CIO's Impact on Mergers and Acquisitions

This IDC Perspective discusses CIOs' impact on M&A. Acquisitive companies are now looking at digital capabilities as enablers of operating leverage and recognizing emerging technologies as drivers of strategic acceleration and transformational investments. CIOs can bring unique leverage in all stages of M&A activity, including strategy, valuation, diligence, and planning - supporting enterprise risk assessment, mitigation, and avoidance. By asking key strategic questions, the CIOs can support proactive and tactical M&A undertakings, and they can lead by independently considering market factors that drive value."As a strategic and critical thinker for the organization, the CIO is uniquely positioned to identify leverage and see opportunities that more linear business leaders might miss," says Alizabeth Calder, adjunct research advisor for IDC's IT Executive Programs (IEP). "At the same time, digital strategy and delivery experience set us up to understand risk-based decisions and identify opportunities for mitigation and risk avoidance. Finally, as a known breeding ground for cynics and skeptics, strategic digital leaders are positioned to bring the highest level of old-fashioned IT skepticism through the valuation and diligence stages of M&A, setting up transactions for more sustainable impact by enabling higher value with less residual risk."