The 10 most trusted consultant companies 2018

Thomas Lebamoﬀ
CEO & Founder
www.insightssuccess.com
July 2018
10THE Most
CONSULTANT
2018
Companies
Sketching Brilliant Roadmaps for Successful Business
Exactus Advisors:
Consultancy Firm
Hiring the Best According
to the Relevant Business
Insight’s Perspective
The Role of Consultants
for Every Business Stage
Expert’s Column

Asset-Based
Consulting:
s the consulting industry is undergoing the inevitable effects of digital disruption, a new necessity
Ahas spread its arms. Many consulting firms are searching ways to meet the changing customer
expectations and rising client knowledge. Emergence of asset-based consulting has helped these
firms to overcome the challenges.
In Asset-based consulting, tools and products act as the primary asset, rather than human capital.
Traditional consulting firms rely on human talent and expertise for success, but asset-based consulting
relies mostly on talent with tools and business models using the recent digital innovations. Asset based
consulting will transform the intellectual property and expertise into reusable tool for client engagement
with the help of technological innovations.
Unlike traditional consulting method, asset-based consulting saves a lot of time and resources by replacing
the client discovery process with tech-based tools. With the changing vibes of the business world, the
clients' knowledge and perspective towards consultants has also been changed. The clients today expect
innovative solutions and provable ROI, unlike the traditional advices regarding operations and strategies.
Big Data Analytics and the technology leveraging organizational intelligence help consultants to create
and offer innovative solutions.
As the asset-based consulting is a new business model that totally believes in productization of services
rather than relying on talent or individual expertise, it will require an entire change in the structure of the
consultant industry. Most of the consultancies will face unique challenges to harness the transformative
Editor’s Note
The Trend in Spotlight

business model. As the traditional model of consultancy is still making it a success, the firms are
reluctant to adopt the disruption. However, we can see many such consultancies who have already
harnessed the new-age marvels of technology.
In this issue, “The 10 Most Trusted Consultant Companies 2018”, we’ve portrayed those global
organizations which are rejuvenating and illuminating the walkways of the consultant industry.
On the cover of this issue, we’ve depicted the success story of Exactus Advisors a global leader in
sketching brilliant roadmaps for successful business. The company excels in quickly addressing
complex business problems for its clients, providing the detailed roadmap and world-class advisory
support to deliver maximum value. The company focuses on scaling the clients’ business for the next
level of growth while improving alignment for people, processes and business systems. Exactus is a
force multiplier to the client management team, helping to illuminate the creative and operational
excellence of the client employees.
Thomas Lebamoff, CEO and Founder of Exactus Advisors, specializes in operational and profit
improvement with passionate execution and delivery expertise. His relentless focus on business value
and deep expertise on operational risk management has resulted in millions of dollars of bottom line
savings for his clients.
Following the Cover Story, we’ve enlisted those organizations which have impacted the consultant
industry in a big way. BeCloud LLC which is a consulting boutique that provides highly Customized
Dedicated Servers, Virtual Private Servers and Technology Solutions for clients; Beyond the Arc
who assists its clients to provide a prodigious customer experience, by caters to the voice of the
customer, social media data mining, content marketing, earned media, PR, merger integration,
predictive analytics, text mining, smart grid and utility analytics; Candesic which is Candesic is a
leading strategy consultancy constantly serving the health care private operators, investors, and
public- sector organizations; J P W Consulting which is a leading Change Management and Training
Firm; Nomad Financial which is a leading financial services company, serving as a trusted partner
and advisor to early and mid-stage companies; Nucleus, a management consultancy specializing in
management in general and project management in particular; Simplus, a Platinum Salesforce
Partner and the industry leader in Quote-to-Cash implementations; Solidiance, a corporate strategy
consulting firm with focus on Asia, “from Dubai to Shanghai” and The Rothschild Corporation, a
Houston-based company are the companies enlisted.
While flipping through the magazine, don’t miss out on the articles crafted by the industry experts
CXO Standpoint: Things a Phone Can’t Do; Expert’s Column: The Role of Consultants for Every
Business Stage; and Quality Vision: Managing Quality in the Technological Age.
Also you’d definitely love to go through the Insights’ Perspective: Consultancy Firm: Hiring the
Best According to the Relevant Business; Tech-Byte: Deciding Factors While Investing Into New
Technologies and Strategy-Talk: The Significance of an Effective Marketing Strategy.
Hope this issue will leave an impact on you.
Happy reading!
Suhel Mashayak

Quality Vision
Managing Quality in the
Technological Age
18
Exactus Advisors:
Sketching Brilliant Roadmaps
for Successful Business
CXO Standpoint
Things a Phone Can't Do
Expert’s Column
The Role of Consultants
for Every Business Stage
Cover Story
30 38
08
The Signicance
of an Effective
Marketing
Strategy
Deciding Factors
While Investing
Into New
Technologies
Tech-ByteStrategy Talk Insight’s Perspective
Consultancy Firm:
Hiring the Best
According to the
Relevant Business
32 4424

CONTENTS
BeCloud LLC:
A Global Disruptor in
Consultancy Services
Beyond the Arc:
A Strategic Way to
Communicate,
Analyze, and Engage
Candesic:
A Forerunner Unlocking
World-class Management
Consultation Solutions
in Healthcare
16
22
28
Nomad Financial:
Blooming Disruptor
of Financial Services
Simplus:
Sketching A Brilliant Future
in Consultancy with
quote-to-cash Services
36
42

sales@insightssuccess.com
Corporate Ofces:
July, 2018
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Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal
Suhel MashayakManaging Editor
Upama Goswami
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Crescent CU
Contributing Editors Hitesh Dhamani

Sketching Brilliant Roadmaps
for Successful Business
Exactus
Advisors:
Exactly
what you value.
Exactly
what you need
””
Cover Story

Being a booming and highly profitable industry,
Management Consulting is going to be significantly
disrupted by technology in upcoming years. The
new innovations in technology make business easier by
providing simpler and more elegant solutions to problems
often at a lower cost.
The consulting world today is flooded with new trends and
buzzwords. Big Data, AI, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain,
RPA, Machine Learning, and RDA are just a few examples
to mention. The art of all these trends is the same: to keep
the business simple and focused on achieving greater
results.
Founded in 2016, Exactus Advisors is a Chicago-based
boutique advisory firm specializing in driving operational
improvement for its clients. The company excels in quickly
addressing complex business problems for its clients,
providing the detailed roadmap and world-class advisory
support to deliver maximum value. The company focuses
on scaling the clients’ business for the next level of growth
while improving alignment for people, processes and
business systems. Exactus is a force multiplier to the client
management team, helping to illuminate the creative and
operational excellence of the client employees.
Philosophy of the Multifaceted Leader
Thomas Lebamoff, CEO and Founder of Exactus
Advisors, specializes in operational and profit improvement
with passionate execution and delivery expertise. Prior to
Exactus Advisors, Thomas was Founder and Managing
Partner at Liberty Advisor Group; a senior partner at
Diamond Management & Technology Consultants,
Executive VP & CIO at Drinks Inc.; and an Associate
Partner with Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting).
His relentless focus on business value and deep expertise on
operational risk management has resulted in millions of
dollars of bottom line savings for his clients.
Thomas operates with balance; his emphasis is on choosing
the right path to achieve the long term goal, rather than
jumping into immediate results with a wrong short-term
approach.
“My advice to my clients follows this same philosophy.
Giving advice to a client that cannot execute the plan or
deliver near-term benefits is worthless advice. I’ve built my
career on telling it like it is and fixing the aftermath from
large and small consulting companies who time and time
The
10Most
Consultant
Trusted
Companies 2018

