Navigating Mergers and Acquisitions: IT Consolidation Best Practices and Approach
In today’s business environment, mergers, divestitures, and acquisitions (M&A) are becoming increasingly common. However, with these business transformations come the challenges of consolidating multiple IT services and applications. Effective consolidation streamlines operations, enhances accessibility, provides a single pane of glass for management, security, and scalability, most importantly, reduces costs. At Microsoft, my team specializes in helping customers tackle these challenges by delivering top-notch solutions. In this article, I’ll Walk you through some key activities to consider when faced with IT consolidation during M&A. Step 1: Define the Scope of Consolidation The first critical step in any consolidation project is identifying the scope. Where is the consolidation happening, and what are the source and target environments? Once these are defined, the next step is to determine how to consolidate the apps, identities, and infrastructure across the two entities. Step 2: Data is Key When it comes to IT, everything revolves around data. In a consolidation scenario, the most valuable data typically comes from Configuration Items (CI’s), customer asset management systems, and server management teams. If the organization maintains robust documentation of these CIs, it can greatly simplify the process. However, what if documentation is sparse? In such cases, we rely on interviews with various teams, including application, server, and infrastructure teams, as well as vendors who support the current infrastructure and applications. These interviews help us gather the essential information needed for a smooth consolidation and migration. Step 3: Leverage Tools for Data Collection Even with comprehensive interviews, there may still be gaps in the available information. This is where tools like the MAP Toolkit, Connection Loggers, and Network traces come into play. The list of tools could be longer, but I have mentioned a few here just for reference. These tools help identify the applications running within the environment and provide details about them. Our team at Microsoft is well-versed in using these tools and can assist customers in creating an accurate inventory of applications hosted in their environment, which will ultimately help in defining the application scope for migrations. Step 4: Prioritize and Plan Migration Once we have a comprehensive list of the applications, servers, and identities involved, the next step is to prioritize and plan the migration. A thorough discussion with stakeholders will determine which elements should be migrated from one domain to another. For Active Directory (AD) users, groups and computer migrations, we leverage the expertise of our Microsoft IMS (Identity Migration Service.) team. For server / application migrations, the approach will depend on the methodologies we plan to follow. Approach to Consider for Users/Groups and Computer Migration: Prepare source and target domain readiness. Define the migration approach and tool selection. Migrate the users, groups, and computers to the target. Test the resources that have been migrated and confirm that users can log in to the target domain. Step 5: Server / Application Migration Scenarios In some cases, servers may already be tied or tagged to a specific domain. However, if users are available in the new domain and the required groups and other settings are configured (using Identity Migration Services team to migrate resources to the target domain), we can switch the server’s domain and reapply the necessary user and group-specific permissions. This is the easiest option when the application hosted on the server is simple and does not require any code changes or reprogramming. In more complex scenarios, switching the domain isn’t possible. In these cases, we may choose to clone the server and create a mirrored environment in the target Active Directory domain, or we may need to set up a parallel environment for the applications. From there, we can reconfigure the applications, endpoints, and any other settings necessary for the app to function properly. Some Common Approaches to Consider: Assessment of the current environment. Setting up migration goals. Creating a migration plan. Testing the migration plan in a lower environment. Migrate server and databases (If applicable). Consider taking sign-off from respective teams. Step 6: Good Rollback Plan You should always create a solid rollback plan for any migration activity. This is a key requirement for a successful migration, and it helps you prepare in case something goes wrong. A good rollback plan will act as a lifesaver, minimizing the impact and helping you recover quickly in case of failure. Step 7: Post-Migration Cleanup Cleanup is the most essential and important step in any migration or consolidation activity. We will need to clean up any resources left behind in the source domain. This includes the cleanup and removal of any Active Directory resources, such as Users, Groups, Group Policies, DNS entries, or trust relationships between the domains. Proven Success in IT Consolidation We have successfully guided numerous customers through consolidation projects, helping them achieve their goals efficiently and securely. If you're currently facing an M&A scenario and need assistance with your IT consolidation efforts, don’t hesitate to reach out to Microsoft. Our team is ready to help. Security First: Protecting Your Environment At Microsoft, security is always a top priority. As we help you consolidate and manage your IT infrastructure, we ensure that security remains at the forefront. We not only help with the technical aspects of consolidation but also with safeguarding your environment throughout the process.Microsoft Security in Action: Deploying and Maximizing Advanced Identity Protection
