M&A · Post-Close Integration
Integrating Two Security Programs After Close
An acquirer closed on a company whose security program had never been assessed. The integration plan sequenced the work so customer-facing risk closed first and neither company's operations were disrupted.
The situation
Illustrative scenarioA representative engagement. Details are generalized and no client is identified.
A mid-market company acquired a smaller competitor to gain its product line and customer base. Diligence had been light on security because the deal moved quickly. On day one the acquirer owned two identity systems, two sets of policies, an unknown number of vendors with access to customer data, and customers on both sides who expected nothing to change. The CFO wanted a plan with dates; the acquired team wanted to know what would happen to them.
What Summit did
The work, in the order it happened.
An integration assessment in the first 30 days: inventory of the acquired company's systems, data, vendors, and access, and a gap analysis against the acquirer's program so the combined risk was clear.
Sequencing by exposure rather than by convenience: shared access to customer data and vendor connections first, policy and tooling consolidation later.
A single set of policies for the combined company, adopted rather than rewritten where the acquired company's practices were stronger.
Communication built in: the acquired team's leaders were part of the planning, and customers received one clear message about how their data would be handled.
What the client received
Deliverables written to be used, not filed.
The outcome
The combined company reached one identity system, one policy set, and one vendor inventory on the planned schedule, with customer-facing risk addressed in the first phase. The acquirer now runs security diligence earlier on the next deal.
This scenario reflects the kind of work Summit does under its M&A Advisory service. It is illustrative; results depend on the organization.
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