BCG Technology Advantage

BCG technologyadvantage
Recent activity on Jun 04, 2019
2 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Nov 16, 2018

Hello

I am interviewing soon with BCG Technology Advantage.
I would like to get some feedback on the type of cases they would do:
- Do you have any material in order to prep IT cases.?

- Do they only give IT/data/digital cases? (I assume no)

- What would be your tips and tricks in order to prepare for this particular practice?
Thanks a lot!

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Nov 16, 2018
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

I have not seen any digital cases online but I have some, so feel free to reach me for prep. Here is a list of potential topics you need to know.

There will be a mix of regular and IT cases. For the regular cases on preplounge will be most helpful. For the IT cases, I recommend reading the articles of the consulting companies about these topics on their websites (Hundreds of them if you google by key words "agile", "Digital", at McKinsey, BCG or Accenture)

But here is a list of potential topics you need to know. It is a full list and looks scary but they test a lot of these concepts depending on the particular role:

  • Cloud (cloud vs own servers pro and cons, uptime % SLAs, load balancing, etc)
  • Security (encryption basics, password change policy, cloud security and encryption on your computer)
  • Agile and development (Agile principles)
  • M&A and IT (Will it be one system or two systems? Is it "Adopt and go" approach or we take the best of both systems and create a new one? Integrate now, innovate later? Or Innovate now, when you have time?)
  • IT strategy and Digital transformation (Similar to M&A)
  • IoT (Mainly the use of IoT in operations - Process steps completion, measuring temperature, maintenance measurements, other measurements, predictive algorithms, etc)

Good luck!

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Anonymous B updated the answer on Nov 16, 2018

Hello! I did a mock interview with a current BCG TA PL a few days back, so I'll answer your questions sequentially based on what I've learned:

  • Unfortunately I don't, nor do I think you should prepare specifically for IT cases (cases test your acumen, not your knowledge. Also, check below answers)
  • No. The cases could have an IT component–much like you'd expect from some of the new cases–but the analysis could be entirely financial.
  • Two things to really focus on:
    • Understanding current trends in the technology world. If you have access to Gartner, awesome! The primer studies and strategy forecasts are great.
    • Trying to make sense out of the reasons why some technologies are faster adopted in certain industries than others.

Also, when you case prep, here would be my advice:

  • Always be sure to refine your hypothesis and check its validity with your interviewer. Your hypothesis could be entirely off (like in my case).
  • Take clear notes and show them to your interviewer to better illustrate your thought process/issue tree. Make it collaborative–which would be very BCG of you.
  • Be agile. You need to be not just right, but also fast.

Other than that, just keep practicing cases and honing the usual skills.

Best of luck!

(edited)

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Clark Kent on Nov 18, 2018

Not just Gartner. For tech/TMT, look at Analysys Mason, Delta Partners, etc.

Vicky on Jun 04, 2019

I am having a similiar interview coming up - is the case study exactly the same as the generalist case study?

Vlad gave the best answer

Vlad

McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School
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