Acquiring a company is a significant undertaking. As a corporate development officer evaluating potential acquisitions, or as an entrepreneur or investor developing an exit strategy, you need Technology Due Diligence to be accurate, fast and candid. Solid Technology Due Diligence uncovers risks and provides insight into whether the software and/or development organization you are buying will meet your business goals. The goal of a Software Quality audit is to provide an independent determination as to whether the software, its documentation, and/or the development and maintenance processes meet stated requirements.
Acquirers need to be secure that the software they are purchasing is licensed properly and all proprietary intellectual property is legally documented. Companies that hope to be acquired, must be prepared to ensure that the findings of the software quality audit will not devalue their assets. As part of Technology Due Diligence, a software quality audit appraises software processes and identifies potential areas for improvement. In addition, the software quality audit assesses the culture, productivity, management experience and technical depth of target development staff. This group of individuals will play a critical role in determining your future success or failure. The software quality audit will also evaluate development methodologies, coding guidelines, quality, infrastructure, security precautions, quality assurance capabilities, and disaster and recovery preparedness.
Companies who fail to undertake a Technology Due Diligence assessment, which includes a competent analysis of the underlying software quality, may unsuspectingly invest in a superficially attractive but ultimately impossible enterprise. Some key objectives in conducting a Technology Due Diligence software quality audit include:
Code Quality Assessment
- Coding standards and documentation
- Source code static analysis
- Security and encryption protocols
- Version control practices
- Exception handling and error notification
Development Environment Assessment
- Development methodologies
- Unit, functional, and integration testing processes
- Continuous integration
- Automated deployments
- Test automation
- Team discipline and project management
- Functional backups
- Functional staging environment
Ayoka is an experienced technology company that can provide Technology Due Diligence that will help acquirers to better realize value from the software and/or development organization they acquire. Whether you are thinking of buying your first business, or selling your existing company, we provide a complete Technology Audit to guide managers of acquiring or existing firms in evaluating the “IT health” of potential or current acquisition targets. This audit document will outline the “current state” as well as provide recommendations as to the “ideal state” of your software environment. This document also includes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that can guide your decisions about buying or selling. Minimize your risk and call us today!