again, provide disastrous guidance. I have traveled the
world and had the privilege to consult with more than 75
companies—small and large, global and local—across a
plethora of industries,” Tom cited.
“Tom’s key asset is his ability to quickly break down
complex problems, identify business and IT risks, assess
business value and provide actionable and practical
recommendations. I consider him a trusted advisor who
truly partners with his clients.” Ken Johnsen, the CIO of
Energy and Transportation Group at Caterpillar Inc. offers
words of praise for the Charismatic leader.
Thomas lives in Naperville, IL with his wife, four daughters
and three dogs, a Weimaraner and two American Pit Bull
Terriers. His love for his daughters is exemplary – not only
does he enjoy watching them perform in competitive
cheerleading and dance, but two of them have gotten the
Purdue grad to support Indiana University. He enjoys
cooking and range shooting with his daughters, and relaxes
by an occasional cigar and bourbon or reading fiction books
by Vince Flynn and Allan Folsom. A happy family is the
soul of a successful professional life.
On Overcoming the Initial Challenges
“Braving it alone is not fun and having a partner to share
risk, who thinks differently and of course add cash to fund
the startup is beneficial”, believes Thomas. Further, he adds
that one should never start a consulting company without
strong relationships that are willing to “give” the new
company an opportunity. Tom did not need cash while he
initiated two consultant companies as he leveraged his
relationships with clients and friends who were looking to
do something different.
Inspiration behind its Formation
Great consultants focus on understanding the complex
problem, breaking it down into smaller components,
designing the solution, then putting integrated plans into
action that address people, process and technology to get
results. Growing up in a family retail business kept Thomas
grounded and helped build inter and intrapersonal skills in
challenging customer situations. This built the foundation
for his strong problem-solving skills.
Graduating from Purdue University in Industrial
Engineering continued to shape and hone these already
acquired skills and prepared him for future leadership
positions.

Areas of Expertise
Exactus’ expertise is laser-focused on three areas to deliver
maximum value and leadership support. It leverages the
clients’ insights and guidance along with operational and
transactional data, and provides fact-based information for
better decision making. The three main areas where Exactus
Advisors excels, are: Business Improvement & Risk
Mitigation; Value Execution and Extraction; and Recovery.
Exactus Advisors’ greatest strength is the experience of the
people and the unique way in which they engage their
clients to provide sustainable value.
Core Practices
Big consultants are good at making things up and using new
and cool buzz words, but Exactus Advisors knows how to
help clients most efficiently spend their time and funding.
Being aware of these facts, Exactus Advisors is building
different platform industry solutions using the latest
technology with SAP’s Cloud Platform, Salesforce, and
custom solutions. For Exactus Advisors, delivering is about
understanding the client culture, capacity, alignment,
practicality and getting results for the near term while
balancing the long term.
Artful Communication is the Key
The innovative and passionate team of the organization
excels at articulating tough messages in a thoughtful and
helpful way. The team brings the right amount of finesse
and directness, effectively guiding clients through
challenges and complexity toward simple, practical
solutions.
Work Culture that Attracts Clients
Exactus Advisors follows an entrepreneurial culture and
always look for ways to partner with the clients to grow
their business and leverage their products with the solutions
provided by them.
Currently, the company is developing RPA use-cases and
accelerators to deploy a silicon-based workforce versus
carbon-based. The team also has an Agent Briefcase for the
independent insurance broker market to increase lead
generation, in addition to a buying group ERP solution and
a simplified margin improvement tool.
The company has its clients from all across the globe.
Omni, USG, Bemis, Bradley, Kofax, Dynatrace, Barracuda,
Cummins, Caterpillar, Knauf Insulation NA are companies
to name a few.
Reflecting on the Future of the Consulting Business
Expressing his views on the future of consulting business,
Lebamoff cites,
“Carbon-based offshore businesses will be destroyed by
robotic process automation. The benefit of the old labor
arbitrage concept will be replaced by a silicon-based
workforce. The digital workforce is born. The big
consulting companies are lagging behind and don’t know
what to do with this technology since it will eat away their
profit elephant for their offshore workforce business. The
old consulting pyramid is dead because experienced
resources and true experts are required for the increased
complexity businesses and are dealing with from strategy to
cyber threat intelligence.”

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CORPORATE OFFICE

Management BriefCompany Name
BeCloud
becloudit.com
James Phipps
President
BeCloud LLC is a consulting boutique that provides highly
Customized Dedicated Servers, Virtual Private Servers and
Technology Solutions for clients.
Steven J. Ramirez
CEO
Beyond the Arc assists its clients to provide a prodigious customer
experience, by caters to the voice of the customer, social media data
mining, content marketing, earned media, PR, merger integration,
predictive analytics, text mining, smart grid and utility analytics.
Candesic
candesic.com
Leonid Shapiro
Founder
Exactus Advisors
exactusadvisors.com Thomas Lebamoff
CEO
Exactus Advisors is a Chicago-based boutique advisory firm
specializing in driving operational improvement.
Nomad Financial
nomadfinancial.com Jonathan Gass
CEO & Founder
Nomad Financial is a leading financial services company,
serving as a trusted partner and advisor to early and mid-stage
companies.
Nucleus
yournucleus.ca
NCG is a management consultancy specializing in management in
general and project management in particular, helping clients make
significant and lasting improvements in their business performance
through capacity building and competency enhancement.
Simplus
simplus.com
Ryan Westwood
CEO & Founder
Simplus is a Platinum Salesforce Partner and the industry leader
inQuote-to-Cash implementations.
Damien Duhamel
CEO
The Rothschild
Corporation
rothschildcorporation.com
Susanne Rothschild
CEO
The Rothschild Corporation is a Houston-based company that is
focused on improving company and employee performance with
leadership, essential skills, professional certification, and computer
skills training; and project and change management services.
Candesic is a-leading strategy consultancy constantly serving
the health care private operators, investors, and public-sector
organizations.
Solidiance is a corporate strategy consulting firm with focus on
Asia, “from Dubai to Shanghai”.
J P W Consulting
jpwconsulting.com
John Wurch
CEO
JPW Consulting is a leading Change Management and Training
Firm focused on increasing end user adoption of new systems
and technologies.
Gary Baerg
CEO
Beyond the Arc
beyondthearc.com
Solidiance
solidiance.com
The
10Most
Consultant
Trusted
Companies 2018

Digital disruption has become inevitable in every
industry. Yet the tri-million consulting industry
has survived the disruption for an impressively
long time. The consultant business is a thriving and
rewarding community. There are so many opportunities
waiting to flourish and make a difference in the world of
consultancy. BeCloud is the organization who contributes
to the industry by staying abreast of the latest trends and
applying the best of breed solutions.
The Vision behind Initiation
With a vision to provide affordable, efficient and scalable IT
solutions, BeCloud was incepted in 2011. Based out of
Jackson, Mississippi, BeCloud is inspired by a desire to
provide great customer service with an extreme value
proposition that helps the small and medium size companies
to compete in this rapidly changing global economy. To stay
ahead in today’s environment, every business needs access
to technology that is more agile, creative and immediately
impactful while still managing risk. BeCloud LLC was
founded with a vision to provide such solutions to the
clients.
Wide Range of Solutions and Services
BeCloud LLC solves business problems by providing
solutions utilizing software such as Odoo ERP, Private
Clouds based on hardware such as SuperMicro Blade
servers, and Public Clouds based on AWS, Microsoft and/or
C Spire solutions. This creates a customized solution for
clients with Best in Class performance, price and
scalability. The company has forged strong partnerships
with its vendors by providing solutions to the customers
that enhance the overall reputation.
The company offers a wide range of solutions including:
Managed Services that support and service customer
networks, which includes the complete care products
respectively, Manage Windows Updates, Manage Security
of Networks and Manage backups; Public Cloud which
include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and C Spire
Cloud Solutions; Private Cloud including Data
Center/Server Room Setup and Management. Other
complete care products include Odoo ERP Consulting,
Custom Application Development; Security
Consulting—Security Audits, and Network Security
Solutions; Virtual and Dedicated Servers—Static IP
addresses, unmanaged and managed solutions, unlimited
bandwidth.
BeCloud LLC:
A Global Disruptor in
Consultancy Services
‘
The
10Most
Consultant
Trusted
Companies 2018
16 | July 2018 |

