Source: SiliconANGLE
Certinia's Dreamforce presentations showed generative AI is collapsing labor arbitrage in consulting. Firms can now deliver the same output with fewer billable hours, forcing a shift from hourly to fixed-price billing to protect margins. This move stems from competitive pressure: AI-augmented competitors are undercutting the market, creating a race to the bottom for traditional time-and-materials shops that lack automation at scale. Winners will be firms that bundle AI tooling into service delivery and retrain staff to supervise machines rather than perform manual work. Legacy consulting structures dependent on high-touch labor arbitrage face pressure to adapt or fold.