Andrew Freeman, Director of marketing operations specialists CRM Technologies argues that the challenge of migrating business data is too easily overlooked in the business acquisition process.
So, you’ve been on the acquisition trail, you’ve pinpointed a business which offers an ideal strategic fit with your own, their board has accepted your offer, the deal is done and you can now look forward to a seamless integration process which fully synchronises that business and its operational systems with your own – thereby creating a business superpower capable of conquering all in its path, right? Well no, not exactly…
No matter how apparently ‘perfect’ the fit is between seller and buyer, unless that ‘fit’ can be translated into practical and successful integration, then both businesses might just as well remain single. Data migration, in particular, is the often overlooked and usually underestimated hurdle which many acquisitive businesses ignore at their peril. But, if approached and handled correctly, a properly-handled migration can provide the catalyst for many years of mutually-beneficial and successful partnership.
Businesses are bought for many reasons, but most are bought because they offer the buyer something they don’t already have – whether it be market share, new technologies or access to new markets and new customers. Either way, the buyer is going to want access to the seller’s business information pretty quickly – not least so it can be migrated and integrated to give both businesses access to the economies of scale on offer.
Usually, the first target of any data migration or integration requirement is the bringing together of sales, marketing and customer information systems as quickly as possible. On the rare occasions that both businesses are using the same business applications, on the same platforms and with the same synchronisation techniques, then such migration is rarely a major issue. In the real world, however, not only may the businesses use different applications, they may actually use separate systems for sales, marketing and customer data – with no means of synchronisation between any of them! This is clearly where expertise and experience in data migration can mean the difference between success and failure.
As a case in point, in June 2008, global application modernisation business Micro Focus acquired web application business Netmanage, aiming to fully integrate the systems of the two companies within three months. Further analysis of Netmanage’s business data showed that it comprised in the order of 300,000 data records and 600,000 individual contact files across the company’s core sales and marketing systems – all of which had to be reconciled with Micro Focus’ own data before transfer, to avoid duplication and subsequent confusion.
In situations like these, where you have two businesses operating in a fundamentally similar marketplace, it is almost inevitable that the sales teams of both businesses are going to be targeting the same types of companies – and possibly the same individuals within those companies! In that sense, the need for thorough reconciliation between the business data of both buyer and seller should require no further explanation.
It is essential that sample data from all relevant data platforms is analysed in the first instance – and as early as possible within the acquisition process – in order to give some idea of the level of ‘overlap’ present in the two data sets. From this it will be possible to properly assess the level of task required to fully integrate the data from both businesses – as well as an estimate of the likely time required.
It is also essential at this stage to agree on what is regarded as ‘core’ or strategic data. In other words, it is probably not essential at this stage to begin mapping what percentage of contacts have a liking for rugby, hang gliding or real ale – just the name, position and contact information should be enough to enable business to continue. Once you have your data is fully migrated and integrated it will be significantly easier to overlay additional layers of detail at that time.
Eventually, all of Netmanage’s business data was compared and mapped against a series of previously agreed ‘core’ criteria – reducing what was initially a 90% data overlap with Micro Focus’ systems down to just 5% – before arriving at a final mapping file which provided integrated and de-duped data from Netmanage’s three databases as an overlay onto Micro Focus’ relationship management database.
Exercises like these underline how critical it can be to incorporate operational data from an acquired business in a way which lets both businesses operate effectively and seamlessly from day one. The number of badly targeted mailings, the number of inappropriate sales calls and the volume of irrelevant email serves to underline the fact that data quality is a key consideration for any sales and marketing team. But when you are combining the data from a number of disparate systems into a single business application, it is not just ‘important’ – it becomes absolutely crucial and getting it wrong can have a huge impact.
So, before you embark on that major data integration exercise with your new acquisition, it might just be worth taking some time out to assess the quality of the data you will be working with – and how much of it already resembles your own business information. The earlier you can do this within the acquisition process, the better – and the earlier you recognise that you may need some expert help in matching, cleaning and de-duplicating what may be a significant volume of data, the more likely you are to achieve a successful integration within the time you have been given.
The current business climate has seen many of the UK’s (and indeed many of the world’s) financial institutions merging – either through choice or necessity. The need for effective and reliable data migration should be high on the list of any business systems professional currently faced with such a task. That task may be critical for a number of reasons, but if you get it wrong now, you may not have another chance to put it right.
About CRM Technologies
Founded in 1999, CRM is the first of a new breed of specialist marketing operations agencies to deliver a range of services and solutions to provide operational support for marketing departments. CRM provide access to operational best practices, technical expertise and administrative resource, enabling marketers to focus on strategic, creative and tactical innovation.
CRM provides a number of on-demand services for the busy marketing department from data cleaning and analysis through to emarketing and reporting. CRM also host and manage marketing databases, web applications, campaign landing pages and reporting portals – allowing sophisticated solutions to be deployed, with no IT overhead from the client.
CRM provides its solutions and services for micro-cap to large-cap size companies, operating primarily in the Hi-Technology and Services sectors. Clients include; Sun Microsystems, McAfee and Netstore Benendon Health, Gartner , Manhattan Associates and Micro Focus.
