Technology & Cyber Strategy for the Mergers & Acquisitions Industry

AI is at the forefront of most organizations strategy these days as it offers efficiency, high ROI, and it automates a majority of tasks in any company. One area in which it is a key asset is within the Mergers & Acquisitions space as it enables private equity and corporate players a plethora of options the assist the overall process. The following is an overview of how Generative AI can impact the M&A industry: Deal Identification Finely tuned AI algorithms can parse huge tracts of raw data and disseminate the best possible investments targets with quantifiable accuracy Combining multiple methodologies into a focused AI engine allows for the best of disparate approaches Streamlining Due Diligence Automation of data points, quantitative analysis, and human qualitative input make the process more efficient Machine Learning (ML) allows for aggregation of compliance, ESG, and regulatory risks to be addressed in a centralized and tracked capacity Smoothing Post-deal Integration/Sep...

Technology Risk Management Primer for Portfolio Companies ( Part 1) Private equity and venture capital firms often face the threat of risk within  their portfolio companies, but are not always certain of their portfolio firm’s  competency in this area. Risk Management within Information Technology is  especially critical as it affects all operations as well as the eventual valuation  of the portfolio investment. CSC, Inc. specializes in helping investment firms  make the best technology decisions for their portfolio company’s technology  needs. This article serves as a primer for PE & VC firms who must ensure that their  investments are secure and may need to proactively engage the IT  management of their portfolio company. This primer can act as a template  for those IT managers that are tasked with developing an IT risk  management plan and who need guidelines for the process. It will also  provide examples of how t...

Tech Venture Capital firms are tasked with sourcing the best companies with the most competitive technologies; however, they face the challenge of confirming the viability of their technology investment. VCs need to focus on verification of the target company’s proprietary platform as well as its infrastructure to ensure success. A good overview for understanding the technical due diligence needs is covering both Software / Hardware appraisal of all proprietary technologies is provided: Software code and language review including Web 2.0 platforms Scalability & compatibility assessment Competitive landscaping in direct sector Identification of risks and potential costs within target firm to reduce post-closing surprise expenses Existing technology infrastructure and operations evaluation to determine “IT health” of business-technology alignment Overall, it is critical to remember that the underlying infrastructure a firm uses to implement its key strategy will define how successful...

Let's face the obvious. VCs plain love SaaS! What's not to like? SaaS (Software as a Service) architecture has gained tremendous momentum in the software world as it is the evolution of the ASP model allowing a software delivery without the need for any local data or software installation. Any browser with a robust Internet connection is able to access the software and the clients are billed via a subscription model, hence the service part. No ownership, no installation, no maintenance. I recently vetted a SaaS company for a VC client of mine and the SaaS model & revenue model made an extremely compelling business case. For VCs looking to invest in companies with a scalable business model this is an ideal revenue structure as it generally involves a fixed cost of initial development and infrastructure then they can scale up for countless clients who also subscribe to their software. This is great but there is more to it as the architecture for SaaS comes in two bas...

No one who has ever worked in a corporate environment, much less been to business school, has ever avoided dealing with the infamous SWOT Analysis. SWOTs are meant to summarize the strategic positioning of a company and explain where they are and what steps they should take to be more effectual. In actuality, they are a very effective high-level tool for examining any company. I incorporated the SWOT technique into my own surveys of companies and created the T-SWOT or Technical SWOT analysis. The idea here is to easily and effectively explain to my VC clients what are the Technology-based positioning a company has. Each SWOT axis can be converted to technology standards and examines the tech functions of a company in a granular fashion. SWOT in an IT Context: Strengths - technical strengths in platform, infrastructure and management Weaknesses - who a firms software design and platform may weaken them and what they should do Opportunities - in the te...

New Collaborative Technologies Not-All-That-New The messaging industry is highly fragmented but includes very sizable markets such as Email Security (projected at $6.7Bn by 2013, E-mail Security Market, 2009-2013, The Radicati Group, 2009 ) & Instant Messaging (forecasted at over $12Bn by 2013, Mobile Messaging Futures 2009-2013, Telecoms Market Research, 2008 ). A new, possibly disruptive, class of messaging platform is emerging and many are wondering how it might affect the market size from an investment standpoint. These platforms are known as collaborative messaging which are cross-breed of email, IMing and real time interaction with others, the poster-child being Google Wave.  The advent of collaborative technologies has given new dimensions to real-time productivity and communications for users worldwide. This segment of technology includes platforms like Etherpad, Shareflow, Microsoft SharePoint & Google Wave which allow multiple levels of interaction on a rea...

Private equity and venture capital firms often face the threat of risk within their portfolio companies, but are not always certain of their portfolio firm’s competency in this area. Risk Management within Information Technology is especially critical as it affects all operations and the eventual value of a portfolio company. CSC, Inc . specializes in helping investment firms make the best technology decisions for their portfolio company’s technology needs. This article serves as a primer for PE & VC firms who must ensure that their investments are secure and may need to proactively engage the IT management of their portfolio company. This primer can act as a template for those IT managers that are tasked with developing an IT risk management plan and who need guidelines for the process. It will also provide examples of how to implement each step and a validation structure for the investment firm to follow the process. The pervasive nature of technology has increasingly...