1.
Scale is Repeatability, Not Just Growth
What to do: Every IT initiative should answer: 1. Does it expand EBITDA?
Why it matters: Scalability is the ability to grow revenue without linear growth in cost or risk; maturity is having repeatable, auditable ways of operating that survive leadership changes, acquisitions, and increased threat attention.
2. Does it reduce operational/cyber risk (therefore preserving multiple)? 3. Does it increase integration speed for bolt-ons / readiness for exit?
2.
Simple + Practical IT Maturity Model
What to do: Mature through this model to achieve standardized with a stretch goal of optimized: 1. Heroic / Reactive: Outcomes depend on specific people; incidents are common; “tribal knowledge.” 2. Managed: Basic SLAs, patching cadence, some process, minimal KPIs. 3. Standardized / Repeatable: Documented controls, consistent tooling, onboarding/offboarding, vendor governance, predictable delivery. 4. Optimized / Measurable: Automation, real-time metrics, continuous control monitoring, fast integrations, low friction for the business. What to do: 1. Standardize the workplace stack: One endpoint standard, collaboration suite, and identity plane + Application rationalization: Retire duplicate tools. 2. ITSM + asset inventory (because you can’t secure what you can’t see). 3. Identity & Access: SSO + MFA everywhere (especially email, VPN, admin accounts).
Why it matters: Achieving the right model reduces integration drag, reduces cyber risk, and keeps leadership focused on growth.
3.
Cost Takeout + Minimum Viable Controls (MVCs)
Why it matters: Focusing on cost takeouts that increase capability (not cuts it) + implementing the minimum viable controls (MVCs) help protect EBITDA and the multiple.
4. Endpoint management (MDM) + EDR. 5. Email security + phishing resistance.
6. Security awareness that focuses on wire fraud and HR/payroll redirects. 7. Backups + recovery (immutable/offline options and periodic restore testing). 8. License & cloud spend governance: Put in FinOps basics—tagging, showback, annual subscriptions vs. pay-as-you-go business.
Thrive’s Role: From Assessment to Optimization
Turn Infrastructure into a Strategic Asset Private equity firms excel at uncovering untapped business value. But too often, technical debt is left unaddressed until it becomes a major problem, such as dragging down performance, adding risk, and complicating exits. By partnering with Thrive, PE firms can shift from technical debt to technical equity. The result is a stronger, more secure, and scalable technology foundation that fuels operational efficiency, digital transformation, and long- term value. Contact: https://thrivenextgen.com/contact/ Email: info@thrivenextgen.com Phone: +1 866-205-2810
Thrive partners with private equity firms to evaluate and transform the IT landscape across their portfolios. Our process starts with technical due diligence to uncover hidden infrastructure risk and inefficiencies. From there, we design and execute modernization plans tailored to each business’s operations, growth goals, and compliance requirements. Our services span cloud transformation, managed cybersecurity, network modernization, AI enablement, and full-service IT support. We help standardize IT operations across the portfolio, enabling easier integration of new acquisitions and reducing overhead associated with disparate systems. Importantly, we understand the PE timeline. Our teams act fast, deliver with precision, and support every stage from post-close planning to exist optimization.
ACG MAGAZINE 13 ACG MAGAZINE 13
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