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A Place at the Table for Technology

The concept of a place at the table for technology is not new. It usually has been phrased as having technology have a champion. In this case, the phrase was applied to having technology represented in strategic planning.

The need to have technology represented at the board level during strategic planning was articulated by Duane Squier, director of information systems for Denver, Colo.-based Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman Squier went further in defining what a place at the table means. "it means that a technology partner or someone along the technology line is involved in every single meetng."

His point was also that technology is about a lot more than an organization's software hardware and networking plumbing. Technology is now such an intricate part of how business runs that someone from that side of the organization needs to be involved in the planning and execution of mergers and acquisitions.

With firms having different applications and often different telephone and email systems, just for starters, is there any other way to sucessfully execute M&A without a clear view of those systems and how they will work together or be integrated?

In a way, technology has become too important to leave simply to the technologists.

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