A post-merger technology integration handbook: To maintain or not to maintain?

After an M&A event, technology integration provides a significant opportunity to create the proverbial 1+1=3 product and solution synergies that the transactions are often founded on. Yet all too often, integration planning (and execution) comes up short. Part of the problem is that while vendors may sometimes say solutions are truly integrated to customers and prospects after a period of time, there are no standard definitions as to what integration actually means.

In a previous Spend Matters PRO series covering this topic, we attempted to remedy this by defining five specific stages of post-merger technology integration, especially from a technology-buyer perspective, given the relative ease with which a buyer could be confused or accidentally misled.

See:

• The 5 Levels of M&A Technology Integration: An Introduction
• The 5 Levels of M&A Technology Integration: Stage 1
• The 5 Levels of M&A Technology Integration: Stage 2
• The 5 Levels of M&A Technology Integration: Stage 3
• The 5 Levels of M&A Technology Integration: Stage 4
• The 5 Levels of M&A Technology Integration: Stage 5

Today, we continue our analysis with a research brief of particular note for technology vendors — especially technology and product leaders — who are going through or considering bringing different technology stacks together, especially where there is product overlap. We explore the different options available for bringing disparate technologies together, and the importance of making often-challenging decisions as quickly as possible.

Let’s begin.