1. The role of technology in value creation (and destruction) in M&A
A practical way to translate the deal thesis into technology decisions, gates, and a sequenced workplan that protects Day-1 and accelerates synergy.
Insights
A curated collection of articles on Tech & IT M&A, value creation, and execution trade-offs across carve-outs, integrations, and transformation.
Browse recent insights, playbooks, and frameworks for building resilient technology outcomes in deals.
All articles
ERP Day-1 Value creation Integrations Carve-outs Deal execution Due diligence Cybersecurity Cost reduction Cloud
Showing 31 of 31
Section A
Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
Section A
Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
2. How tech due diligence really drives investment outcomes
Turn diligence into price, timing, and Day-1 decisions—before the model hardens and options disappear.
3. Buy-side vs sell-side tech due diligence: different objectives, different truths
A deal team guide to using sell-side diligence to speed the process—without confusing “a clean story” with an executable plan.
4. What good looks like in IT due diligence
A scorecard and evidence pack that turns tech diligence into price, timing, and a Day-1 plan you can actually execute.
5. Tech DD in PE deals vs corporate deals
How to adjust diligence scope, outputs, and decision triggers so you underwrite the right risks, timing, and cash for the buyer type.
6. Speed vs depth: trade-offs in fast-cycle due diligence
A fast-cycle tech diligence playbook to pick the few questions that set the deal clock, cash needs, and downside protection.
7. Red flags that kill deals (or should)
A deal-team way to separate fixable issues from value killers, with evidence asks and decision triggers that change price, terms, or timing.
Functional Deep Dives in Tech Due Diligence
8. Assessing the IT organization: skills, structure, and key-person risk
A diligence framework to underwrite whether the IT team can run the business and deliver the deal agenda—and what it costs to de-risk the first 100 days.
9. Application landscape due diligence: complexity, technical debt, and fit
A deal-team framework to identify which applications set the integration/separation clock, where technical debt becomes mandatory cash, and what to do about it before signing.
10. Infrastructure and cloud due diligence: scalability, cost, and risk
A diligence framework to test whether the hosting stack can carry the deal plan, where cloud economics are hiding, and when infrastructure risk should change price, terms, or timing.
11. Cybersecurity due diligence: what matters before it is too late
A deal-team framework to test which cyber issues change price, timing, connectivity, and first-100-day execution before the buyer inherits the risk.
12. Data, analytics, and reporting due diligence
How deal teams can test whether management reporting, data quality, and KPI logic can support the investment thesis after close.
13. ERP due diligence: when the core system is the deal
A practical way to test when ERP condition, fit, and change capacity should alter the investment case, one-time cash, or integration plan.
14. IT contracts, licenses, and vendor lock-in risks
How to find contract and licensing terms that change TSA cost, run-rate, separation timing, and the buyer's freedom to execute the deal plan.
15. IT cost structure and budget due diligence
A diligence approach for normalizing IT run-rate, separating mandatory spend from upside, and protecting the EBITDA case before signing.
16. Identifying separation and integration complexity during DD
How to spot the technology dependencies that set the separation or integration clock before the deal team locks price, TSAs, and Day-1 commitments.
AI in Due Diligence
17. How AI is changing tech due diligence
A practical view of where AI can compress diligence work, where it creates false confidence, and how deal teams should govern AI-assisted findings.
18. Using AI to accelerate application and codebase analysis
How buyers can use AI-assisted analysis to find application risk faster while avoiding unsupported conclusions about code quality, ownership, and changeability.
19. AI for cyber, data, and risk detection in deals
Where AI can improve cyber, data, and operational risk detection in diligence, and how to keep the outputs tied to deal decisions rather than noise.
20. Limits and risks of AI-driven due diligence
A deal-team checklist for using AI in diligence without creating false precision, data leakage, weak attribution, or unsupported investment conclusions.
Section B
Deal Structuring and Pre-Close Planning
Section B
Deal Structuring and Pre-Close Planning
21. Translating tech due diligence findings into the investment thesis
A deal team method to turn diligence from a findings list into price, timing, and funding decisions before you sign.
Coming soon
22. From Findings to Actions: Building the Tech Workplan Pre-Close
Coming soon
23. TSA Strategy: Why Most Deals Get It Wrong
Coming soon
24. Estimating True One-Time vs Run-Rate IT Costs
Coming soon
25. Separation vs Integration: Making the Right Call Early
Coming soon
26. Tech Implications of Carve-Out vs Full Acquisition Deals
Section C
Day-1 Readiness and Transition Services
Section C
Day-1 Readiness and Transition Services
27. What Day-1 really means for IT
Define Day-1 as a minimum viable operating state—with explicit pass/fail tests and fallbacks—so you don’t learn your dependencies at 9:00 a.m. after close.
