Digital consultancy - a growth market?

One reminder of this came when Accenture, the global digital consultancy agency, announced plans to create around 2,000 UK jobs - half of which will be based in London, with many of the others in Scotland.

Olly Benzecry, Accenture's managing director in the UK & Ireland, said the rude health of the UK's digital sector encouraged his employer to get more staff on board.

"We are searching for highly motivated, skilled individuals who share our passion for how major UK businesses can transform themselves by harnessing the power of technology - particularly emerging digital technologies - to drive business strategy," he added.

Prime minister David Cameron even expressed his pleasure at Accenture's move to create new roles for British tech experts.

So why has this trend towards digital consultancy emerged? One factor is simply that the UK has become something of a hub for high-end businesses, which in turn is having a knock-on effect on companies across the country.

Tech City chief executive Joanna Shields recently wrote an article for the Telegraph in which she stressed the geographical spread of the British tech revolution, dismissing the idea that it is simply centred around a few fashionable London districts such as Shoreditch.

She pointed to the robotics sector in Bristol, the media tech industry in Manchester and the gaming hub of Newcastle as three examples of geographically diverse areas with their own IT economies.

With the digital landscape continuing to expand rapidly, consultants who can work in this area are in high demand.

They can bring a number of benefits to companies. While hiring digital workers is still going to be necessary, bringing in a consultant can tie the disparate strands of a strategy together and ensure staff are not unsure of their role within particular schemes.

Ultimately, firms not on the digital bandwagon are going to get left behind.