Combining the checklist and the moving parts from this week, I’m going to leave you with a little exercise. Lets step through the exercise, not to check if something is done, but to identify what needs to be done.

This doesn’t just apply to the CIO in charge of the integration, but also the owners and the deal makers. Why? Because these answers will drive your timeline, the budget you’re working with, and what the terms of the transition agreements will look like.

Now without further adieu:

  1. What is the type of acquisition being performed? Think: is it users/branding, line of business, or the whole enchilada?
  2. What are the parts of the business being acquired?
  3. What are the tools that are specific to that business? This can be SaaS or on-prem. COTS or custom.
  4. What are the dependencies for the tools above? Do they talk to 3rd parties or other lines of business that are not included in the acquisition? Think vendor relationships and other partnerships.
  5. Where is the data stored, and how much will be yours? Think of not just where the files and databases are, but also the artifacts that power their business. Unless you are acquiring the whole company, there will be some pieces that will be relevant and must be conveyed while the parent company retains the rest and will want to keep things locked up.

With these questions answered, you should begin to see a very broad picture of what will be included with your purchase, and just like any sale, it is up to the buyer to figure out how to get it home.

cab

PS: These are the kinds of questions that I walk my clients through as a part of their due diligence prior to and shortly after a deal is closed. If this is something that you find useful, hit REPLY and let me know.