Key decisions and considerations
Decisions, Decisions
Before you can get started with a carve-in/carve-out process, several important decisions must be made. Most if not all of these decisions carry serious impacts on long-term business health. Additionally, several important considerations must be weighed.
Five steps to a successful merger, acquisition, or spin-off
In any transaction, there is a great deal of involvement required from various stakeholders, ranging from IT to finance. In addition, the short timeline for implementing major changes creates significant pressure throughout both organizations.
In order to minimize risks while maximizing gains, HSO has developed, tested, and refined a proven best practice approach to carve in and carve out activities associated with mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs. Following these broad steps makes clear expectations and needs, manages the tight schedule, and provides insight into the overall impact and risks to the business.
- 1
Define the optimal strategy
Start with a carefully researched, well thought-out strategy. Nothing is more costly than discovering you’ve selected the wrong strategy halfway through the transition. Develop a comprehensive strategic plan that aligns with the organization's goals for the carve-in or carve-out. This helps to provide a roadmap for the entire process, guiding decision-making and resource allocation.
- 2
Plan and make agreements
Because of the TSAs, things will have to move quickly. Develop a clear schedule, considering all areas of change management (processes, technology, and people). Clearly divide responsibilities and roles among major stakeholders and plan for ongoing communications throughout the transition.
- 3
Start with the cloud foundation
Only once the foundation is solid can the next step be taken. Set up the network, IAM, policy, management and monitoring to streamline the application migration process.
- 4
Transform or migrate the workloads
The actions required to migrate the workloads fall into three iterations per workload: assessment, implementation, and deployment.
- 5
Establish governance, maintenance, and optimization
Establish a governance framework that ensures accountability and defines the escalation process for both projects and ongoing operations. A well-established governance structure, coupled with effective reporting mechanisms, creates a framework that supports operational excellence by providing clarity and efficiency.
Crucial Considerations
When planning your IT strategy for a merger or acquisition, several important factors must be balanced against each other. Continue reading to learn more about how costs, speed, and innovation all play a role in designing your strategy for a merger or acquisition.
Speed
The hard deadline for converting all business and IT processes to the new organization influences every choice made. The goal is to quickly unbundle and secure the IT landscape, while the business continues to operate as normal. This is where it is particularly valuable to work with an experienced partner who has completed many successful carve in/carve outs.
