Story · Strategy · Multi-year roadmap
Growing through acquisition: a roadmap that unified five offices
Each acquisition brought a server, a file share and a set of habits. Five offices in, the company was five small companies wearing one logo. Pete's job was to set the direction; Nate's was to build it one office at a time.
The situation
Files lived on whichever office's server had them. Staff in one region could not reach another's documents without a phone call. Every server was a single point of failure and a future capital expense.
What we did
The roadmap ran over several years, budgeted annually with the owner: unify the file shares first, using replication so every office sees one tree and each site stays fast; then retire servers as their workloads move to cloud services; then standardize devices and security across all sites. Each acquisition since has followed the same playbook, which is why they now take weeks instead of quarters.
Pete owns the vision and the budget conversation. Nate owns the integration work. The client sees one plan.
"A company that grows by acquisition needs a technology plan that expects the next one."
How the partners put itWhat changed
ResolvedOne file tree across five offices. Fewer servers every year. A written roadmap the owner reviews annually, and acquisitions that no longer disrupt the business.
The guide behind this story
ChecklistIT due diligence when buying a business
The technology questions to ask before the letter of intent, what the answers do to the price, and how integration goes when it is planned.
Read the guideOrder the internet circuit the week the lease is signed. Carriers take six to twelve weeks. Nothing else on a move fails as often.
The relocation checklist Did you knowA backup that has never been restored is a hope, not a plan. Ask for the date of the last tested restore.
What to actually testQuestions people ask about this
What does a technology roadmap actually contain?
What changes, in what order, over what years, and what each year costs. It is reviewed with the owner and adjusted as the business changes.
The full answer
"Outstanding as always. Prompt, knowledgeable, and consistently exceeding expectations."
Senada, insurance brokerageMore from the survey wall- A technician who knows your setup takes every request. Not a dispatcher, not a queue.
- Every closed ticket is surveyed and a partner reads every response.
- 99.5% of surveys come back positive.
- Family-owned since 2005. 21 years in the same corner of Wisconsin, not going anywhere.
"Thanks for the hard work. I was kept informed with regular updates until the concern was resolved."
Jeff, insurance brokerageTalk to a partner, not a sales script.
Tell us what is going on. A partner will call you back the same business day, look at what you have, and tell you honestly whether we are the right fit. No pricing pressure, no pitch deck.