Strategies for Staying Unique
BeCloud test the deployed
technologies in house before moving to
customers which gives them the
opportunity to fully understand the full
possibilities of the technology. In
addition, the team takes the time to
engage with the customers to find
opportunities to streamline business
practices. This includes training,
customization and analysis that further
enhance value.
Internally, BeCloud promotes
continuous education on the various
technologies that impact their clients
the most. The Company recruits
consultants, engineers and technicians
that love technology and they are
always bringing new products, services
and methods to the table for them to
consider, test and implement. That
excitement and enthusiasm for
technology is cultivated
by the innovative culture
of BeCloud.
Challenges and Changes
Technical prowess is not
the only attribute that
changes the solution
provider’s trajectory; the
dedication towards
customer’s satisfaction,
issue resolution and
relationship management
are also definite
requirements. BeCloud
had to face some
difficulties in its initial
years because some
employee recruits did not
share this dedication to
customer satisfaction. A
revised and upgraded recruitment
process was implemented to garner
better results.
Impressing the Customers
The diligent team of BeCloud loves
finding ways to use their technical
knowledge for the benefits of
customers. The smart application of
knowledge to resolve the issues faced
by clients and improving workflows
while reducing risk work as the value
add that will continue to propel
BeCloud and its Customers into the
stratosphere.
Cloud solutions represents the
foundation for future technology, and
BeCloud helps their clients navigate
the “what, when and how” cloud
solutions can be utilized to better
predict technology cost and provide
scale. BeCloud also help their clients
utilize technology in a more efficient
manner by removing the daily
maintenance of solutions so that
customers can focus on core business
strengths.
Trusted Technology Partner of Future
While reflecting on the future of Cloud
Solutions, Phipps says, “The future for
Cloud Providers is bright, because there
are many opportunities to provide web,
email, server and application hosting for
clients. The rapid and continued growth
of Internet based technologies continues
to cross borders and barriers of doing
business World Wide. But, customers
need a trusted, informed, and dedicated
partner to navigate the many cloud
provider solutions. Welcome to BeCloud
we are that trusted technology partner!”
Meet the Leading Light of BeCloud
With over 20 years of work experience
in technology, James L Phipps is the
proud President and Owner of
BeCloud. He pursued his MS in
Information Technology from Capella
University. Previously Phipps was in
military service, which helped him in
polishing his leadership skills and
garnered the love of teamwork. He also
provides training and mentors young
adults in Software Programming and
Information Technology which keep his
outlook fresh and up-to-date. Leading a
world class team of astute professional
at BeCloud LLC to provide Information
Technology Consulting Services has
proved to be the most challenging yet
rewarding job for Phipps.
James L. Phipps, Founder and President
17| July 2018 |

Managing Quality
in the
Technological Age
Chris Budd
Co-founder
Isolocity
Quality Vision
18 | July 2018 |

Quality is a factor in any business, the importance
of a quality management system ranges
anywhere from “Essential” in industries like Air
Travel, and Automotive to “Important” in businesses
such as event planning, and consulting. Some industries
are required by the government to meet a certain
standard, and some are simply required by the big
players in their client base. One thing is consistent in all
industries, the long term success of a business is
dependent on the adoption of a quality management
system in some form. If errors are allowed to be
repeated, they will eventually erode a business.
Quality management software is the technological
solution for managing quality. It represents the latest
generation of quality management systems and poses a
significant opportunity to any type of business.
Quality and Resistance to Technology
Although the SaaS (Software as a Service) concept has
been around for some time now in many industries, it
seems to be a slower transition in the quality space.
Many companies established their quality management
systems years ago which are based in word, excel, and
sometimes even physical paper. Quality systems face a
strong resistance to change, the stakeholders remember
how hard it was to condition employees to follow new
compliance procedures and don’t want to do it all over
for the sake of going digital. Sometimes they think
switching to a quality management software is cost-
prohibitive, especially in the small to medium business
space. They settle in knowing their current system is
going to get them certified, but this mentality puts these
slow-movers at-risk.
The idea that overhauling a quality management system
will drain company resources is an archaic one. Yes, the
last time the business implemented a quality
management system, it was painful. It was done on the
backs of Microsoft documents, it depended on certain
people to remember all the “if this, then that” triggers. It
required the same information to be written out on form
after form. That is all very difficult and very
bureaucratic, it’s no wonder there is trauma from the
memory of that implementation, the neophobia is
completely justified.
It’s time to start challenging this fear of change because
a divide will form between those that adopt a quality
management software and those that don’t. Those that do
will see a significant drop in quality management hours
and therefore, a drop in overhead. These companies will
be able to offer their customers better prices and better
quality all at once.
The idea that switching to a quality management
software will be painful is a fallacy. When a quality
system is already in place, there are very few adaptations
required of the employees. They need to login to a new
interface, maybe some format changes from the old
forms, but otherwise, it’s asking them to do MUCH less.
About The Author Chris Budd is the Co-founder of Isolocity,
a quality management software designed to
drive customized quality management
systems for a wide variety of companies.
Isolocity supports the management of formal
systems such as ISO 9001 and other
standards in the ISO family, HACCP, GMP,
FDA, and most custom quality systems.
19| July 2018 |

Our clients have reported saving as
much as 25% of their quality
management time, or saving them
from making additional hires. Many
clients have reported an easy
transition, sometimes the switch is
flipped in a matter of a day.
Quality Management Software
Adapting to Needs
At Isolocity, we have adapted our
software to meet the needs of a
diverse range of clients. Our initial
build left us with a software that
drove the quality management
process automatically for those
needing: specification management
and inspection, real time SPC,
CAPA, document control, internal
auditing, inventory management, HR
management, equipment
management, and/or supply chain
management. Among the more
exciting technological adaptations
are:
• Mobility
Many users of our system are
inherently moving while on the job,
and use their mobile devices to
capture photo documentation, we
married these requirements with our
functionality.
• User based permissions
Not all information in a company
should necessarily be accessed by all
employees, we mirrored this need by
allowing our clients to maintain
everything within their system and
restrict information as needed.
• e-Signatures
When moving to online, how do you
maintain the accountability the way a
written signature does on paper?
Some standards (for instance Part 11
At Isolocity, we are mindful that a
quality management software should
communicate with other business
software. We are currently turning
our focus to integrating with
accounting and retail software but the
broader vision is to allow client-
made integrations through services
like Zapier or an open sourced API.
Of course this is treacherous, how do
we manage the quality of the service
once we’ve handed it’s development
out to the masses?
Ÿ Augmented Reality
Imagine you could take a photo of a
product prototype and its
specifications are automatically
uploaded to the quality management
software. Imagine if inspection was
done entirely by camera and the
inspection data was uploaded
automatically. Complete a 5S audit at
the click of a camera… Technology
is not far from this reality.
Join the Technological Journey of
Quality Management
We live and breath technology
because we love the idea of passive
production, we want to enable our
clients to produce top quality outputs
while minimizing the time they have
to spend on production. There is so
much the quality management
software industry has already
accomplished to that end, the earlier
your company jumps on this wave,
the more you will get out of it.
of FDA regulations) require
signatures in many processes, we
were able to build this right into the
software
Ÿ External Delegation &
Communication
We reduced our clients’ work efforts
by allowing their vendors to
participate directly in their system,
for instance, many CAPA documents
are completed by vendors, we made
it so they can do this directly in our
clients’ systems.
On The Horizon of Quality
Management Software
We have our sights set on a few
technological trends that we feel will
be relevant to quality in the future,
here are a few of the more exciting
ones:
Ÿ IOT and AI
With the advent of smart fridges,
smart slow cookers, and even smart
garbage cans it’s clear any “thing”
can be made smart. As more of a
business’ equipment and supplies
become smart, the quality
management software will be able to
capture more information and use
less human input. Imagine a smart
caliper sending product inspection
measurements directly to the system,
or a smart machine shutting down
automatically when SPC goes out of
tolerance. Or a smart spectrometer, a
smart hotel cleaning cart, the list
goes on. Imagine this layered with
AI, predicting problems before they
even happen.
Ÿ Open Source API’s and
Webhooks
Products like Zapier and IFTTT have
made webhooking popular and easy.
20 | July 2018 |