Coming soon
28. Day-1 Readiness: Systems, People, and Data
Coming soon
29. Designing and Negotiating TSAs That Actually Work
Coming soon
30. Managing TSA Dependencies and Exit Risks
Coming soon
31. Governance and Decision Rights During TSA Periods
Coming soon
32. Common Day-1 Failures and How to Avoid Them
Section D
Post-Deal Integration and Separation Execution
Section D
Post-Deal Integration and Separation Execution
33. IT program management in carve-outs and PMIs
How to run the IT work as a deal program—clear owners, decision cadence, and value gates—so you exit TSAs on time and capture value without outages.
Coming soon
34. Operating Model Choices for Post-Deal IT
Coming soon
35. Application Separation vs Replacement Strategies
Coming soon
36. Data Migration: Risks, Trade-offs, and Best Practices
Coming soon
37. Identity, Access, and Security in Separations
Coming soon
38. Infrastructure Stand-Up and Cutover Planning
Section E
ERP and Core Systems Transformation
Section E
ERP and Core Systems Transformation
39. ERP as a value lever in M&A
How deal teams can decide when ERP is a value accelerator, a constraint on the thesis, or mandatory cash before the first 100 days are over.
40. One ERP or multiple? Post-deal ERP strategy choices
A decision framework for choosing one ERP, multiple ERPs, or a staged model without turning ERP standardization into a value-delay program.
41. SAP in M&A: common scenarios and pitfalls
How to underwrite SAP choices in acquisitions, carve-outs, and integrations before S/4HANA, licensing, data, and TSA constraints set the deal clock.
42. Microsoft Dynamics 365 in carve-outs and PMIs
Where Dynamics 365 helps deal teams move faster, where it creates tenant and data constraints, and how to sequence the platform decision.
43. ERP for manufacturing-heavy businesses
How to test whether ERP can support plants, inventory, costing, quality, and supply chain changes before manufacturing deal value slips.
44. Payroll and HR systems in global separations
A Day-1 and TSA-focused framework for separating payroll, HRIS, time, benefits, and identity without putting employees or compliance at risk.
45. Procurement and supply chain system integration
How to sequence procurement, supplier, inventory, and logistics systems so sourcing value does not get trapped behind data and process gaps.
46. Timing ERP transformations: Day-1, Day-100, or later?
A deal-timing framework for deciding when ERP transformation should happen, what must wait, and how to avoid turning Day-1 into an ERP program.
Section F
IT Transformation and Value Creation
Section F
IT Transformation and Value Creation
Coming soon
47. IT Cost Reduction After the Deal: What Actually Works
Coming soon
48. FTE Rationalization Without Breaking the Business
Coming soon
49. Capturing IT Synergies: Myths vs Reality
Coming soon
50. Application Rationalization as a Value Lever
Coming soon
51. Cloud Migration in Post-Deal Environments
Coming soon
52. Modern Architecture as a Competitive Advantage
Coming soon
53. Tech-Enabled EBITDA Expansion
Section G
Advanced Topics and Long-Term Value
Section G
Advanced Topics and Long-Term Value
Coming soon
54. AI as a Post-Deal Value Creation Lever
Coming soon
55. Data Platforms and Analytics Post-Acquisition
Coming soon
56. Cybersecurity as a Board-Level Issue After Close
Coming soon
57. Building a Scalable IT Function for PE Hold Periods
Coming soon
58. When to Invest vs When to Stabilize
Coming soon
59. Measuring IT Value Creation Over the Hold Period
Coming soon
60. Lessons Learned from Failed (and Successful) Tech M&A Integrations
E. ERP and Core Systems Transformation
46. Timing ERP transformations: Day-1, Day-100, or later?
A deal-timing framework for deciding when ERP transformation should happen, what must wait, and how to avoid turning Day-1 into an ERP program.
E. ERP and Core Systems Transformation
45. Procurement and supply chain system integration
How to sequence procurement, supplier, inventory, and logistics systems so sourcing value does not get trapped behind data and process gaps.
E. ERP and Core Systems Transformation
44. Payroll and HR systems in global separations
A Day-1 and TSA-focused framework for separating payroll, HRIS, time, benefits, and identity without putting employees or compliance at risk.
E. ERP and Core Systems Transformation
43. ERP for manufacturing-heavy businesses
How to test whether ERP can support plants, inventory, costing, quality, and supply chain changes before manufacturing deal value slips.
E. ERP and Core Systems Transformation
42. Microsoft Dynamics 365 in carve-outs and PMIs
Where Dynamics 365 helps deal teams move faster, where it creates tenant and data constraints, and how to sequence the platform decision.
