Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestments

Mergers
Acquisitions
Divestments

Mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures are complex and require in depth planning and preparation over a long period to ensure a smooth cut-over from the incumbent network to the new one, or to merely sever ties with sites and services prior to handover.

Geostream will perform the discovery visits and provide in-depth documentation to ensure a smooth transition with re-architecture where required. We have vast experience in this field.

On-site Discovery
Thorough Investigation
Methodical & Painstaking
Detailed Reporting

Process Driven
Execute as Planned
Downtime Aware
Agile Engineers

Network Design
Policy Review
Systems Mapping
Runbook Preparation

Transition to BAU
Handover Documentation
24/7 HyperCare Provision
Swift Change Resolution

Discovery

Network and service discovery is the most painstaking phase of a network transition and is a critical foundation for the rest of the project. All site networks must be mapped, both physically and logically, all switch ports accounted for, every data socket and endpoint found. VLANs, ACLs and NAT policies understood. Every service known, all 3rd parties contacted, support contracts and warranties checked. How systems integrate and which ports and protocols are used. All of this, and more, requires and a methodical and intelligent approach, and cannot be rushed, no corners cut.

We understand this. We do the walking, talking, crawling, and climbing to get to every last bit of every last network. We write extensive reports and produce detailed data sheets to ensure there are no surprises during cutover, no services failing on completion. Our due diligence helps deliver a smooth transition with minimum snagging and a successful return to operation.

Architecture

Integration architecture to join existing networks to another requires a lot of careful consideration and review. Relying heavily on the information gathered during the discovery phase and the detailed requirements of the new network, every element needs to be compared to look for overlapping subnets, duplicate services, wireless network requirements, new policies that affect cross VLAN communication, internet access, printing, backups and every other system. A detailed runbook then needs to be produced that will run through every stage of the integration, with checkpoints, timings, and signoff responsibilities that will take the disparate networks and merge them together successfully.

Network separation during divestment, though simpler, has its challenges and requires a detailed architecture plan to successfully split the networks. Main network services, such as Active Directory Domain Services, DNS, DHCP and Print, all need to be separated correctly lest servers and systems become unavailable post cutover. Handover preparation is also key to ensure the new owners of sold equipment are able to take full control without problem.

Cutover

Detailed discovery documentation will enable concise runbooks, and these will help deliver a smooth cutover. This phase happens when the offices are closed, production stopped, factories quiet. Every moment of downtime can be costing money, so it must go to plan and be completed as scheduled.

Even with the best preparation, challenges can present themselves which need to be dealt with efficiently and without disrupting the rest of cutover. We are agile engineers who can think on our feet, see around problems and provide solutions, keeping everything on track.

Hypercare

There are two main aspects of Hypercare; to provide rapid support to ensure business continuity during snagging operations, and to enable a smooth transition to the business as usual (BAU) teams.

Enterprise operations can run 24/7 so Hypercare may need to as well. Problems need to be rectified quickly and efficiently to ensure any downtime is kept to a minimum, and those that manifest during this phase can be varied and not always of the normal break fix type, or of a single point of failure. Given the significant changes that may have occurred during cutover and the extensive dependencies and relationships between systems, the root cause of a problem may not be immediately obvious. It is important, therefore, that the support team are agile, good at working under pressure, have initiative and are multi-skilled.

Systems architects, and engineers responsible for cutover & Hypercare, will discover and produce a wealth of information covering the various servers, systems, and devices on the network, all of which needs to be documented in a clear and concise format to handover to BAU teams. As we’re a client focussed team, we also aim to pass on any concerns, observations, and recommendations that we’ve found.

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