Through its strategic consulting, advanced analytics,
and effective communications, Beyond the Arc
helps its clients sharpen their focus to make
improvements, which matter most to their customers. This
allows its clients to differentiate their business and win in
competitive markets.
BTA’s strategic guidance and hands-on, tactical execution
to help its clients implement better experiences for their
customers and end-to-end solutions range; from customer
journey mapping, to advanced analysis of customer's data,
to revised communications strategies, helps it to
collectively improve their experience.
For over 20 years, Beyond the Arc has helped businesses in
implementing technology to their competitive and
economical advantage. The firm has always leveraged
Silicon Valley’s playbook to help its clients innovate and
succeed. It has continued to be at the cutting edge of trends
like Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning & AI, and
Social Media. The company has always leveraged
technology to help its clients in achieving success. Beyond
the Arc combines big data and analytics with strategic skills
to help companies create richer, personalized experiences
for their customers
BTA’s love of solving difficult problems is always evident
from the solutions they provide. The team enjoys working
with people in a collaborative way, and wants to help
organizations improve their consulting is a natural fit. From
its experiences working with banking, utilities, and
technology; BTA has become aware of the fact that
confidentiality is vital and uses rigorous security policies,
procedures, and technologies in all the tasks it carries out.
Beyond the Arc has a very efficient and hardworking team
made up of critical and creative thinkers, each with a
specific set of skills, capabilities, and experience. The
multi-faceted nature of the team of strategists, technicians,
and creative professionals with a passion for serving our
clients, is what makes BTA a forerunner in its industry.
Leading the Way of Beyond the Arc
Having completed his BA and MBA from the University of
California, Berkeley; Steven Ramirez, the CEO of Beyond
the Arc is leading the company very efficiently and
proficiently. His main focus lies on helping his clients
become more customer-centric. Steven is a strategic advisor
with over twenty years of experience working with
entertainment, technology, fintech, and financial services
companies. He has strong strategy development, marketing,
PR, and negotiation skills along with significant experience
in managing mergers and acquisitions. He leads his team to
create data-driven insights, and then build action plans to
make it happen. Steven’s latest initiative is leading the
company’s Roadmap to AI contribution.
Beyond the Arc:
A Strategic Way to
Communicate, Analyze,
and Engage
‘
The
10Most
Consultant
Trusted
Companies 2018
22 | July 2018 |

Steven’s expertise focuses on effective
customer experience and
communication strategies to help
companies achieve success through
key corporate initiatives, and mergers
and acquisitions.
Steven also leads Beyond the Arc’s
practice in data science and predictive
analytics. He advises clients on how to
deploy advanced data and analytics
technology to make better decisions.
Under Steven’s leadership, Beyond the
Arc was recognized by CIO Review as
one of the 100 Most Promising Big
Data Solution Providers in 2017.
The Extraordinary Consultancy
Solutions that BTA Provides
Beyond the Arc is an integrated agency
that helps companies with challenges
related to digital transformation. There
are three themes to its work:
Communication, Analyzes, and
Engagement. BTA provides hands-on
support to its customers, en route to
improve their overall
experience in, content
marketing, data science,
and media relations.
The firm works towards
helping its clients to
reduce customer attrition
and build a loyal cliental.
It lets its clients to become
accustomed towards using
social media to acquire
new customers, to tell
their company’s story
through local media and
community influencers.
Cooperate acquisition and
to ensure a successful
integration of the same
area, are the prime pillars
of the BTA forte. BTA
provides a unique text
mining and data mining
approach to its clients to
let them obtain voice of the customer
insights. Deploying advanced analytics
to optimize smart grid and other
technology investments of its clients is
another key service the firm provides.
BTA also helps its clients promote their
story through its media relations,
content marketing, social media, and
communications for all channels and
touch points.
BTA works with clients from various
industries, extending its services to the
Fortune 50 companies, as well as
venture-backed startups. Financial
Services, Technology (semiconductor,
software, telecom, and internet), Media
& Entertainment, Consumer
Electronics, and Utilities are some
fields the company specializes in.
Although its cliental includes leaders
in IoT and AI, Beyond the Arc
continues to up its game, incessantly in
those areas. To manage data efficiently,
the company helps develop design
algorithms and machine learning
systems to generate new acumens.
BTA helps its clients to tell their story
to the press, business influencers, and
social media; to manage the
communications part effectively.
Key Features that Sets BTAApart
Beyond the Arc believes that customer
experience is the most important aspect
of a business, even if the company
does not consciously try to shape the
way it engages with customers. To
create deeper relationships that lead to
customer loyalty, and even customer
love, BTA has to start with data-driven
insights. Communication is the key;
businesses should be able to
communicate what differentiates their
company, and convey what makes
them special. Another aspects of a
business, is to have the value
proposition clear, strategies should be
there to reach out and engage
customers and other stake holders. As
an agency, BTA helps its clients
address these key challenges.
BTA’s passion for customer experience
is a key factor of that makes its
business a success. Combining strategy
and hands-on execution, it helps
companies build stronger, more
profitable customer relationships, and
effectively manage risk. The company
thinks that data science, social media,
and mobile tech are game changers in
today's business world, and works
towards helping its clients leverage
them to improve customer experience
and differentiate their brand.
The firm is focused on digital
transformation; it appreciates the
importance of coalescing analytics,
communications, media relations, and
technology. These puzzle pieces are
almost always part of the solution,
when it comes to customer experience
challenges.
Steven J. Ramirez, CEO
23| July 2018 |

24
arketing has been the real essence in the
Muplifting of any Organization in the long run.
While there are a number of other parameters
that foster a business, marketing certifies to be the base of
it, upholding the awareness and reach it requires, printing
its mark worldwide.
For all firms, whether any poor start-up or an MNC giant,
an effective marketing strategy can serve as a pivotal road-
map for the entire business. By developing a coherent and
well considered marketing strategy, organizations can
promote their business, target the right types of client and
allocate their resources correctly, all while safeguarding the
reputation of the firm.
Because one parameter of a marketing plan affects all of the
others, synchronizing activities is critical to eliminate
obstacles and maximize profits. A marketing strategy looks
at all the areas of the sales activities and helps each one
support the next.
One of the most important aspects of any marketing
strategy relates to recognizing growth opportunities. This
can be efficiently done by using the SWOT analysis. Once
an organization identifies its strength, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats of any marketing scheme, it
becomes easier to en-cash those opportunities and
reconsider what course or action should be taken to
eliminate prevalent threats.
The underlying focus of the organization’s marketing
strategy should be based on the concept of developing and
increasing awareness of the company’s brand, and also on
developing trust assurance in that brand. A company’s
credibility or service is its most important asset. Hence,
attempts should be made to enhance and protect it during
the course of the marketing process
.
Understanding how to create an integrated marketing
strategy is the key help to make better individual decisions
with respect to specific marketing tactics. In order to
achieve this, organizations must implement robust and
efficient marketing strategies as quickly as possible. All the
key components of a marketing strategy, if catered and
applied in the best manner, helps to design and manufacture
successful business.
Here are some of the crucial parameters that play a pivotal
role in successfully implementing and nourishing effective
marketing strategies.
Goals and Objectives
As with all the plans, goals and objectives are the origin of
any target-oriented organization. Without a proper mix of
these objectives according to the prevalent resources, a
company proves to be inefficient in the long run.
= It can begin by thinking through goal-specific
accomplishments, identifying basic marketing
objectives, which may include some of the following
aspects:
| July 2018 |

