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Insights Concurrency: Your Trusted Microsoft M&A Partner
Insights

Concurrency: Your Trusted Microsoft M&A Partner

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are complex and challenging events that require careful planning and execution. They involve not only the financial and legal aspects of combining two or more organizations, but also the cultural and technological aspects of integrating people, processes, and systems. One of the key factors that can determine the success or failure of an M&A is the technology strategy and implementation. Technology can enable the realization of the business goals and synergies of the M&A, such as increasing efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing customer experience, and most importantly hitting critical financial targets and timelines.

One of the most critical and complex aspects of technology integration during an M&A is the unification of the Microsoft 365 and Azure environments of the merging organizations. This involves not only the technical challenges of migrating users, data, applications, and identities across different cloud platforms, but also the strategic challenges of aligning the security, governance, compliance, and collaboration policies and practices of the new entity. Unifying the M365 and Azure environments can enable seamless communication and cooperation of the employees, customers, and partners of the merged organization, as well as the optimization of the IT infrastructure and operational costs. However, if done poorly or hastily, it can also expose the organization to various risks, such as data loss, security breaches, regulatory violations, and user dissatisfaction. With that, it is essential to have an unobstructed vision, a robust plan, and a reliable partner to guide and support the unification process.

Our approach to driving effective integration of technology during an integration event are focused on four core areas of emphasis:

  • Assessing the current modern workplace and cloud technology at both organizations involved in the transaction. Leveraging comprehensive expertise, our team prepares the plan to unify the Microsoft 365 and Azure environments to meet these challenges from all directions.
  •  Organizational change management planning ensures users are migrated based on business needs, in waves that makes sense to all business units.
  • Unifying the technology program within the larger integration strategy. Communication between all teams involved in the technology project, during a merger or acquisition, is critical to ensure business, technology, and financial goals are achieved..
  • Recognizing the unique challenges in every acquisition to ensure a positive outcome for end users on all sides of a technology migration happening during an M&A event.

Assessing the In-Place Technology

The first step in implementing Microsoft technology during a merger or acquisition is to assess the current state of the modern workplace and cloud technology at both the acquiring and the acquired organizations. This involves understanding the existing infrastructure, platforms, applications, data,  users, risks, and opportunities for improvement. The assessment should cover the following aspects:

  • Security and compliance: How secure and compliant are the current systems and data? What are the regulatory and industry standards that need to be met? What are the potential threats and vulnerabilities that need to be mitigated?
  • Identity and access management: How are the users and devices authenticated and authorized? What are the identity providers and directories that are used? How are the passwords and policies managed?
  • Collaboration and communication: How do the users communicate and collaborate internally and externally? What are the tools and platforms that are used? How are the email, chat, voice, video, and file sharing services configured and managed?
  • Productivity and business applications: How do the users perform their daily tasks and workflows? What applications and services are used? How are they integrated and customized?
  • Data and analytics: How is the data stored, processed, and analyzed? What are the sources and types of data? How are they structured and secured?
  • Cloud and hybrid: How is the cloud leveraged for scalability, agility, and innovation? What cloud providers and services are used? How are they connected and managed?

Positioned correctly in an M&A, the Microsoft ecosystem can deliver a complete and adaptable solution for modern workplace and cloud technology that can address the varied and challenging needs of an M&A. Microsoft technology can offer the following advantages:

  • Security and compliance: Microsoft technology can help to protect the systems and data from cyberattacks, data breaches, and insider threats, and ensure compliance with various regulations and standards, such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and ISO 27001. Microsoft technology can offer features such as encryption, multi-factor authentication, conditional access, data loss prevention, threat protection, audit logs, and compliance manager.
  • Identity and access management: Microsoft technology can help to simplify and unify identity, access management across the organizations, and enable a seamless and secure user experience. Microsoft technology can offer features such as Azure Active Directory, Microsoft 365 Groups, Azure AD Connect, Azure AD B2B, Azure AD B2C, and Azure AD Domain Services.
  • Collaboration and communication: Microsoft technology can help to enhance collaboration and communication among the users, teams, and partners, and foster a culture of innovation and engagement. Microsoft technology can offer features such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Yammer, Skype for Business, and Microsoft 365 Apps.
  • Productivity and business applications: Microsoft technology can help to improve the productivity and efficiency of the users and enable them to create and use customized and intelligent business applications. Microsoft technology can offer features such as Power Platform, Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365 Apps, Office 365, and Microsoft Graph.
  • Data and analytics: Microsoft technology can help to transform the data into insights and actions and empower the users to make data-driven decisions and optimize business outcomes. Microsoft technology can offer features such as Azure Data Services, Power BI, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Machine Learning, and Azure Cognitive Services.
  • Cloud and hybrid: Microsoft technology can help to leverage the cloud for scalability, agility, and innovation, and support various deployment and migration scenarios, such as cloud-only, hybrid, and multi-cloud. Microsoft technology can offer features such as Azure, Azure Arc, Azure Migrate, Azure Stack, and Azure DevOps.

Organizational Change Management – End Users Matter!

