Business situation

Supporting the business acquisition Strategy

Apex embarked on a business strategy of multiple acquisitions and required a consistent migration strategy to move the M365 tenant workloads suchas messaging, data and communication platforms of each acquired entity to the Apex Group Microsoft 365 tenant was required to support. This involved a mixture of on-premise exchange, file shares, separate Office 365 tenants, or Google gsuite.

Key aspects of their business requirement:

Security Assessment: an initial assessment was required to validate the security controls of the acquired entity systems, and if necessary implement additional controls to bring them in line with Apex standards, ideally before the close of the acquisition
Communication integration: As close as possible to close it was required that there was integration of corporate directories, address book, and distribution lists, as well as federation with Teams to allow cross-entity integration
Identity management: As part of the induction into Apex it was desirable that user identities were brought into the Apex landscape, and so an assessment of the use of AD and Azure (Entra) AD was done with a target of a Single Identity which could operate on both Apex and the acquired entities systems
Governance : As part of the induction into Apex it was desirable that Apex governance is applied from the day 1 in line with Apex global governance policy of various workloads.
Rebranding: For carveouts, it was required to do an email rebranding on close, while for asset purchased, this was done in a phased approach after the close of the acquisition

In collaboration with the Apex technology teams, DTS provided solution strategy and implementation services to support the project.

Solution Approach

Implementing multiple solutions at a fast pace

Our engagement with Apex began with a comprehensive series of workshops, aimed at gaining a deep understanding of the existing email and communication platform. In a meticulously orchestrated project spanning three transformative phases, Dublin Tech Solutions (DTS) and Apex Group embarked on a to deliver multiple migrations in parallel:

Discovery: The first phase involved a discovery of the acquired entity's M365 tenant and dependent technology landscape as below.

Email Configuration & Email Security
Instant Messaging, Presence and Video/Audio Conferencing Services
Identify Management and Federation
Deep discovery of Share Point sites and OneDrive. permission models and folder hierarchies.
Enterprise Apps Integration
End User Devices & Persona Mapping
Azure Workloads

Solution design: Powered by data from discovery, a detailed design will lay out the below for implementation.

In scope technology landscape and the impact
Migration methodology/tools required for migration
End user impact and mitigation
Governance and support transition plan
Internal and external resources required
Migration plan

Implementation: the phase kicks off with series of small workshop to discuss the approved migration plan and convert the plan into runbook for execution.

Key Achievements

Successful migration of M365 platforms from 10+ acquisitions over4,000+ users to the Apex Microsoft 365 platform.

Successful rebranding and co-existence of acquired entity domains.

Seamless integration of business applications.

Flawless Application deployments via Intune across all devices.

Good onboarding experience for employees of acquired entity into the Apex environment

Our Clients View about us
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“These challenges underscore DTS's technical and project capabilities to support a consistent and repeatable process to migrate users to the Apex central platform.”

ApexGroup’s microsoft 365 migrations for M&A

“I must commend Dublin Tech Solutions for playing a key role in ouracquisition integration journey. Their comprehensive approach, from discoveryto a well-designed implementation strategy and run book, ensured the successful migration of 10+ acquisitions and over 4,000 users. Beyond the technical achievements, the collaboration has been a value add for our organization. It's not just about migrating systems; it's about building a foundation for future growth, and Dublin Tech Solutions has been a key partner in achieving that vision."

Dom Martin, Global Head of Infrastructure Engineering.

About Apex Group

Apex Group Ltd., established in Bermuda in 2003, is a global financial services provider. With over 12,000+ employees across 45 countries, Apex Group delivers an expansive range of services to asset managers, financial institutions, private clients and family offices. The Group has continually improved and evolved its capabilities to offer a single-source solution through establishing the broadest range of services in the industry; including fund raising solutions, fund administration, digital onboarding and bank accounts, depositary, custody, super ManCo, corporate services and a pioneering ESG Ratings and Advisory solution. Apex Group’s purpose is to be more than just a financial services provider and is committed to driving positive change to address three core areas; the Environment and Climate Change, Women’s Empowerment and Economic Independence, Education and Social Mobility.

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