25
= Increased brand recognition
= Growth in the market share
= Market to New Customer Segments
= Digitization
Investment, Budget and Revenue
Once the objectives for the business are fully determined,
the concept of On-margin investments, Budget and End
revenue come into play. However, there is never enough
budget to cover all the marketing ‘wish-lists’ adequately.
The process of Investment is iterative and operates
continually. It may be a function of:
= Coming up with budget to shelter all the marketing
needs
= Identifying the objectives that are more critical and
inclined towards the success factor and reallocating
budget meet top-priority objectives on a ‘ﬁrst-serve’
preference.
= Searching for innovating ways to stretch the marketing
budget. For example, content development, low-cost
crowd outsourcing etc.
= Constructing a big picture view and reviewing the key
marketing thrust areas. Others parameters such as
spend comparison, consumption of utilization
channels, website optimization etc. should be fetched
under consideration.
As far as revenue is considered, a marketing strategy is
used to determine the revenue that the campaign will
deliver. All of the parts that go into determining revenue,
including the budget allotted to the campaign, product cost,
selling price and the life span of the product, should all be
considered while developing the marketing strategy. The
estimated End-Revenue can be measured against the actual
revenue, and that information can be used to create future
marketing strategies that are more successful.
Target Audience and Buyer Journey
Tracking and analyzing the dynamic and changing needs of
the audience under radar is pivotal in eﬀective marketing.
Identifying the demographic and psychographic
characteristics of the target audience aids to re localize the
radius under consideration. Based on the available data,
| July 2018 |

26
= Traditional marketing channels (TV, Radio,
Newspaper, Direct Mail etc.)
= Digital Marketing Channels (Website, Mobile
applications, Social platforms, online advertisements
etc.)
= Content Marketing (Blogs, Newsletters, e-books, Info-
graphics etc.)
Competition
Though the role of competition in devising an optimal
marketing strategy is limited, it helps to draw comparisons
among identical products and groups, providing scope for
‘brand-improvements’. In order to symbolize a powerful
campaign, marketing strategy needs to offer a detailed
description of the competition, according to the small
business experts at the Center for Business planning.
The objective of the marketing strategy is to provide
historical information on how the competition has
advertised products in the past, the target market the
competition goes after and the product features that the
competition offers. Some other factors include competition
pricing, the competition’s distribution network and the sales
strategies, which are also a part of the comprehensive
marketing strategy.
segmentation should be done to provide qualified and need-
based resources.
A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal
customer based on statistical market research and the
prevalent data about your existing customers. After
developing buyer personas, developing the Buyer Journey
for each single persona and its interaction with the brand is
considered to be the key to implement trust and satisfaction
among the target audiences.
Media and Messaging
Messaging is a process which signifies the firm’s intentions,
and informs the actual purpose of your business to the
external world.
Based on a detailed evaluation of how target is reacting
with the various components of the brand, establish an apt
messaging media, tone, selling propositions and key terms
that are likely to resonate the most.
Determining the Channel Mix
= Analyze and decide where the business would get the
most Return on Investment (ROI). This can be done by
echoing the channels around three road categories:
| July 2018 |

O
ver the past decade, there has been an enormous
growth in the global consulting market. Although
growth rates differ between the more mature
markets and emerging economies, the consultancy industry
is closely tied to the developments of the global economy.
An independent survey states that the global consulting
sector is one of the largest and most mature markets with a
total significance of around two-fifty billion USD. In such
flourishing economic conditions, small-scale as well as
large-scale organizations attain higher revenues and
budgets, a setting that helps paving the way for higher
spending on consultants.
Consultancies are also becoming more specialists, with the
emergence and growth of sector specific consultancies
which are ‘preferenced’ by clients over the large,
multi-sector, traditional firms. Healthcare is one such
specialist sector which is becoming dominated by a new
breed of consultants, ones working with the ideology of
benefiting patients and improving care quality with
consultation solutions rather than just making money.
Candesic, head-quartered in London, is one such
trustworthy and leading strategy consultancy which has
been serving private operators, investors, and public sector
organizations for more than a decade.
Candesic has led the industry with its unrivalled expertise
in handling client issues across health and social care,
pharmaceuticals, and the medtech sectors. The company
outshines as a prominent provider of commercial due
diligence for private equity transactions. It also provides
consultation solutions to different sectors of the industry
including FMCG, education, financial services, aerospace,
security, defense, IT, software, chemical industry, and
telecom. The company’s in-house personnel consist of
medical practitioners with extensive business experience.
Thus, the company has paved a creative way towards
success where its clients value its advice, analysis, access
and deep expertise.
A Trailblazer who Recognized a Need for Special Advice
Dr. Leonid Shaprio is the Managing Partner and
Founder of Candesic. He is a medical practitioner,
entrepreneur, and the driving force behind the company’s
expansions and success. With his great business experience,
he recognized a need for business consulting in medical
companies and founded Candesic in 2002. Under the
leadership of Leonid the company primarily focuses on
commercial due diligence on healthcare transactions and
strategy for corporate and portfolio companies. He consults
private equity firms, corporate operators, and government
organizations in the areas of healthcare, technology, and
communications.
Candesic
A Forerunner
Unlocking World-class
Management Consultation
Solutions in Healthcare
‘
The
10Most
Consultant
Trusted
Companies 2018
28 | July 2018 |

Leonid loved the project-based nature
of consulting and worked with an
approach to make the company a
consulting leader in the healthcare
space.
Value-added Services with a Unique
Approach Benefiting Clients
Candesic is a high-class consultancy
providing commercial due diligence
advice to the private equity firms,
banks, operators, and the National
Health Service (NHS). This advice
helps the private equity firms and other
business organizations to develop,
monitor, and validate their strategies
and make successful investments. It
helps its clients to buy, sell, and
refinance businesses across a
diversified range of sectors. It helps
them to withstand the market
complexities, technology
transformations and expand globally.
The company offers its clients with a
unique model of consulting which
delivers insights beyond
the horizons.
The company is offering
consultation services
across a vast breadth of
the healthcare sector,
working for private as
well as public operators. It
supports commissioners
and providers to withstand
the rising demand for high
quality social care, both in
the community and
residential homes.
Team Candesic is
consistently working on
establishment of the high
quality approach to data
collection and analysis,
coupled with sophisticated
forecasts from industry
heavyweights, policy makers and
stakeholders. Focusing on these novel
data collection techniques it builds
web-robots to collect industry and
market information on a gigantic scale
and use Big Data to draw unparalleled
insights. The company specializes in
strategy embracing benefits of the
market trends, maximize their
profitability, and improve the offerings
with end-to-end customer satisfaction.
Candesic helps its clients streamline
their operations. It also helps them
with decision-making, the services to
offer in different geographies,
reorganize management and divisional
structure, deploy shared services, and
re-invent value-delivery to the
marketplace.
Distinguishing from its Competitors
The company keeps on majorly
investing in knowledge development
and its management. It always strives
hard to stay on the top of the current
developments occurring in the various
industrial sectors. It encourages its
personnel to meet their topics of
interests and guides them to publish
their articles in the industry journals. It
also encourages its employees to learn,
research or do projects on their topics
of interest. As such, the company has
consultants who write books, teach at
business schools, and do volunteer
work in their areas of expertise which
drives the company far ahead of the
curve.
Candesic’s deep knowledge about
various sectors successfully outshines
competitors. The company uses its
associate pool of over 150 practitioners
and experts across industries to
enhance its core full-time staff paving a
creative way towards success.
The company’s senior team and
consultants have expertise in life
sciences and pharmaceutical research
at the world leading universities. This
provides its clients with a platform that
combines high level strategy and deep
understanding of the R&D process,
thereby distinguishing Candesic from
its competitors.
Future Footsteps
Candesic is planning to expand its
reach by moving to the offices which
are larger than its current highgrounds.
Its future executions involve its
expansions that will cover majority of
the cities in the Europe. It is also
planning to deeply explore the adjacent
sectors such as education and
tech-enabled healthcare.
Dr. Leonid Shapiro, Managing Partner & Founder
29| July 2018 |

