The IT director left mid-project, but the project continued.

The work

What we did, and why

Two companies merging is a technology decision before it is a people decision. This firm had signed for a new ERP, the system that runs operations and accounting. It inherited a second Microsoft account and a second set of AI tools. It also lost the IT director who had been carrying the plan in his head. The next board meeting was a vote on spend no one in the room could explain.

The review ran first, across both sides at once. One AI Use Policy written for the combined company. One AI security and governance assessment covering the tools in use on each side. One map of applications showing what the merged business actually needed. That last piece changed the ERP scope. Two systems no one had planned to move were retired instead, and the migration order was rewritten around the parts of the business that were staying.

Embedded was the right rhythm, not just the biggest one. A weekly place in the leadership and operations meetings meant ERP and migration decisions were made in the room, with a written assessment attached. Nothing was approved a month later and unwound the month after that. The board got its briefing pack before the approval vote, the second acquisition went through due diligence on schedule, and the interim coverage held until a permanent director was hired. He inherited the plan, the license inventory, the renewal calendar, and the open decision list, which is what the next quarter runs on.