Typically, 70% to 90% of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are abysmal failures. One of the biggest reasons for this is compromised IT performance and delivery capacity.
With any M&A, there is increased pressure on the IT teams to deliver. Not only IT has to strengthen the value created by the acquisition by developing standard processes, tools, and data-management systems but also help businesses realize synergies and deliver on strategic goals. Along with that, they need to work closely with CIOs and business leaders and estimate the timelines, costs, and risks of integration – to increase the chance of success.
Much of this increased pressure comes as a result of organizations trying to consolidate complex data streams, redundant applications and systems, align technological standards and platforms, and close select sites — such as data centers and manufacturing facilities. This is in addition to provisioning continued ‘business as usual’ activities that may require interim solutions. Hence, the pressure on IT teams is way more than we can imagine.
The right data integration strategy can empower IT teams to accelerate M&A transactions and ensure better ROI. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how IT can accelerate M&A transactions and drive value via reimagined data integration solutions.
Speed up Value of M&A with a Modern Data Integration Strategy
What is often overlooked in the M&A process is the data integration strategy. Data integration not only takes up a third of developer time but it is also often the main reason why IT projects fail. A modern data integration strategy can be a key enabler in empowering IT and accelerating the process.
Traditionally, companies integrate data streams by writing custom code and perform EDI mapping, which appears to be the easier when resources are tight. But the reality is otherwise. Custom coding, EDI mapping, etc. is complex and brittle, it is fraught with errors and delays. They break easily and you always have to go back and fix it. They lack standardization and are difficult to scale, so you get stuck and cannot evolve.
During the pre-close period in any M&A transaction, enterprises are often worried to create new custom development given the uncertainty of future project roadmaps. But there’s a way to combat all these challenges: reimagine your data integration strategy with self-service.
Self-Service Integration to Build a Future-Proof Foundation
Self-service integration enables all business users (non-technical users) to build data connections and integrate partners easily — and create delightful experiences for driving key M&A initiatives.
With features such as application connectors, shared templates, monitoring dashboards, AI mapping, and more, business users with minimum technical expertise can integrate large volumes of data in minutes instead of months. Thus, IT teams become free from performing these tasks and focusing on more high-value tasks. Consequently, the ability of IT to deliver increases by leaps and bounds.
By reimagining your integration strategy through self-service, not only are you expediting the delivery of future M&A initiatives, but you are also establishing a future-proof foundation in the new company. This translates to the following benefits for IT:
- Better integration productivity is enabled through dashboards, AI-enabled mechanisms, and application connectors.
- Lower maintenance costs due to increased standardization and less niche knowledge required to maintain systems.
- Faster time-to-market for key business initiatives, streamlining revenue and ensuring cost savings.
- Amplified developer productivity, freeing up time for IT to focus on innovation instead of integration.