INTRODUCTION

ICT Technical Due Diligence (ICT TDD) is a comprehensive evaluation of an organisation’s information and communication technologies, including digital products, infrastructure, software architecture, cybersecurity posture, and related development processes. It is typically conducted by advisors to support investment, acquisition, or partnership decisions involving companies whose operations or services are technology-driven.

The purpose of ICT TDD is to assess the technical strengths, weaknesses, risks, and opportunities associated with a product or service across six key areas:

  1. Technical strategy
  2. Platform, system architecture, and applications
  3. Development team and software development lifecycle (SDLC)
  4. Technology-related financials and budgeting
  5. ICT infrastructure
  6. IT operations, governance, and cybersecurity

THE DO’S

  • Understand the investment or acquisition thesis
  • Evaluate the technical team’s capabilities against the desired business outcomes
  • Assess the cybersecurity posture of ICT systems
  • Analyse the system’s readiness to scale: architecture redesign, resource planning, and budget estimation
  • Evaluate if the codebase and architecture can support projected user growth and the product roadmap
  • Identify inefficiencies in the development lifecycle
  • Assess product and code quality, maintainability, and technical debt
  • Recommend improvements and provide post-transaction advisory

THE DON’T

  • Don’t spend excessive time or budget on low-impact code reviews
  • Don’t focus on how “beautiful” the current architecture is—prioritise functionality, cybersecurity, and scalability
  • Don’t evaluate non-core ICT infrastructure in non-tech target companies, unless it is relevant to the deal
  • Don’t rely on generic checklists—context matters in ICT diligence

ICT TECHNICAL DUE DILIGENCE APPROACH

Tenendo’s ICT Technical Due Diligence approach is structured around six critical evaluation pillars, each designed to assess the alignment of the target’s technology with business strategy, growth readiness, and risk exposure. We combine strategic analysis, technical assessments, and hands-on validations to provide a 360° view of the target’s ICT landscape.

1. Technical Strategy Alignment

We assess how well the technical and product strategy aligns with the overall business objectives and the investment thesis.

Focus Areas:

  • Clarity and coherence of the tech and product strategy
  • Planned and required tech investments (short and long-term)
  • Adoption and capabilities in emerging technologies (e.g., AI/ML)
  • Market outlook, competition, and product roadmap alignment
  • Strategic technology partnerships and their associated risks

2. Platform, Architecture, and Applications

We examine whether the target’s product architecture is scalable, maintainable, and suited for growth and integration.

Focus Areas:

  • Overview of services and their performance vs. competitors
  • Architecture diagrams and integration landscape
  • Internal and external system dependencies
  • Technology stack maturity, modularity, and modernisation needs
  • Commercial and back-office applications in use

3. People and Software Development Lifecycle

We evaluate the organisation’s capability to support innovation, product delivery, and scale through its people and processes.

Focus Areas:

  • Organisational structure and team agility
  • Key person risk and succession planning
  • Effectiveness of the software development lifecycle (SDLC)
  • Talent metrics: tenure, diversity, recruitment strategy
  • Development culture, DevOps practices, and collaboration tools

4. Technology Financials

We analyse past and planned tech investments in the context of business goals and validate CAPEX/OPEX against future needs.

Focus Areas:

  • Alignment of past investments with strategic goals
  • Budget planning for modernisation and scaling
  • Technology debt and cost of legacy systems
  • Savings potential and efficiency metrics
  • Financial agility and project-level resource planning

5. IT Infrastructure

We assess the readiness and scalability of the IT infrastructure to support the current and future operational demands.

Focus Areas:

  • Hosting strategy (cloud/on-prem), geographic distribution
  • Infrastructure scalability and performance
  • Legacy components and upgrade needs
  • Regulatory compliance (e.g., data residency, DORA)
  • Migration readiness and disaster recovery capabilities

6. IT Processes and Security

We evaluate the security posture and maturity of IT governance to ensure resilience, compliance, and operational continuity.

