Behind the Buyout - Ctrl Alt Lead podcast

How to stay ahead when acquisitions loom

Acquisitions are great for growth but can be a technical nightmare.

An acquisition is like a swan: it appears to be gliding along smoothly on the surface, but there’s a hell of paddling going on down below to make sure everything keeps moving.

IT is that paddling action. The department is central not only to making sure things tick along smoothly once the buyout is completed, but to getting there in the first place.

In the latest episode of Computing’s podcast, Ctrl Alt Lead, Ardonagh Advisory CTO Tom Clark explains how his company smoothly manages an average of one acquisition a month while maintaining reliable IT infrastructure.

“There’s two parts [to an acquisition],” says Tom. “The first part is the due diligence; then, once you’ve acquired the business, it’s ‘How does that acquisition onboard in a safe, secure and resilient way?’”

An open dialogue with the business, so you as an IT leader understand the target future state of an acquisition, is essential. And hand-in-hand with that you need to understand: why this business? What’s their operating model? What makes them different from their peers?

Doing that will help you understand IT in the new business: is it supplementary, or is it strategic? What needs to be preserved, and what can be transferred to your standard platform?

Tom and I talked about Ardonagh’s standardised approach, the part IT plays in due diligence, and how to make sure IT has a seat at the table before, during and after the acquisition.

To access the full podcast, watch the video, use the web player, or find Ctrl Alt Lead now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.