, digital procurement, finance of the future, customer experience and design, and performance solutions for people.
The multifaceted offering will be bolstered by Balu and Ross’s own expertise, and that of their extended network. Demand for this proposition is soaring in Australia’s rapidly digitalising economy, particularly as businesses navigate a period of low cash, dampened revenues and survival-driven digital transformation.
“Many companies would prefer to use smaller, more flexible specialist consultancies and experts if they were easier to source and manage,” noted Balu – currently chief technology officer at XpertiseNow– speaking of the sizeable market opportunity.
And the ambitions don’t stop here. Now with a presence in key Asia Pacific markets, XpertiseNow plans to spread further through Southeast Asia and Hong Kong later this year, as well as establish a presence in the UK. By next year, the platform hopes to set up in the US – the globe’s largest consulting market – as well.
