Validating Acquisition IS Integration Readiness with Drills

To companies, mergers and acquisitions are important strategic tools, yet they often fail to deliver their expected value. Studies have shown the integration of information systems is a significant roadblock to the realisation of acquisition benefits, and for an IT department to be ready to integrate they must begin preparations many months or years in advance. While the need for preparation is well understood, there is limited understanding as to how an IT department can become ready to acquire. This paper begins to address this gap by drawing on drills (usually associated with emergencies), to understand how an IT department can use them to validate their integration plans. The paper presents a case study of two drills used to validate an IT department’s readiness to carry out acquisition IS integration, and suggests seven acquisition IS integration drill characteristics others could utilise when designing their own drills.