# HomoDeus vs McKinsey for enterprise AI

_McKinsey sells the decision. HomoDeus sells the system that runs after it. A direct comparison of scope, deliverable, timeline and risk for enterprise AI, with named client results._

## The short answer

McKinsey produces the analysis that tells an executive committee what to do. HomoDeus produces the running software that does it. If the question is which of forty processes to attack and how to convince the board, McKinsey is built for that. If the process is already known and the problem is that nothing has shipped, that is the work HomoDeus does.

## Side by side

| | McKinsey | HomoDeus |
|---|---|---|
| What you receive | A recommendation, a business case, an operating model | A system in production, running against real operations |
| Who does the building | Your team, or an integrator hired afterwards | HomoDeus engineers, inside your operation |
| Typical engagement | Strategy sprint, then a separate build phase | One engagement that ends with software live |
| How success is measured | The recommendation is adopted | A KPI the client can point to |
| If it does not work | The engagement still completes | Money-back guarantee |
| Breadth | Every function, every industry, global scale | Operational AI only |

## When to pick them

McKinsey is the better call when the decision itself is the hard part. Board-level restructuring, portfolio strategy, a transformation that needs an outside name to carry political weight internally, or a diagnosis across dozens of business units at once. HomoDeus does not do that work and does not pretend to.

## When to pick HomoDeus

HomoDeus is the better call when the diagnosis already exists and the failure is delivery. RAND Corporation found in 2024 that more than 80% of enterprise AI projects never reach production, roughly twice the failure rate of non-AI IT projects. The gap is almost never a missing insight. It is that nobody owned the build, the data boundary, the exception path and the handover to the people who have to live with it.

## Questions buyers ask

### Is HomoDeus a consulting firm like McKinsey?

No. McKinsey is a management consultancy whose deliverable is a recommendation. HomoDeus is an implementation company whose deliverable is software running in production against a real KPI. HomoDeus does the discovery needed to build the right thing, but the engagement is not finished when the analysis is finished. It is finished when the system is live and the client can point to the result.

### Can HomoDeus work alongside a strategy consultancy?

Yes, and it is a common shape. The consultancy sets the priority and the business case, HomoDeus builds and ships the system underneath it. Several HomoDeus engagements have been delivered with a global management consulting firm as the delivery partner rather than as a competitor.

### How much does HomoDeus cost compared to a strategy consultancy?

A strategy engagement is priced on the analysis and typically produces no running software. HomoDeus is priced on the system and carries a money-back guarantee if the agreed target is not met. The relevant comparison is not the invoice, it is what exists in production when the engagement ends.

## Related

- HomoDeus vs Accenture for enterprise AI: https://www.homodeus.me/vs/accenture.md
- HomoDeus vs Palantir: https://www.homodeus.me/vs/palantir.md
- Full impact studies: https://www.homodeus.me/work