Combining the information systems of two different companies usually requires considerable organizational change and managing complex systems projects. If the integration is not properly managed, firms can emerge with a tangled hodgepodge of inherited legacy systems built by aggregating the systems of one firm after another. Without successful systems integration, the benefits anticipated from the merger cannot be realized, or, worse, the merged entity cannot execute its business processes and loses customers.
Sources:
- Moore, N. The new role of the CIO in M&A due diligence. (http://www.softwaremag.com/content/ContentCT.asp?P=3237).
- McDonnell, C. (June 2007). The technology factor in M&A and why you need IT due diligence. Dublin: Accountancy Ireland, 39(3), 40-41.
- Satwah, B. (Oct 1, 2006). Special supplement: Service-oriented architecture – A tool for M&A success – A mergers and acquisitions situation is an ideal one for SOA. London: The Banker, Oct 1, 2006, 1.
Use the above links, the material in the textbook, assigned articles, and other sources to address the following questions:
- What are some of the risks involved when one firm acquires another firm’s IT infrastructure?
- Why do firms often fail to take the target firm’s information systems and IT infrastructure into account when purchasing other firms?
- On the Web, explore the IT/IS integration issues raised by one of these mega mergers of the past few years: Proctor & Gamble/Gillette, UJF/Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial, HEXAL/Novartis, or Kellog/Keebler. You can explore these mergers using Google searches such as “Kellogg Keebler merger.”
Your response should be a 2–4 page Microsoft Word document, double spaced, and in 12 point Times New Roman or New Courier font. All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources. Be sure to cite the references you used. With online and book references.
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