- Many organizations forget the essential role IT plays during M&A integration. IT is often unaware of a merger or acquisition until the deal is announced, making it very difficult to adequately interpret business goals and appropriately assess the target organization.
- IT-related integration activities are amongst the largest cost items in an M&A, yet these costs are often overlooked or underestimated during due diligence.
- IT is expected to use the M&A team’s IT due diligence report and estimated IT integration budget, which may not have been generated appropriately.
- IT involvement in integration is critical to providing a better view of risks, improving the ease of integration, and optimizing synergies.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Anticipate that you are going to be under pressure. Fulfill short-term, tactical operational imperatives while simultaneously conducting discovery and designing the technology end-state.
- To migrate risks and guide discovery, select a high-level IT integration posture that aligns with business objectives.
Impact and Result
- Once a deal has been announced, use this blueprint to set out immediately to understand business M&A goals and expected synergies.
- Assemble an IT Integration Program to conduct discovery and begin designing the technology end-state, while simultaneously identifying and delivering operational imperatives and quick-wins as soon as possible.
- Following discovery, use this blueprint to build initiatives and put together an IT integration budget. The IT Integration Program has an obligation to explain the IT cost implications of the M&A to the business.
- Once you have a clear understanding of the cost of your IT integration, use this blueprint to build a long-term action plan to achieve the planned technology end-state that best supports the business capabilities of the organization.
Make IT a Successful Partner in M&A Integration Research & Tools
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should follow Info-Tech’s M&A IT integration methodology and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:
- Make IT a Successful Partner in M&A Integration – Phases 1-4
1. Launch the project
Define the business’s M&A goals, assemble an IT Integration Program, and select an IT integration posture that aligns with business M&A strategy.
- Make IT a Successful Partner in M&A Integration – Phase 1: Launch the Project
- IT Integration Charter
2. Conduct discovery and design the technology end-state
Refine the current state of each IT domain in both organizations, and then design the end-state of each domain.
- Make IT a Successful Partner in M&A Integration – Phase 2: Conduct Discovery and Design the Technology End-State
- IT Integration Roadmap Tool
3. Initiate operational imperatives and quick-wins
Generate tactical operational imperatives and quick-wins, and then develop an interim action plan to maintain business function and capture synergies.
- Make IT a Successful Partner in M&A Integration – Phase 3: Initiate Operational Imperatives and Quick-Wins
4. Develop an integration roadmap
Generate initiatives and put together a long-term action plan to achieve the planned technology end-state.
- Make IT a Successful Partner in M&A Integration – Phase 4: Develop an Integration Roadmap
Workshop: Make IT a Successful Partner in M&A Integration
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
1 Launch the Project
The Purpose
Identification of staffing and skill set needed to manage the IT integration.
Generation of an integration communication plan to highlight communication schedule during major integration events.
Identification of business goals and objectives to select an IT Integration Posture that aligns with business strategy.
Key Benefits Achieved
Defined IT integration roles & responsibilities.
Structured communication plan for key IT integration milestones.
Creation of the IT Integration Program.
Generation of an IT Integration Posture.
Activities
1.1 Define IT Integration Program responsibilities.
1.2 Build an integration communication plan.
1.3 Host interviews with senior management.
1.4 Select a technology end-state and IT integration posture.
Outputs
Define IT Integration Program responsibilities and goals
Structured communication plan
Customized interview guide for each major stakeholder
Selected technology end-state and IT integration posture
2 Conduct Discovery and Design the Technology End-State
The Purpose
Identification of information sources to begin conducting discovery.
Definition of scope of information that must be collected about target organization.
Definition of scope of information that must be collected about your own organization.
Refinement of the technology end-state for each IT domain of the new entity.
Key Benefits Achieved
A collection of necessary information to design the technology end-state of each IT domain.
Adequate information to make accurate cost estimates.
A designed end-state for each IT domain.
A collection of necessary, available information to make accurate cost estimates.
Activities
2.1 Define discovery scope.
2.2 Review the data room and conduct onsite discovery.
2.3 Design the technology end-state for each IT domain.
2.4 Select the integration strategy for each IT domain.
Outputs
Tone set for discovery
Key information collected for each IT domain
Refined end-state for each IT domain
Refined integration strategy for each IT domain
3 Initiate Tactical Initiatives and Develop an Integration Roadmap
The Purpose
Generation of tactical initiatives that are operationally imperative and will help build business credibility.
Prioritization and execution of tactical initiatives.
Confirmation of integration strategy for each IT domain and generation of initiatives to achieve technology end-states.
Prioritization and execution of integration roadmap.
Key Benefits Achieved
Tactical initiatives generated and executed.
Confirmed integration posture for each IT domain.
Initiatives generated and executed upon to achieve the technology end-state of each IT domain.
Activities
3.1 Build quick-win and operational imperatives.
3.2 Build a tactical action plan and execute.
3.3 Build initiatives to close gaps and redundancies.
3.4 Finalize your roadmap and kick-start integration.
Outputs
Tactical roadmap to fulfill short-term M&A objectives and synergies
Confirmed IT integration strategies
Finalized integration roadmap