Four Reasons Your IT Consultants Must Be Involved During Mergers & Acquisitions
Mergers & acquisitions are only as successful as the initial planning process. IT consultants must be involved to keep an efficient flow of information.
When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, most companies involve the top executives along with pertinent directors and managers from various departments. While all of these individuals should be involved, it’s critical to have IT consultants sit in during meetings regarding the merger and acquisition as early in the process as possible. According to 2019 studies, up to 70 percent of mergers and acquisitions are unable to achieve their desired financial and strategic goals. Since most modern businesses’ operations are technology and/or cloud-based, IT staff must be involved in order to ensure the transition is seamless and meet their expected goals.
IT Consultants Are Responsible for Integration Management
Inevitably, only one department will be responsible for the successful integration of systems and online resources: IT. Since IT already plays such a crucial role in day-to-day operations of cloud-based operations and information management, it’s important to have IT consultants involved from the beginning of any merger and/or acquisition. IT consultants can help develop effective policies that impact project management, employee processes, and supplier relations.
Efficient IT Staff Integration
When two organizations come together, their IT departments must efficiently merge as quickly as possible. Each IT department has a team of experts that know each organization’s processes inside and out. When the organizations merge, the IT departments must identify key IT consultants and personnel that will be vital in creating new processes for the newly formed company. The IT staff from each organization must be fully integrated under new key managers and directors to preserve the integrity of the IT department. The newly integrated IT department cannot be efficiently created without IT consultants making recommendations at the beginning of the merger/acquisition.
IT Capabilities Can Better Support the Merger
The role of the IT department has grown and evolved as business operations adopt more technology. An IT consultant is no longer simply responsible for user errors and forgotten passwords. The entire department is now directly involved in production capacity and service dependability. When businesses are merged and/or acquired, the suppliers and clients must be joined together in one seamless system. Without an IT consultant, it will be challenging to create a system that is error-free and doesn’t cause hardships between the newly formed business and those who need its services. IT can support overall vertical integration and create a seamless transition process. In addition, R&D from both companies will inevitably be combined. The systems used to store the information and proprietary information must be organized and protected. Without an IT consultant’s input, these systems may lose vital information in the merger and/or acquisition.
IT Consultants Shape the Business Model
Two organizations coming together under one roof will need to merge their individual models into one fully functioning idea to serve the needs of the clients and suppliers. Communication, logistics, finance, marketing, human resource, and other departments will now operate together under a singular model. Each organization will have different methods of relaying information to internal and external users. When IT consultants sit in on merger and acquisition meetings, they can help shape a new business model that is effective and easy to manage. Without their knowledge and expertise, the newly formed business will struggle to keep communication flowing effectively.
IT Ensure Optimal Information Quality and Usability
Customers, suppliers, and employees will not have a say in the merger and/or acquisition. In fact, some of them may be completely against the idea of fear of inconveniences and disruptions. It is the responsibility of the newly formed business to ensure information, products, services, and other important items are executed and delivered as efficiently as possible. The goal should be to have a merger or acquisition flow so smoothly that no one notices any issues. Without an IT consultant’s recommendations, it will be difficult to achieve this goal. IT consultants can help maintain information quality and usability with proper systems development and merger of all cloud-based services.
Bottomline
Mergers and acquisitions are only as successful as the initial plans for combining all of the departments. With IT consultants’ recommendations, the flow of information will be preserved and ensure internal or external partners are affected while the companies come together under one name.