As cyber threats grow in sophistication, identity remains the first line of defense. With credentials being a primary target for attackers, organizations must implement advanced identity protection to prevent unauthorized access, reduce the risk of breaches, and maintain regulatory compliance. This blog outlines a phased deployment approach to implement Microsoft’s identity solutions, helping ensure a strong Zero Trust foundation by enhancing security without compromising user experience. Phase 1: Deploy advanced identity protection Step 1: Build your hybrid identity foundation with synchronized identity Establishing a synchronized identity is foundational for seamless user experiences across on-premises and cloud environments. Microsoft Entra Connect synchronizes Active Directory identities with Microsoft Entra ID, enabling unified governance while enabling users to securely access resources across hybrid environments. To deploy, install Microsoft Entra Connect, configure synchronization settings to sync only necessary accounts, and monitor health through built-in tools to detect and resolve sync issues. A well-implemented hybrid identity enables consistent authentication, centralized management, and a frictionless user experience across all environments. Step 2: Enforce strong authentication with MFA and Conditional Access Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is the foundation of identity security. By requiring an additional verification step, MFA significantly reduces the risk of account compromise—even if credentials are stolen. Start by enforcing MFA for all users, prioritizing high-risk accounts such as administrators, finance teams, and executives. Microsoft recommends deploying passwordless authentication methods, such as Windows Hello, FIDO2 security keys, and Microsoft Authenticator, to further reduce phishing risks. Next, to balance security with usability, use Conditional Access policies to apply adaptive authentication requirements based on conditions such as user behavior, device health, and risk levels. For example, block sign-ins from non-compliant or unmanaged devices while allowing access from corporate-managed endpoints. Step 3: Automate threat detection with Identity Protection Implementing AI-driven risk detection is crucial to identifying compromised accounts before attackers can exploit them. Start by enabling Identity Protection to analyze user behavior and detect anomalies such as impossible travel logins, leaked credentials, and atypical access patterns. To reduce security risk, evolve your Conditional Access policies with risk signals that trigger automatic remediation actions. For low-risk sign-ins, require additional authentication (such as MFA), while high-risk sign-ins should be blocked entirely. By integrating Identity Protection with Conditional Access, security teams can enforce real-time access decisions based on risk intelligence, strengthening identity security across the enterprise. Step 4: Secure privileged accounts with Privileged Identity Management (PIM) Privileged accounts are prime targets for attackers, making Privileged Identity Management (PIM) essential for securing administrative access. PIM allows organizations to apply the principle of least privilege by granting Just-in-Time (JIT) access, meaning users only receive elevated permissions when needed—and only for a limited time. Start by identifying all privileged roles and moving them to PIM-managed access policies. Configure approval workflows for high-risk roles like Global Admin or Security Admin, requiring justification and multi-factor authentication before privilege escalation. Next, to maintain control, enable privileged access auditing, which logs all administrative activities and generates alerts for unusual role assignments or excessive privilege usage. Regular access reviews further enable only authorized users to retain elevated permissions. Step 5: Implement self-service and identity governance tools Start by deploying Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR). SSPR enables users to recover their accounts securely without help desk intervention. Also integrate SSPR with MFA, so that only authorized users regain access. Next, organizations should implement automated Access Reviews on all users, not just privileged accounts, to periodically validate role assignments and remove unnecessary permissions. This helps mitigate privilege creep, where users accumulate excessive permissions over time. Phase 2: Optimize identity security and automate response With core identity protection mechanisms deployed, the next step is to enhance security operations with automation, continuous monitoring, and policy refinement. Step1: Enhance visibility with centralized monitoring Start by Integrating Microsoft Entra logs with Microsoft Sentinel to gain real-time visibility into identity-based threats. By analyzing failed login attempts, suspicious sign-ins, and privilege escalations, security teams can detect and mitigate identity-based attacks before they escalate. Step 2: Apply advanced Conditional Access scenarios To further tighten access control, implement session-based Conditional Access policies. For example, allow read-only access to SharePoint Online from unmanaged devices and block data downloads entirely. By refining policies based on user roles, locations, and device health, organizations can strengthen security while ensuring seamless collaboration. Phase 3: Enable secure collaboration across teams Identity security is not just about protection—it also enables secure collaboration across employees, partners, and customers. Step 1: Secure external collaboration Collaboration with partners, vendors, and contractors requires secure, managed access without the complexity of managing external accounts. Microsoft Entra External Identities allows organizations to provide seamless authentication for external users while enforcing security policies like MFA and Conditional Access. By enabling lifecycle management policies, organizations can automate external user access reviews and expirations, ensuring least-privilege access at all times. Step 2: Automate identity governance with entitlement management To streamline access requests and approvals, Microsoft Entra Entitlement Management lets organizations create pre-configured access packages for both internal and external users. External guests can request access to pre-approved tools and resources without IT intervention. Automated access reviews and expiration policies enable users retain access only as long as needed. This reduces administrative overheads while enhancing security and compliance. Strengthening identity security for the future Deploying advanced identity protection in a structured, phased approach allows organizations to proactively defend against identity-based threats while maintaining secure, seamless access. Ready to take the next step? Explore these Microsoft identity security deployment resources: Microsoft Entra Identity Protection Documentation Conditional Access Deployment Guide Privileged Identity Management Configuration Guide The Microsoft Security in Action blog series is an evolving collection of posts that explores practical deployment strategies, real-world implementations, and best practices to help organizations secure their digital estate with Microsoft Security solutions. Stay tuned for our next blog on deploying and maximizing your investments in Microsoft Threat Protection solutions.To Understand WebAuthn, Read CredMan
There are a lot of terms and concepts in the W3C WebAuthn specification - but some of them are inherited from another @W3C specification, the credential management specification. A quick survey of CredMan API is a great way to prepare before learning all about WebAuthn.