Focus Areas:

  • IT documentation availability and quality
  • Data protection and GDPR compliance
  • Security controls, audits, penetration tests, and FOSS scans
  • Backup and disaster recovery plans
  • Incident response capability and real-time monitoring

Approach Highlights

  • Interview-based validation with C-level and engineering leads
  • Hands-on assessments, including UAT, load testing, and pen testing
  • Strategic alignment analysis against business and investment goals
  • Tailored scoring model across each of the six pillars
  • Actionable recommendations prioritised by risk and impact

ICT TECHNICAL DUE DILIGENCE DELIVERABLES

Our deliverables provide a clear, actionable overview of the technical health, scalability, and strategic fit of the target organisation, mapped to your investment or acquisition goals.

1. Executive Summary

  • High-level overview of key findings across all six domains
  • Strategic alignment with the investment thesis
  • Red-flag summary and prioritised risk list
  • Recommendations and quick wins

2. Technical Strategy Assessment Report

  • Evaluation of the target’s technical and product strategy alignment with business strategy
  • Analysis of adoption and application of emerging technologies (e.g., ML/AI)
  • Review of the planned tech investments and product roadmap
  • Competitive positioning and market outlook insights
  • Strategic partnerships and associated risks

Supporting documents:

  • Technology strategy map
  • Product roadmap analysis
  • Strategic risk commentary

3. Architecture & Platform Review

  • Overview of platform architecture and service landscape
  • Scalability, maintainability, and performance evaluation
  • System diagrams with integration mapping
  • Assessment of commercial, back-office, and custom applications
  • Technical debt and modernisation priorities

Supporting documents:

  • Architecture diagrams
  • Application and integration inventory
  • Technical debt heatmap

4. People and SDLC Evaluation

  • Organisational structure and staffing analysis
  • Agile maturity and DevOps practice assessment
  • Identification of key person risks
  • Software development lifecycle (SDLC) process review
  • HR indicators and talent metrics

Supporting documents:

  • Org chart with critical role analysis
  • SDLC and tooling maturity scoring
  • HR KPI dashboard

5. Technology Financials Overview

  • Breakdown of past, current, and projected CAPEX and OPEX
  • Evaluation of budgeting against strategic needs
  • Cost savings opportunities and legacy phase-out plans
  • Financial planning for modernisation

Supporting documents:

  • Tech investment summary and projections
  • CAPEX/OPEX trend analysis
  • Cost optimisation recommendations

6. IT Infrastructure Report

  • Hosting model (on-prem/cloud/hybrid) evaluation
  • Performance and scalability readiness
  • Infrastructure risk assessment
  • Migration complexity and data portability
  • Cloud vendor dependencies and regulatory implications

Supporting documents:

  • Infrastructure architecture overview
  • Scalability & growth readiness scoring
  • Risk register for infrastructure issues

7. IT Security & Process Report

  • Cybersecurity posture evaluation
  • Penetration test and vulnerability scan summaries
  • IT policy and documentation completeness
  • GDPR and compliance assessment
  • Backup, monitoring, and incident response capabilities

Supporting documents:

  • Penetration test report (optional)
  • FOSS and licensing audit
  • IT policy gap matrix
  • Disaster recovery and incident response review

8. Red Flag Report (Optional Add-On)

  • Focused summary of critical issues that may block or delay the deal
  • Recommended mitigation actions and urgency level
  • Investor-facing “stoplight” risk scoring model

9. Custom Test Reports

(Performed based on the scope and use cases defined with the investor)

  • User Acceptance Test (UAT) results for core business scenarios
  • Load/Performance Test report for key platform modules
  • Code Quality Audit summary, including security coding practices
  • Licensing/Compliance Scan findings

10. Final Presentation & Debrief

  • Stakeholder debrief session with Tenendo’s technical due diligence team
  • Final presentation deck with executive summary, visuals, and strategic recommendations
  • Q&A and action planning support