Racing the clock: what it takes to deliver IT integration after an acquisition

When an acquisition is signed, the focus is on the deal. IT integration after an acquisition is often treated as a detail to be worked out later. Then the transitional services agreement (TSA), under which the seller continues to provide IT services for a fixed period, starts counting down, and the business discovers how little time it really has. 

That was the situation facing a global manufacturer that had recently acquired a new production facility. Under the agreement, the plant was still running on the previous owner’s systems, and the business had only a few months to migrate it to its own IT environment. Missing the deadline would mean extension costs, contractual penalties and continued dependence on another company’s infrastructure. 

More importantly, this was not just an IT milestone. The new infrastructure had to be live before the group’s ERP system could go in, and the ERP was essential for managing stock and connecting the plant to the wider business. If the infrastructure slipped, the integration of the entire acquisition slipped with it. 

Experience you cannot learn on the job 

Within days of the Christmas break, I was on a flight to the plant to scope the work and begin discovery. The task covered everything a modern site depends on: the network, wireless, servers, file services, end-user devices and telephony, all aligned with the group’s standards. 

On a timeline like this, there is no room to learn on the job. I had led a number of similar site integrations before, so I knew what was needed and where the risks would be. When you have spent years in infrastructure, you speak the language of the people around you. You know what to ask the cabling contractor, what infrastructure is required to make a rack deployment-ready, and how to engage each stakeholder to turn plans into reality. That familiarity saves days, and on a deadline measured in weeks, days matter. 

This is something Saros does well: matching people with deep, relevant experience to the projects that need it most. To make it happen here, we rebalanced commitments on another engagement so I could move onto the integration full time, at short notice. 

Remove the biggest dependencies first 

With limited time, sequencing was everything. Rather than tackling the whole estate at once, we prioritised the dependencies that carried the most risk. 

The first step was deploying a standard SD-WAN connection, which immediately removed the site’s reliance on the previous owner’s internet line. At the same time, critical laptops and PCs were audited, rebuilt or replaced, and users were moved onto the corporate domain and support model. Early in the project, the plant had a stable, secure baseline, and the team could focus on the more complex work: replacing the local network, deploying wireless coverage for the scanners the ERP would depend on, installing local server infrastructure, migrating file services and moving the site’s phone system onto the group’s Microsoft Teams platform. 

Managing the risks no one plans for 

The biggest threats to the timeline were not technical. They came from the supply chain and the people around the project. When the recommended local contractor proved unresponsive, we sourced an alternative early, so the work stayed on schedule. When critical equipment had months-long lead times, we worked with the client’s architects to approve suitable alternatives that were in stock. Strong vendor relationships made a real difference: when people know and trust you, they are far more willing to find a flexible solution. 

Risks were identified early and resolved before they could affect the deadline, and the go-live ran without delays. 

The result: the site was fully integrated before the TSA expired and in time for the ERP go-live. Legacy systems were decommissioned, the dependency on the previous owner’s IT infrastructure ended, and the plant came under the group’s governance, security and support model. The client then asked Saros to support two further site integrations. 

Expertise when you need it, for as long as you need it 

The organisation traditionally relied on in-house teams and was not used to bringing in external project management support. But it faced a real gap: an urgent, business-critical project, no available infrastructure project manager and no time to recruit one. 

This is where a flexible model shows its value. Hiring a permanent project manager would have taken months the business did not have, and it would have left the business with a full-time role it no longer needed once the work was done. Instead, Saros provided the right expertise immediately, for the six months it was needed, with none of the recruitment burden. When the work was complete, we stepped back, ready to return whenever the business needs us again. 

Planning an acquisition or site integration? 

Saros provides experienced programme and project leadership to deliver complex IT integrations on time, with the flexibility to scale with your needs.