THINGS
Phone
In the past few years, almost every manager at every
level has discovered some mobile phone application
that has proven truly useful to increase productivity.
Perhaps for data gathering, or production status monitoring,
or remote communication… there are literally thousands of
ways that small devices are changing the ways that we do
things… for the better.
And yet…
Have you ever noticed that when you give a child a
hammer, suddenly everything needs hammering?
In your own workplace, you have probably (more than
once) observed a co-worker trying to use a phone for some
purpose that really wasn't a good fit.
A few examples…
Yamazumi Workload Balancing
A Yamazumi Board is the
right tool to rearrange
workloads between
operators, perhaps for
different staffing levels to
meet different scenarios
of customer demand.
And it is also an excellent
tool to visually see and
eliminate the 7 deadly
types of waste.
Keyword = “see”. Yamazumi is intended to be a group
exercise. What is your team going to do? Gather around an
iPhone?
Standard Work Analysis
Similarly, a phone might be useful for time observation,
process observation, muda waste walk observation… but
process analysis?
The purpose of gathering all of that observation data is that
(at some point) someone needs to Analyze and Improve the
process.
A Standard Work Analysis Excel template performs 7
simultaneous types of analyses, to answer common (and
important) questions like: “How long will this take?” “How
much does this cost?” “How many can we make?” “How
many could we make if we did a SMED quick changeover
kaizen event with the goal to reduce setup times by a target
amount?” “What should be the target for that kaizen
event?”
Try answering THOSE questions using only your Samsung.
Value Stream Mapping
The primary purpose of a value stream map is to make
process flow visible.
The title of the book that introduced value stream mapping
is Learning to See. Learning to see process flow. Learning
to see process wastes. Learning to see opportunities for how
to do things better. There’s that word again: “See”.
How is your team going to ‘see’ the overall flow of your
entire process on a 3-inch screen?
A
,
CAN T Do
30 | July 2018 |

That’s not enough screen space for even the top third of a
value stream map, that has all those symbols that show the
ﬂow of the information needed to control the ﬂow of ‘the
thing being processed’, (which might be a product, or a
patient, or a packet of
information).
The bottom third has
charts and graphs to
make some of the most
important data more
visual (and actionable).
Charts showing total
lead time split into
segments for value add
time vs. wait time.
Showing how costs accumulate through the steps of the
process. Showing the cycle times for each step in relation to
your target takt time.
And the middle third has rows and rows of data (each row
optionally hidden or revealed), to answer mission-critical
questions like: “Can capacity meet demand?” “Where is our
bottleneck?” “What is our Guaranteed Turnaround Time?”
(the longest that it will ever take to delivery any product or
service in this family)
Mystery Solved
Why is Microsoft Excel still so popular?
Those are just a few examples to explain why Excel is still
so popular. (Visit the systems2win.com web site for a
hundred more.)
Especially when extended with the power of add-ins, Excel
does things well that a phone simply isn’t designed to do.
Dean Ziegler is the
founder of Systems2win
(systems2win.com). They
develop and support an
Excel add-in with 150+
templates for Continuous
Process Improvement, each
with training, videos, and
systems for popular lean
methodologies like process
ow optimization,
standardized work, visual
management, FMEA risk
reduction, quality
improvement, OEE
preventive maintenance,
and lean management
systems.
About the Author
Dean Ziegler
Founder
31
CXO Standpoint
| July 2018 |

Reaching out to new
opportunities and investing in
them, is more likely to be
considered as an art. With each day
passing, advanced technologies are
often tightening the hold on business
markets. It has sort of become
mandatory for the enterprises to adapt
with such new advancements in order
to attain continuous growing culture.
Implementation of upgraded
technologies brings out numerous
benefits to an enterprise which mainly
are interrelated with revenue-
generation. As a matter of fact,
working along with today’s technology
are more beneficial and tranquil as
compare to early traditional
methodologies.
Where once there was one, or two,
fundamental technological change on
the horizon, now there are several;
making investment more difficult for
the enterprises. A commonly used
phrase states that winning doesn’t
occur on betting what has happened, or
what is happening, but on what will
happen. Thus, enterprises go through a
series of analysis which helps them to
predict future benefits as well as the
consequences. The market is filled with
various technical solution providers
which provide enterprises with various
technical implications, if needed. But,
it’s more important for an enterprise to
choose the technology as per their
needs. Mostly enterprises adapt
advancements depending on their
compatibility ratio with respect to their
products and services. But, there are
various other parameters which act as a
DECIDING
FactorsInvestingINTO
NEWTechnologies
WHILE
32 | July 2018 |

deciding element in order to determine
the suitable technology for one's
growth. Depending on the
retrospective persona, such factors
allow an enterprise to analysis the real-
time structure with available
technology to put forth the investment
strategies.
Outlook on essential factors before
investing
Reaching Out To the Successful
Early Adapters
Idea spread faster than air; but it
depends how intensified the idea is.
Every technology must be tested
before its implementation, either the
company can itself be the first one to
acclimatize or it can just wait for else
to do so. The decision of being the first
adapter brings up maximum amount of
risk but, if the company succeeds in
achieving their desired goals then, that
company is considerably known to be
ground floor or bench mark for others.
Apart from being a first one to adapt, a
company can take reviews of other
entities who had have used or being
using the same technology. A little
research can dig out all the information
requires to determine whether the
technology is capable enough to
process the work more efficiently.
Undeniably Efficient Under Fewer
Resources
None can predict the future, but can be
prepare for it. While implicating a new
technology, an enterprise focuses
mainly on the big context rather the
little stuffs. Success does happen by
creating a larger picture, but it do
needs those understated amenities to
drive it further. Whether the new
technology is huge or trifling, it should
be compatible with existing system as
well as should require few resources to
match-up the needs. In most of the
cases, the adapted technology
completes the task by utilizing more
resources than it should have. This
issue does get resolved after uncertain
time; as disruption occurs into that
technology leaving enterprises to re-
implement the upgraded version,
resulting into more loss rather than the
estimated profit. In order to overcome
such matters, it’s better to study and
then choose the technology which
satisfy the current situations and cover
up the processes under existing means.
Technologies to invest into:
There is range of varied technologies
available in the market, which is
Tech-Byte
33| July 2018 |

single-handedly driving the digital
world. Follow up with such
technologies to uplift an enterprise to
the desired heights.
Blockchains—everything is getting
digitalized, and so is money.
Blockchain technology was created to
easy up the money transaction process
in a more secure way. As per its name,
blockchain is chain of an encrypted
block-like structure which holds the
data of users more precisely. This
technology is very much hard to crack
through external sources as it entails a
series of complex programs for
encryption. So implementing such
technology in an enterprise transaction
process will allow the use of digital
currency. One of many, Bitcoin is
stated to be the best example of digital
currency which uses blockchain
technology.
Fog Computing—also known as cloud
computing, are been diversified to
various fields and sectors of the
enterprises. Its enormous data
computing capacity helps enterprises in
saving substantial amount of money
which was often spend on big data
storages. This open-source operating
software provides enterprises with a
secure and better way to store company
data. This cloud is utilized for
commercial as well as personal
purposes.
Artificial Intelligence—technology
was introduced in late 90’s, due to less
knowledge or technological
gratification it never did came into
lime-light. But, IT intellectuals were
sure enough that one day the
technology will witness the rise. And
now, AI has achieved a place in
enterprises as well as in individual's
lives. Establishing of a perfect AI
system might take some more time, as
it includes advance and complex
programming structure. This AI with
the help of Machine Learning can
autonomously generate solutions to
any kind problems which will save a
lot of time of an enterprise. In future,
there are possibilities of the utilization
of fully-operated AI by many
enterprises.
These are the focused technologies
which are not only helping an
individual to visualize the future but
also, bringing it into reality. Hopefully,
such advance technologies will be seen
everywhere soon. Anyhow, like others
these advancements may also face
technological disruption by upgraded
innovations. Hence, it is obligatory for
the enterprises to determine suitable
technology by considering above
factors. These technologies will act as
a backbone to enterprises in order to
achieve great success.
34 | July 2018 |

