Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) significantly increase the complexity of IT systems, as both organizations undertake projects to integration and rationalize technologies. In order to create a centralized identity security foundation that will allow the combined business to move faster towards their strategic goals, security teams must utilize enhanced monitoring and analytics capabilities to identify potential threats and risks.
Merger & Acquisition
Technology Consolidation
Problem
M&A activities result in a complex IT environment with multiple user directories and privileged account sprawl, as different business units or acquired companies may have their own identity management systems, leading to fragmented identity visibility.
Risk
M&A activities can create identity silos, where user identities and access permissions are scattered across disparate systems and applications, making it difficult to enforce consistent governance policies and access controls across the organization.
Solution
Implement robust monitoring, analytics, and reporting capabilities to ensure identity specific standards are maintained, as certain applications or systems may not be able to be folded into the acquiring company until certain standards are met.
Challenges Consolidating Technology From M&A
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Technology consolidation during mergers and acquisitions extends far beyond simple infrastructure integration, requiring in-depth planning to navigate technological, regulatory, and organizational complexities. The difficulty of merging disparate technology with fundamentally different identity architectures, security controls, and organizational cultures while maintaining operational continuity and minimizing security risks requires top down control of every account. This process involves comprehensive discovery, risk assessment, architectural reconciliation, and strategic migration across potentially incompatible technological landscapes with minimal disruption to ongoing business operations. Successfully consolidating technology during M&A must utilize:
- Identity Landscape Mapping: Advanced discovery frameworks that utilize comprehensive scanning and correlation technologies to create detailed, normalized mappings of identity ecosystems across merged entities, enabling precise understanding of technological disparities and potential integration challenges.
- Risk-Aware Migration Strategies: Phased migration approaches that leverage intelligent risk scoring, contextual analysis, and adaptive integration techniques to minimize security exposure during complex consolidation efforts.
- Compliance and Governance Harmonization: Robust governance frameworks that can reconcile regulatory requirements, security policies, and compliance standards across merged technological environments.
- Architectural Interoperability Management: Identity integration platforms capable of creating flexible, normalized identity bridges that enable seamless authentication and access management across fundamentally different technological infrastructures.
- Cultural and Operational Alignment: Dedicated cross-functional integration units that address not just technological challenges, but also the complex human and organizational dynamics inherent in comprehensive technology consolidation.
Confidently plan, prioritize, and implement technology consolidation projects from M&A
Prioritize Consolidation Based on Risk and Hygiene
Baseline and compare the identity implementations and configurations of the parent company against the company being acquired to determine what is required to create the optimal consolidation and integration strategy.
Manage Every Identity’s Access Rights
Monitor and manage accounts on every system across both organizations to ensure departing employees have been removed or group membership is changed for employees in new roles.
Build a Strong Foundation From the Start
Prevent account sprawl by discovering orphaned, dormant, and shadow accounts that inadvertently have access rights to sensitive systems and resources in applications.
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