E. ERP and Core Systems Transformation
41. SAP in M&A: common scenarios and pitfalls
How to underwrite SAP choices in acquisitions, carve-outs, and integrations before S/4HANA, licensing, data, and TSA constraints set the deal clock.
E. ERP and Core Systems Transformation
40. One ERP or multiple? Post-deal ERP strategy choices
A decision framework for choosing one ERP, multiple ERPs, or a staged model without turning ERP standardization into a value-delay program.
E. ERP and Core Systems Transformation
39. ERP as a value lever in M&A
How deal teams can decide when ERP is a value accelerator, a constraint on the thesis, or mandatory cash before the first 100 days are over.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
20. Limits and risks of AI-driven due diligence
A deal-team checklist for using AI in diligence without creating false precision, data leakage, weak attribution, or unsupported investment conclusions.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
19. AI for cyber, data, and risk detection in deals
Where AI can improve cyber, data, and operational risk detection in diligence, and how to keep the outputs tied to deal decisions rather than noise.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
18. Using AI to accelerate application and codebase analysis
How buyers can use AI-assisted analysis to find application risk faster while avoiding unsupported conclusions about code quality, ownership, and changeability.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
17. How AI is changing tech due diligence
A practical view of where AI can compress diligence work, where it creates false confidence, and how deal teams should govern AI-assisted findings.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
16. Identifying separation and integration complexity during DD
How to spot the technology dependencies that set the separation or integration clock before the deal team locks price, TSAs, and Day-1 commitments.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
15. IT cost structure and budget due diligence
A diligence approach for normalizing IT run-rate, separating mandatory spend from upside, and protecting the EBITDA case before signing.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
14. IT contracts, licenses, and vendor lock-in risks
How to find contract and licensing terms that change TSA cost, run-rate, separation timing, and the buyer's freedom to execute the deal plan.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
13. ERP due diligence: when the core system is the deal
A practical way to test when ERP condition, fit, and change capacity should alter the investment case, one-time cash, or integration plan.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
12. Data, analytics, and reporting due diligence
How deal teams can test whether management reporting, data quality, and KPI logic can support the investment thesis after close.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
11. Cybersecurity due diligence: what matters before it is too late
A deal-team framework to test which cyber issues change price, timing, connectivity, and first-100-day execution before the buyer inherits the risk.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
10. Infrastructure and cloud due diligence: scalability, cost, and risk
A diligence framework to test whether the hosting stack can carry the deal plan, where cloud economics are hiding, and when infrastructure risk should change price, terms, or timing.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
9. Application landscape due diligence: complexity, technical debt, and fit
A deal-team framework to identify which applications set the integration/separation clock, where technical debt becomes mandatory cash, and what to do about it before signing.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
8. Assessing the IT organization: skills, structure, and key-person risk
A diligence framework to underwrite whether the IT team can run the business and deliver the deal agenda—and what it costs to de-risk the first 100 days.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
7. Red flags that kill deals (or should)
A deal-team way to separate fixable issues from value killers, with evidence asks and decision triggers that change price, terms, or timing.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
6. Speed vs depth: trade-offs in fast-cycle due diligence
A fast-cycle tech diligence playbook to pick the few questions that set the deal clock, cash needs, and downside protection.
D. Post-Deal Integration and Separation Execution
33. IT program management in carve-outs and PMIs
How to run the IT work as a deal program—clear owners, decision cadence, and value gates—so you exit TSAs on time and capture value without outages.
C. Day-1 Readiness and Transition Services
27. What Day-1 really means for IT
Define Day-1 as a minimum viable operating state—with explicit pass/fail tests and fallbacks—so you don’t learn your dependencies at 9:00 a.m. after close.
B. Deal Structuring and Pre-Close Planning
21. Translating tech due diligence findings into the investment thesis
A deal team method to turn diligence from a findings list into price, timing, and funding decisions before you sign.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
5. Tech DD in PE deals vs corporate deals
How to adjust diligence scope, outputs, and decision triggers so you underwrite the right risks, timing, and cash for the buyer type.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
4. What good looks like in IT due diligence
A scorecard and evidence pack that turns tech diligence into price, timing, and a Day-1 plan you can actually execute.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
3. Buy-side vs sell-side tech due diligence: different objectives, different truths
A deal team guide to using sell-side diligence to speed the process—without confusing “a clean story” with an executable plan.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
2. How tech due diligence really drives investment outcomes
Turn diligence into price, timing, and Day-1 decisions—before the model hardens and options disappear.
A. Pre-Deal and Tech Due Diligence
1. The role of technology in value creation (and destruction) in M&A
A practical way to translate the deal thesis into technology decisions, gates, and a sequenced workplan that protects Day-1 and accelerates synergy.