Digital age is flourishing at a rapid pace changing
the entire landscape of the financial services.
Rise of AI and Machine Learning has greatly
disrupted the financial consulting industry. The fact is
that in the vast constellation of one-size-fits-all services,
no one can deny the need of a consultant.
Nomad Financial is a full-service growth finance
strategy and operations firm for early- to mid-stage
companies, many of whom are backed by leading
Venture Capital and Private Equity funds. The company
provides its clients with tailored solutions including
interim CFO and advisory, accounting & bookkeeping,
and tax & tax advisory services, helping them grow and
operate their businesses with best practices giving their
size, scale, and ambitions.
The Dynamic Leader
Jonathan Gass, Founder & CEO of Nomad Financial,
holds a BSBA in Finance, International Business, and
Managerial Economics & Strategy from Washington
University in Saint Louis. Prior to Nomad, Jonathan
worked as an operating partner at Interplay Ventures; at
IAC in various strategic, transactional and operational
roles; and most recently serving as the head of Finance
& Business Development at Vimeo.
There’s an interesting story behind Jonathan’s becoming
an entrepreneur as he mentioned during the interview.
Jonathan started his career as a consultant with Bain &
Company. However, very quickly he came to realize that
his passion was entrepreneurship and technology versus
the large Fortune 100 companies that hired Bain. After
helping build Vimeo from a small team and emerging
product to a massive Video site as the first Head of
Finance & Business Development, Jonathan returned to
work with early stage entrepreneurs. Those early projects
are what turned a solo practice into Nomad Financial.
Jonathan has always been outshined as a great leader
with commendable innovative zeal. While many times
financial services can appear and even be treated as a
one-size-fits-all solution, since launching Nomad,
Jonathan has always been focused on providing unique,
tailored solutions to each client. “Building a business is
incredibly challenging and we wanted to make it easy for
entrepreneurs and executives to have access to best
practices that fit their size, scale, and budget”, Jonathan
asserts.
Nomad
Financial:
Blooming Disruptor
of Financial Services
‘‘
The
10Most
Consultant
Trusted
Companies 2018
36 | July 2018 |

His approach to solving his client’s
specific needs is also reflected in the
services Nomad provides. The firm
initially provided only advisory
services by placing CFOs with
clients. In that role, they struggled to
find their clients adequate accounting
and tax support that had the technical
chops for these complex business
models, prioritized clients in this
stage of their lifecycle, and met the
high level of standards expected by
the Nomad team, founders, and
investors.
Exclusive Services and Strategies
Remaining ahead of the curve on
best practices, strategy, new
technology and applications requires
a commitment to both investment in
the research and test for results. The
company stays in touch with the
fintech investors to see
what early-stage
companies are
developing and then
shares feedback. Nomad
also keeps up to date on
the research shared by
top firms such as Bain &
Company and McKinsey
as well as the Harvard
Business Review.
When it comes to any
new application, the
leadership thoroughly
discusses with the
research team at all
levels (especially the
frontline employees) and
builds out a SWOT
analysis (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats). Sometimes a technology is
too early or too specific for use, or
not enough of an upgrade to offset
the transition costs. And when they
don’t expect most to pan out, when
they do find one to go forward with,
they carefully roll it out to ensure a
successful launch.
Offerings for Clients
Launching and growing a company is
such an impressive feat, from getting
those first sales across the line to
raising capital and getting first hires
bought into the vision. The company
is constantly in awe of its clients,
seeing what they’ve built and their
drive to achieve their goals.
As they start to raise capital from
institutional investors and shift from
startup to scaling, they suddenly have
to deal with a formal Board of
Directors, going through audits,
domestic and international tax issues,
outgrowing their financial software,
working capital management, and
monitoring their cash burn among a
plethora of challenges.
Instead of looking to hire an
expensive internal resource that has
gone through this process once or
even twice, Nomad helps them
navigate these challenges leveraging
a team that’s gone through it dozens
if not hundreds of times. It is one
thing to have technical knowledge,
but far more impactful when it’s
paired with deep experience and
knowledge of best practices.
Future Insight
“It’s hard to predict where this space
will go, but without question new
technology such as Artificial
Intelligence and Machine Learning
will dramatically alter how we
deliver financial services. Being
prepared for those changes will not
only be important for Nomad, but
will dramatically improve the
services our clients receive”,
Jonathan offers his future insight.
Jonathan Gass, Founder & CEO
37| July 2018 |

Every business owner and executive comes to the
realization and fear that they don’t know what they
don’t know at some point in the game. To leap
beyond this fundamental hurdle, wise leaders lean on
experts to help fill in the gap. Experts such as CPAs,
attorneys, bankers, mentors, and consultants are routinely
sought by successful business owners for guidance, advice,
and support that can be promptly made effective. Gaps in
business are essentially analyzed to determine the best,
quickest, simplest, or most cost-effective solution, which is
then developed and finally implemented by consultants in
various niches every minute of the day.
Consulting is a big industry for a reason. Businesses have a
high risk of failure. Failure is easy, and failure is hard. With
the assistance of a consultant, businesses have a much
better chance of survival. Let’s take a look at how
consulting can work at every stage of a company.
Start-up / Pre-revenue
This stage of a business is filled with passion and dreams.
The owner is typically a technician within the industry
breaking free from the constraints of their boss or is a
dreamer of great things in general. Problems arise when the
many components of running a business the right way
interfere and bog down this solopreneur. Seemingly simple,
but highly important, responsibilities such as accounting,
operations, and marketing can quickly overwhelm and lead
to failure.
Bringing in a consultant at this stage or prior to start up can
save the solopreneur from a tremendous amount of stress.
The consultant can walk the owner through the hurdles of
business with ease and experience. Establishing systems,
creating procedures, and building plans for sales and
marketing will prepare the busy start-up for successful
growth through to the small business phase.
Mom & Pop Shop
Mom & Pop Shops are what we refer to small businesses
with 1-25 employees. This may be a small generational
business or a growing start-up that is hiring friends and
family to help get the job done. One day, the goals become
too large and the owners take on more than they can handle
in an effort to grow. What these owners don’t realize is that
they need to have defined systems in place, along with
communication, leadership, and a growth plan to move
beyond Mom & Pop Shop status to Small Business status
without suffering collapse.
Small Business
The small business typically has 1-100 employees which
may also include many family and friends. Some systems
are in place, yet there lacks organization and
communication leading the owner down a path of “too
many chiefs” or not enough oversight. At this stage,
business owners may discover they have a lot of people
doing the same thing, no formal processes and a lot of fires
to put out. Stress once again takes hold of the business
owner in a way that may make them question closing shop
and going back into the workforce.
Consulting at these stages require in-depth analysis of
where the company currently exists on the spectrum and
identifying gaps in the foundation of the organizational
structure. Analysis will require a look at financial
performance, operations workflow and processes, systems
integration and utilization, human resources suite of
knowledge and procedures, centralized standard operating
procedures, marketing plans and strategy, and more.
Analyzing each component of the business will bring to
light top layer and secondary issues that the consultant will
prioritize to match urgency and effective organizational
modeling for proper implementation. Business owners
should expect this process to take some time, but in the end
The ROLE
of forCONSULTANTS
Every StageBUSINESS
38
Expert’s Column
| July 2018 |