The second step in implementing Microsoft technology during a merger or acquisition is to deeply understand the organizations and plan the organizational change management. This involves engaging with the stakeholders and users, and defining the vision, goals, and strategy for the technology project. The organizational change management should cover the following aspects:

  • Stakeholder and user analysis: Who are the key stakeholders and users who are impacted by the technology project? What are their roles, responsibilities, expectations, and preferences? How are they organized and distributed across the organizations?
  • Vision and goals: What is the desired future state of the technology project? What are the business and technology objectives and benefits that need to be achieved? How are they aligned with the overall M&A goals and synergies?
  • Strategy and roadmap: How will the technology project be executed and delivered? What are the phases, milestones, and timelines that need to be followed? What are the dependencies, assumptions, and risks that need to be considered?
  • Scope and requirements: What are the scope and requirements of the technology project? What are the features and functionalities that need to be implemented? What are the standards and best practices that need to be followed?
  • Migration and integration: How will the users, data, and applications be migrated and integrated across the organizations? What are the methods and tools that will be used? What are the challenges and solutions that need to be addressed?
  • Communication and training: How will the stakeholders and users be informed and engaged throughout the technology project? What are the communication and training plans and materials that need to be developed and delivered?
  • Feedback and evaluation: How will the feedback and evaluation of the technology project be collected and analyzed? What are the metrics and indicators that need to be measured and reported? How will the lessons learned, and best practices be captured and shared?
  • User segmentation and wave planning is important to ensure a smooth and effective technology rollout that meets the needs and expectations of different user groups and minimizes the disruption and risk to the business operations.
  • User segmentation and wave planning allows for tailoring the migration and integration strategies, communication and training methods, and feedback and evaluation mechanisms to the specific characteristics and requirements of each user group.
  • User segmentation and wave planning enables a phased and flexible approach to the technology rollout that can be adjusted and refined based on the feedback and evaluation results, the changing business conditions, and the availability of resources and support.

One of the key tools that we use to facilitate the migration of Microsoft technology during a merger or acquisition is Quest’s Migration and Consolidation tools.  These tools enable fast and secure data migration across platforms and domains. Quest allows us to migrate users, mailboxes, calendars, contacts, files, SharePoint sites, Teams, and other critical data with minimal disruption and downtime. Quest also provides us with pre-migration assessment, real-time monitoring, and post-migration reporting to ensure a smooth and successful transition.

To complement Quest, we also use specialized wave planning software that helps us to orchestrate the migration process and optimize the end user experience. Our approach to wave planning allows us to create customized migration schedules based on numerous factors, such as user location, business unit, priority, and dependency. This also enables us to communicate effectively with end users before, during, and after the migration, providing them with clear instructions, notifications, and support. By taking this approach to end user identity and device management, we can ensure that the migration is aligned with the business needs and goals, and that the end users are satisfied and productive throughout the change.

Technologists as a Partner of the Larger Integration Team

Successful technology integrations include a technical team that recognizes the role of technology in the larger acquisition program. This involves establishing and maintaining a collaborative and productive working relationship among the IT professionals, business leaders, and end users, and ensuring the alignment and coordination of the roles, responsibilities, and tasks. Our comprehensive approach includes:

  • Integration management office (IMO) engagement: How do the teams work collaboratively with the overall IMO? What are the expectations and deliverables of each team? How are dependencies and risks managed and escalated?
  • Team structure and governance: How are the teams structured and governed? What are the roles and responsibilities of each team member? How are the decisions and approvals made?
  • Team culture and values: How are the teams aligned and engaged? What are the culture and values of each team? How are trust and respect built and maintained?
  • Team communication and collaboration: How do the teams communicate and collaborate? What are the tools and platforms that are used? How are the information and knowledge shared and managed?
  • Team coordination and integration: How do the teams coordinate and integrate their work? What are the processes and workflows that are followed? How are dependencies and conflicts resolved?
  • Team performance and recognition: How do the teams measure and improve their performance? What are the metrics and indicators used? How are the achievements and feedback recognized and rewarded?

Embracing the Uniqueness of both Organizations

All integrations are different, creating a critical need to recognize the unique challenges in every acquisition, and ensure a positive outcome for end users on all sides of a technology migration happening during an M&A event. This involves anticipating and addressing the potential issues and difficulties that may arise during the technology project and providing the necessary support and guidance for the end users. The unique challenges may include the following:

  • Technical complexity and compatibility: How complex and compatible are the existing and target systems and data? What are the technical challenges and solutions that need to be considered?
  • Business continuity and disruption: How critical and sensitive are business operations and processes? What are the business risks and impacts that need to be mitigated?
  • User experience and satisfaction: How familiar and comfortable are the end users with the new technology and configuration? What are the user expectations and feedback that need to be met?
  • Change resistance and adoption: How willing and ready are the end users to embrace the change? What are the change barriers and drivers that need to be overcome and leveraged?
  • Cultural diversity and integration: How diverse and integrated are the organizational cultures and values? What are the cultural differences and similarities that need to be respected and harmonized?

Implementing Microsoft technology during a merger or acquisition is a complex and challenging task that requires careful planning and execution. It involves assessing the current modern workplace and cloud technology at both the acquiring and the acquired organizations, deeply understanding the organizations, and planning the organizational change management, creating a constructive collaboration between all teams involved in the technology project, and recognizing the unique challenges in every acquisition. Our client-centric approach to managing technology in partnership with the broader financial transaction has been proven repeatedly.