The Providers’ Almanac of Epic Consulting Firms

I grew up playing a board game called “The Farming Game.” If you’re unfamiliar, think of a cross between Monopoly, Life, and, well, a farm.

The players’ personalities often dictated where they chose to invest their fake money: my scheming brother always chose the high risk/high payout of fruit trees, my cowboy brother always chose cattle, and I played it safe with the more consistent crops like wheat and hay.

Just like the unpredictable nature of real-life farming or any game that is ruled by dice, we all started the game with about the same chance of winning. At KLAS, we ran into a similar scenario when we did our recent study on Epic consulting firms. Of the 33 firms we were able to validate, the majority received overall positive feedback from their customers.

Our first thought was that this was great news for providers—who doesn’t love a safe bet? But, similar to my family’s sessions of “The Farming Game,” it posed a unique challenge: how do you make an investment choice when the playing field appears so even?  

To answer this, KLAS has put together an almanac of sorts: a buyer’s guide of Epic consulting firms to help providers distinguish which firms could be the best fit for their organizations’ unique needs. This report, “The Bumper Crop of Epic Consulting Firms: How Do They Stack Up?” dives into three areas of Epic consulting firms: Enterprise Implementation Leadership, Implementation Support and Staffing, and Advisory Services.

Within these categories, KLAS identifies which firms are doing the most work, the scope of the firms’ projects, and the breadth of validated offerings, in addition to dissecting how the vendors differ with things such as cost, consultant quality, outcomes, and other aspects of the business relationship.

So which firms have the strongest project managers, easiest contract terms, or most knowledgeable consultants? You’ll have to check out the report to see which firms offer the type of resources you’d want to invest in.