the business will operate like a well-oiled machine ready
for growth.
Mid-size Business & Enterprise
The Mid-size Business has successfully identified the needs
of a growing business. Most companies of this size (101-
999 employees) and of the Enterprise size (1,000+
employees) have established policies and procedures,
human resources, systems integration with maximized
utilization, and have a plan to move forward. These areas
will experience ongoing expansion enhancement over time.
Mid-size companies will start to departmentalize and create
an executive team for improved oversight and strategy
development. Problems Mid-size companies face are
keeping everyone working toward the same goal,
communication, effective leadership and management
development, mergers and acquisitions, continuous
improvement of systems and operational workflow and
recruiting for longevity all while staying on top of their next
strategic move and pacing change. Enterprises continue to
refine and silo roles within the company; however they
experience many of the same issues a mid-size company
does.
At Mid-size and Enterprise level, Consultants are brought
into a company on a project basis and will be focused on a
niche of service. This is when the: Branding Consultant is
brought in to develop a brand or revitalize a brand for a
segment of the business; Lean Specialists are brought in to
examine one segment of the manufacturing process; System
Analyst is brought in to create functional APIs to connect
the 25 software programs used by the company to prevent
errors and reduce time wasted on duplicating entries; and
possibly, Coaches are brought in to develop a mid-level
management team.
There is a need and a place for Consultants at every stage of
business, even before the first signs of failure. Bringing a
Consultant into the company earlier in the process will
make the transition to the next big step easier and the long-
term outcome of the business much better. Although
business owners may have a difficult time justifying the
cost of consulting, especially if funds are limited, the
desired end result has greater potential to be realized in a
shorter timeframe. Companies that have successfully
worked with consultants see the value of their work in the
overall success of the business and often retain consultants
for future projects.
About the Author
April Salsbury, MBA is the owner
of Salsbury & Co., a business
management consulting firm. After
growing an organization from 15
employees to 100 employees and
seven locations, including
international distribution and
working in legislation for industry
oversight and accreditation, she
believed her experience as a CEO
and a “builder” could help small
business owners avoid certain
hurdles and gain valuable insight.
39
April Salsbury
owner
| July 2018 |

The future of consulting is a more balanced,
sustainable business approach coupled with
healthier, happier cultures. However, consulting
ﬁrms need some consulting help themselves when it comes
to culture. Simplus is an organization who helps in creating
some of the world’s best cultures in the consultant space.
They embody all that with their stewardship, critical
thinking, and underdog mentality.
Simplus can be termed as a global leader in quote-to-cash
services, including advisory, implementation, and managed
services. Simplus supports multiple Salesforce
platforms—including Salesforce CPQ, Salesforce Billing,
Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Community Cloud, and
Oracle CPQ cloud.
Since its inception in 2014, Simplus has been achieving
newer heights of growth and excellence. Thanks to the
uncontainable optimism, passion and drive of the CEO of
Simplus.
The Leading Light of Simplus
Ryan Westwood, the CEO and Founder of Simplus, has
above 14 years of experience as an Information Technology
Executive. Ryan is also a best-selling Author, Angel
Investor, Speaker and National Columnist/Journalist
respectively.
Ryan’s vision allows the company to tackle current market
problems in three ways: the abundance of quote-to-cash
consultants, its international presence, and the expanding
talent in the company.
In personal front, he believes in the motto, “Live Simply,
Be Grateful, Give Generously”. He leads a life of
excellence with a hayloft of success stories. Apart from
being a successful and mostly acclaimed CEO, he earned
himself the title of the Best Selling Author with the
publication of “The Five Characteristics of a Successful
Entrepreneur”.
Opening up a New Era with ‘CPQ’
Being a fairly new technology, CPQ resources are still too
limited. Despite this, Simplus has created an environment
of top quote-to-cash superstars, including Erich Rusch, one
of the ﬁrst to implement Steelbrick before it was Salesforce
CPQ, and Gilles Muys, the only Salesforce CPQ black belt
in the world. This foundation of CPQ legends allows the
company to mentor and train the next generations of top-
notch consultants.
Simplus:
Sketching A Brilliant
Future in Consultancy
with quote-to-cash
Services
‘
The
10Most
Consultant
Trusted
Companies 2018
42 | July 2018 |

Additionally, Simplus was the first
consultancy to expand the QTC
services internationally. The
Philippines office opened in the
summer of 2017 is much more than the
satellite locations of some other
companies. The Manila office has full
decision-making capabilities and local
management, spreading the benefits of
innovation of quote-to-cash to more of
the world. In addition, Simplus has
remote workers all across North
America sharing the same message.
Finally, Simplus owns the largest
group of quote-to-cash experts in the
world—all under one roof. The team
follows a specific strategy to roll up
and combine the efforts of all of its
leaders in order to better handle large
projects and do QTC implementations
for enterprise.
“At Simplus, we are building the
largest bench to handle some of the
most complex enterprise projects for
the biggest brands. Our commitment to
buy, hire, and train talent
makes this possible”, Ryan
states.
Strategy for
Success—’sticking to the
niche’
Simplus contributes to the
consultant business by
staying in its own lane.
The company
differentiates heavily
within its niche and goes
deep into it. The more
firms can maximize value
to the customer by going
deep, the better. It’s when
consulting firms are
willing to take work
they’re not truly experts in
that they diminish the
amount of value they can drive to the
customer. It diminishes value for
consultant businesses to take on
projects that are not in their core
competency. So at Simplus, the
brilliant team found a sub-niche and
they stuck with it. This strategy has
brought industry-high customer
satisfaction results.
Contributing to ‘Culture’ of
Consulting
Simplus can expand to offer more than
quote-to-cash. Over time, the company
will expand its tech offering into lead-
to-cash, and then into ERP systems to
help a company go from marketing to
finance.
Consulting firms need some consulting
help themselves when it comes to
culture. At Simplus, you can create
some of the world's best cultures in the
consultant space.
First off, transparency— Simplus
believes that transparency is critical,
and you have to make sure all
departments know all other
departments. Then, secondly, they
encourage collaboration and they rotate
their executives to different offices.
In Simplus, Slack channels are used for
sporting teams and sharing day-to-day
chatting, personal stories, fun banter.
This helps encourage not only
workplace collaboration but also a
work-life balance, which is something
the old school model does not
encourage.
Finally, there’s clarity—the leaders
always makes it sure that every
employee knows “this is our playbook,
this is what we’re about, this is what
we're after.” If the employees don't feel
as a part of creating something special
together, the company surely is missing
the things that create a better culture.
Amazing Culture—the Pride of
Simplus
Simplus is Salesforce’s largest
investment in a services
company—they’ve done three funding
rounds together. Salesforce has rated
Simplus highly based on its ability to
grow certified individuals, create more
experts, and expand the ecosystem
instead of taking from it, in addition to
the ability to consistently receive high
CSAT customers and really
differentiate itself.
Simplus has worked really hard to
create a vibrant culture despite all the
challenges. “We’ve been recognized
time and time again for an astounding
culture based on rankings and reviews
from our own employees,” concludes
Ryan in a positive note.
Ryan Westwood, CEO & Founder
43| July 2018 |

45| July 2018 |
Insight’s Perspective
There are many reasons why companies lease consultants to
remedy an issue within the corporation. Sometimes it’s
because the company desires an independent opinion or it
doesn’t have the required assets to deal with the internal difficulties.
Consultants offer a way to solve such hindrances without costing a
fortune. They often work with many special agencies attaining
experience which can offer a perspective from their previous works.
Additionally, firms sometimes don’t have the necessary manpower
that can focus on the problems. Hiring new employees out of the
blue doesn’t make sense in such scenarios and consultant fits here
perfectly just like a puzzle of a picture.

The 10 most trusted consultant companies 2018

The 10 most trusted consultant companies 2018

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