With corporate acquisitions, divestitures, and other realignments affecting more and more IT departments, the need for practical transitional advice and guidance has never been greater. But while the need has traditionally been seen to reside almost entirely with the divesting entity (to plan for the IT costs and delivery implications of a divestiture), Swingtide has identified a growing need among those companies or entities that are being spun off.

“Spun-off companies typically begin their independent life with IT covered under a transition services agreement,” said Swingtide senior consultant Christopher Herman, “but they often get lulled into a false sense of security by the length of the agreement and are unprepared for that day a year or two after they’re divested when they have to provide for all their own IT needs.” Core technology services that are provided under a transition agreement frequently take longer to replace than is anticipated by the technology leadership of the spun-off entity, Herman said, leading to the necessity to make hurried stopgap decisions as the day of reckoning approaches.

“We see it all the time,” said Swingtide senior consultant Jason Bauder. “Companies think they have plenty of time to migrate to a new solution, only to find themselves scrambling to maintain basic services at the eleventh hour.”

Said Swingtide managing director Diane Carco, “Our Divestiture Facilitation for IT consulting offering was originally designed to assist with all the unwinding and disengagement that must be done when spinoffs happen. But we’re finding that a significant need exists for the same kind of detailed assessments and planning in companies that are coming to the end of a TSA and aren’t prepared to do their own IT acquisitions.”

About Swingtide:
Swingtide, Inc. is an organization of high-value consultants with real-world experience, an analytical approach, and the ability to identify and solve IT-related business problems with well-defined methods. Its senior business and IT professionals have the experience required to solve complex business and technical problems in rapidly changing environments. Founded in 2001 with backing from FirstMark Capital and private investors, Swingtide helps its consulting clients reduce cost, efficiently outsource and effectively complete mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and realize the benefits of new technologies in information-intensive industries including insurance and financial services.