Why an IT due diligence?
The performance of an organisation's software production has become a central value driver of any technology business. Outdated architectures, opaque processes and missing scalability raise the cost of maintenance and further development — often gradually, often only noticed when growth or a change of ownership is on the table.
An objective assessment of the IT and software function — as internal benchmarking or as software due diligence within an M&A transaction — creates clarity about the economic and technical substance of the company. It shows where investments actually produce results, what risks exist and which strategic options are available.
In mergers, technical compatibility comes into focus on top of that: can codebases, platforms and teams be sensibly combined? What are the realistic integration costs? We answer these questions independently and based on facts.
Investment decisions
Where does modernisation actually pay off — and where would investment vanish without visible effect?
M&A transactions
Which technical risks and synergies sit inside the target? Assessment as part of the wider due diligence.
Migration projects
Is the planned migration commercially viable — and what does a realistic plan look like?
Competitiveness
How does your software production compare to the market? Where is action needed?
Methodology — four dimensions, two axes
Our approach assesses software production along four building layers and on two commercial axes: effectiveness (what does the organisation deliver?) and cost efficiency (at what cost?).
01Organisation
Organisational structure and process flow, communication and decision paths, interfaces to business stakeholders.
02Process models
Adequacy of processes in product management, development, quality assurance and support.
03Technologies in use
Benchmarking of software architecture, technology complexity, system size and tooling landscape.
04People
Skills profile, professional development concept and targeted further qualification.
Effektivität Kosteneffizienz
Focus areas
Four distinct workstreams that we combine or run individually depending on the situation.
IT benchmarking
A structured baseline of your own software production.
- Assessment of the organisational structure within your software production
- Assessment of the competitiveness of your software production
- Technical complexity and system size
- Adequacy of chosen data abstractions and algorithms
- Resilience and scalability
- Maintainability and extensibility — technical and commercial
- Process models for incident handling and customer communication
- Skills heatmap of the team
Migration
Assessment and planning of modernisation programmes.
- Review of a planned migration strategy with respect to software architecture and project plans
- Development of migration strategies, roadmaps and delivery plans
Advisory
Support for executive management and IT leadership on strategic questions.
- Advising executive management on communication with the internal IT department
- Review of process models within software production
- Analysis of the people, organisation and technology orientation across product management, quality assurance and support
Software due diligence
External assessment as part of M&A transactions.
- Productivity assessment based on clearly defined KPIs
- Description and analysis of the technology stack
- Dependencies on third-party components and review of licensing terms
- Assessment of team sizes and communication structures
What you receive
Boards, executive management and IT leadership get an objective, external assessment — concise and with clear recommendations.
Strengths and weaknesses profile
A solid view of the IT and software function in technology, quality assurance, project management and skills — benchmarked against the market.
Investment recommendation
Concrete pointers on where investment actually moves the needle on performance — and where it doesn't.
Cost-benefit analysis
Where migration projects are planned, a commercial evaluation of the options including a realistic plan.
