IT Communication Strategies For Mergers And Acquisitions

Targeted communication matters just as much as consistent communication during a merger or acquisition.

Not all IT messages will apply to everybody in the organization. During an integration, the IT service desk will usually be in communication with three main groups:

• The internal IT team
• Key stakeholders
• The general employee group

A good IT alerting system makes it easy to reach the right people with the right messages on their preferred communication channel, including email, text, voice call, fax, mobile app push notifications and pages.

You can pre-configure groups of people who need to be notified and send messages – all with one click. The last thing you want is to be scrambling to contact key people during a time when resources are likely stretched thin.

Precision targeting allows you to avoid “alert fatigue” by reducing companywide messages and contacting only those people who need to receive the communication. This is especially valuable during mergers and acquisitions, when resources must be allocated carefully among competing priorities. IT should be cognizant of everyone’s time when sending messages.

When considering mergers and acquisitions, companies are typically looking to create synergies and reduce overhead. With that in mind, here are some of the other benefits you’ll get by using an IT alerting system:

• Alignment with the ITIL framework: ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a popular framework for delivering IT services in a cost-effective and quality-driven manner. Your IT alerting system should align with ITSM connectors, enabling the organization to benefit from the ITIL framework throughout the integration.

• Guaranteed up-to-date contact information: A merger means combining contact databases for two entities. With an IT alerting system that has connections to the HR databases, you don’t have to be worry about whether the data is up-to-date – you’re guaranteed 100% accuracy.

• Security you can count on: Your IT alerting system should exceed even the most stringent international requirements for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. You want the ability to request identification by phone number, user name, PIN number or other company identifier. Top-notch security is a must-have during any M&A, since confidential and proprietary information usually needs to be shared.

• Ability to create escalation paths: Combining IT departments during a merger is a big undertaking, so expect that people will be busy. With an IT alerting system that offers auto-escalation paths, a message will continue to ping anyone across designated channels until it’s acknowledged. As a result, you don’t have to worry about an on-call resource not responding to a time-sensitive message.

• Easy and secure conference line setup: Launch custom hotlines and conference bridges so groups can coordinate effortlessly. Since new people are working together when two entities merge, the ability to easily jump on secure conference calls is critical.

• 99.5% uptime: With off-site hosting in redundant data centers, your messages will be delivered even if your infrastructure is down. That’s one less burden to be concerned about as you focus on the M&A integration.

To learn more about how to use IT strategically for your next merger, download our new eBook, “Make Your Next M&A Painless With These IT Strategies.”

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