Industry Insights: Technology Consulting with Protiviti
Published by: CCA
Industry Insights is a way for students to interact with current professionals in high-demand industries, where these industry leaders discuss current and future trends in their sector, as well as incredibly sought-after tips and tricks to make a mark. Today, hear from Turlough Sullivan, a Senior Technology Consultant from Protiviti, as he speaks about the skills, strategies, and future trends inside the Technology Consulting space!
What soft skills distinguish great consultants from good ones?
a) The ability to engage with colleagues and clients on a personal level. Everyone can talk, but few can really engage with people on a meaningful level.
b) Great consultants go beyond technical expertise - they bring emotional intelligence, active listening, and the ability to build genuine trust with clients. They adapt quickly to different environments, communicate complex ideas clearly and persuasively, and demonstrate empathy to truly understand client needs. These consultants remain calm under pressure, collaborate effectively across teams, and show initiative and are proactive in completing tasks.
What does a successful intern/graduate look like at your firm?
A successful graduate at Protiviti is curious, proactive, and eager to learn. They ask thoughtful questions, take ownership of their work, and aren’t afraid to step outside their comfort zone. They communicate well, work collaboratively, and show a genuine interest in understanding our clients and the impact of our work. Most importantly, they’re open to feedback and growth — they see every task as an opportunity to develop and contribute.
How can students from a non-technical background get into tech consulting?
Tech Consulting is a broad profession with many different roles that are technical and non-technical. More often than not, a skillset of the future hasn’t even been thought of yet (e.g. The emergence of AI Governance). Depending on the solution a student is most interested in, a different approach may be relevant (e.g. coding bootcamp). However, some core transferable skills will put them in good stead, such as mathematics/statistics, knowledge on general industry trends, and a willingness to learn new skills.
How important is domain knowledge (e.g. supply chain, finance) as well as technical experience in consulting?
Beneficial, but not mandatory. A lot of learning is on the job, and dependent on the goals of the project. If the client wants a dashboard built in PowerBi, knowledge of Tableau is useful for understanding data presentation styles, but ultimately you will not be building the dashboard in Tableau. You will need to learn that new skill (PowerBi).
How do you handle ethical considerations when recommending AI-based solutions to your clients?
Having appropriate AI Governance in place to manage ethical considerations across the AI lifecycle from Business Case to Deployment and beyond is key. This includes consideration of supporting policies in line with recognised standards (eg. NIST AI Risk Management Framework) as well as training and communications to help people understand AI technologies, their implications and best practices.
What is the lifecycle from client briefing to solution delivery, for a regular tech consulting project?
Each project and client are different. Solutions designed are tailored to the specific client environment and could be impacted by:
i) Maturity of Client Environment
ii) Budget of Client
iii) Goal of Project
Therefore, timelines vary between projects.
How does the company ensure its consultants stay ahead of the curve in such a fast-evolving tech landscape?
Internal learning & development opportunities via Percipio (our internal L&D tool), as well as frequent local, national and regional (APAC) team calls to discuss industry trends.
What is the most exciting project you’ve worked on in tech consulting, and what did you learn from it that could be valuable to students entering the field?
Working with a leading superannuation fund as a part of an internal fraud investigation. While I can’t speak to the specifics of the project due to NDA’s, a core transferable skill would be learning Excel. When working with clients sometimes you’re limited to using approved software and have to take into consideration your team’s knowledge of data wrangling tools. Since Excel is used universally and very accessible for peers to understand (who have limited data skills), it’s a great way to enable collaboration to reach a project goal.
How does the firm approach digital transformation projects for clients, and what is the typical impact on businesses?
The approach is no different to other client projects. The impact on businesses is dependent on the goals of the project, and the size of the client. A bigger client undergoing a digital transformation will experience a larger impact, due to the scale of the operations that will benefit from the digital transformation.
What emerging technologies or platforms are shaping the future of tech consulting, and how should students be preparing for these advancements? What are some of the key trends you’re seeing in these sub-sectors?
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Learn mathematics/statistics, and work to understand (at least at a high level) how new tools function. For instance, take ChatGPT, there are a myriad of similar tools in the generative AI space that have their own niche, but taking advantage of how these tools work most effectively (e.g. Prompt engineering in ChatGPT) will enable you to be more efficient at your work and can unlock a better understanding of industry specific tools. That’s really all you need.
This article is published by CCA, a student association affiliated with Monash University. Opinions published are not necessarily those of the publishers. CCA and Monash University do not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of information contained in the publication.