Your Company's Just Merged. What's Next for IT?
August 11, 2015 9:00 AM
Teamwork is Key
"The first thing you have to do is appoint a transition team for financials and personnel. Without a good transition team, the merger will go nowhere." -- Celeska Friedianelli, former QBE executive
Don't Fear the Reaper
"The new organization will have a need for all of the existing information and processes as well as the added task of understanding how to share these processes and data. Business architects, analysts and scrum masters will all be in hot demand. -- Adrian Brown, P&C industry technology consultant with Stratus Technology Services.
Avoid Culture Shock
"Successful mergers are often impeded by frictions arising from integrating corporate systems and cultures of the previously separate firms. The smooth assimilation of people and systems are typically some of the most important factors in a successful merger." -- Swiss Re, "M & A in insurance: start of a new wave?" report, March 2015
Stay on Top of Developments
"While CIOs may not be the nominal leaders of transactions, their leadership and engagement are crucial. Successful undertakings are so dependent on technology that CIOs need to position themselves as being "front and center" when transactions are being considered and prioritized." -- Novarica, "CIO Checklist: IT Planning for M&A" report, Feb. 2014
Don't Rush to Pick Winners
"Analysis should not assume that the applications of the acquiring company will be the survivors. The best system, (defined as most suitable to enable the new entitys business strategies and objectives, should win." Donald Light, Celent
Embrace Opportunity
"With any type of significant change there is always new opportunity. The best course of action is to be clear on your role, your responsibilities and understand your value proposition to the company, and then continue to exceed expectations on performance." -- Deb Smallwood, SMA
Keep an Open Mind
An insurance technologist within either firm has a great opportunity to learn from another company. How do they do things differently? What can I learn from them? How can we work together to enable a powerful entity with global reach and precision underwriting?" -- Jamie Bisker, Aite Group