Grant Thornton and boutique launch digital consultancy DGTL
The Indian wing of Grant Thornton has teamed up with Kriya Konsulting to launch a new digital transformation consultancy, operating as DGTL.
DGTL will brings the best of both firms to help mainly mid-market companies with their shift to digital ways of working and innovating. The new consultancy is headed by Kalpana Balasubramanian, CEO of Kriya, and a former 15-year veteran of KPMG.
With over 4,500 people across 15 offices in India, Grant Thornton Bharat – which is how Grant Thornton India brands itself in the market since August this year to better reflect its Indian heritage – is one of India’s leading professional services firms. The accounting, assurance, tax and consulting firm focuses on the mid-market segment, “the backbone of the Indian economy,” according to Siddhartha Nigam, National Managing Partner of Growth at Grant Thornton Bharat.
Kriya Konsulting is a boutique consultancy formed at the start of 2019 by a trio of alumni from KPMG and Accenture. Prior to stepping into entrepreneurial shoes, Kalpana Balasubramanian was a partner at KPMG in its Management Consulting division, while Dharini Bhaskar was a Manager. Venu Bhat meanwhile was a partner at Business Brio (a division of GBSM Consulting), and previously served Accenture for over eight years.
They founded Kriya Konsulting on the belief that companies more than ever need to reimagine their organisation and operating model amid a disruptive environment, with technology at the outset of this change. Specialised in the adoption of emerging technologies, Kriya Konsulting helps its clients from concept through to execution – the Sanskrit word ‘Kriya’ indeed stands for action.
By joining forces, the two firms state they are better positioned to help clients embrace digitisation to advance their competitiveness. “Grant Thornton Bharat is at the forefront of helping middle market India become more competitive by implementing futuristic digital operating models and DGTL will help realise this vision,” said Grant Thornton Bharat’s chief executive officer Vishesh C. Chandiok.
“DGTL will leverage the joint capabilities of Grant Thornton Bharat and Kriya Consulting to deliver value via digital transformation and technology solutions, while setting new benchmarks for optimising digital implementation costs,” he added.
Key offerings include helping clients with developing their digital vision and strategy, digital roadmaps and architecture, and with the adoption of emerging tech such as intelligent automation, advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, internet of things and robotisation.
Despite the current economic backdrop, DGTL chief Balasubramanian believes the launch comes at the right moment. With India’s digital transformation market on a stellar growth path (accelerated by the need for digital working induced by the Covid-19 pandemic), a major growth opportunity is unfolding for consultants that specialise in guiding organisations through their digital transformation journey.
“With the brand of Grant Thornton and the experience of the team at Kriya we will become the first choice in the coming years for enterprise and entrepreneurs,” she said.
