By Chris Holbrook, 22 May 2001 00:01
NEWS According to research out today, only half of all IT directors in the UK are consulted when potential mergers are on the drawing board, leading to massive problems of technology interoperability further down the line. Indeed, when IT is consulted, one in five mergers are abandoned or delayed, suggesting that technology should be a crucial part of any due diligence process. Richard Peers, head of enterprise marketing at Microsoft, which commissioned the survey, said: "If they don't talk, how can they discuss which system to take on? The simplest way for companies to counteract this is by the CIO, CEO and IT director working as a triumvirate, making sure they're all included in any merger and acquisition process." Frank Coyle, IT director for John Menzies, agreed: "Merger is a misnomer. Generally it's a takeover by one of the other firms. In theory you'd take the best system, but what usually happens is the stronger partner system is taken on." According to Coyle, IT directors are not included early enough in the process when talks are initiated. He said the opinions of accountants seem to be heard first but they lack the expertise to consider IT implications. He added: "IT budget savings are achieved only by the joint development of a product, and these are usually swallowed by the need for system development and integration." The survey revealed another worrying trend: fewer than one in five IT directors believe that cost reductions accrue from a merger, and only 42 per cent feel that customer satisfaction goes up as a result. The research was conducted by the Bathwick Group among 137 senior IT managers.
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