Nature of the Opportunity: Better Enterprise Architecture Equals Better M&A

Companies need business-savvy technologists to get the most value from M&A

Enterprise Architecture Can Do More to Support Digital M&A

Companies already count on enterprise architects for systems integration, but forward-thinking enterprises can increase their architects’ contributions to due diligence and screening to get more value from business-changing digital technology. When companies trust their enterprise architects as internal consultants who can identify targets and help adjust valuations, the whole acquisition becomes less risky.

An IT leader at a manufacturing scaleup used EA to earn the company’s trust. Over time, the architects helped vet potential technologies as part of several acquisitions.

“It took a few years for IT to stop kicking the can down the road, delaying poorly planned integrations—and never realizing the intended business value from acquisitions. Once we committed to strategic EA planning as part of M&A, we were able to scale from a startup to an innovation-driven enterprise.”

EA teams are often involved in the last stage of M&A but much less in earlier stages. There’s a golden opportunity for EA teams to participate in the full M&A program.

Source: LeanIX M&A Survey