APEM’s IT blueprint for M&A success

LIMA delivers a broad range of managed services to APEM Group, across Azure and M365 managed support, networking, managed SOC, VDR, Baas and Draas.

M&A

To support APEM Group’s M&A strategy, LIMA delivered a templated and repeatable methodology that offers a predictable cost model for bringing new users online, allowing APEM Group to onboard new members of the Group with ease.

Underpinned by Azure Virtual Desktop and M365, this approach enables APEM Group to accurately predict, as part of its due diligence process, the cost of digitally onboarding new members of the Group and understand the timescales of getting them up and running.

Richard said: “LIMA’s support has been a critical part of our approach to M&A. Some of the early, smaller sized consultancies joining the Group had legacy systems in place. We had to identify those and balance the various risks and benefits of migrating or sunsetting the different systems as we moved them over to our cloud for centralised management. With LIMA's help we mapped out any areas of concern within technology estates and identified anything that might be approaching end of life or that didn't fit with our wider roadmap.  

“As the growth strategy has developed, the Group has grown larger and that brings further complexity. LIMA offers a templated approach to migrating the new members of the Group over, based on the different sizes of organisation, giving us a fixed IT cost for each migration up front.

“Working with LIMA allows us to simplify the delivery of migrations and accurately plan timeframes and internal requirements. It’s made life a lot easier, and it helps the business with financial planning, risk and due diligence ahead of future acquisitions.

“We’ve now completed nine consultancies joining the Group and we've seen improvements in the process along the way. We’re in constant communication with LIMA during projects and have consistency in the people we’re dealing with on their side, which helps the projects run smoothly.”

Security

APEM made the strategic decision to outsource some security capability ensuring they had access range of expertise. A managed SOC and vulnerability management come into that category.

"When it comes to vulnerability management, LIMA’s VDR (Vulnerability Detection and Remediation) service meets our needs perfectly,” said Richard. “It identifies vulnerabilities and fixes them for us, so we don't need a dedicated staff member to do it.

“The communication is very clear about the vulnerabilities found, what the plan is for remediation and whether there will be any impacts on us.

“VDR gives awareness of the importance of security to the Executive Team, and all the way down through the business. In the first month, VDR discovered and remediated many vulnerabilities."

“We've grown globally, so quickly, so it was important for us to use a service that tackles these challenges and issues as they arise. We're in a position, utilising LIMA, that we can remedy the risks before they impact the business, which helps the IT team and the board to sleep at night!”

Data

APEM Group is a data-driven business, and LIMA delivers the platform that allows them to provide independent environmental consultancy and expert scientific advice to a wide range of industries including water, renewables, infrastructure, power and utilities, ports and harbours as well as to regulators and governments around the world.

Richard said: “From day one of signing with LIMA, there's always been a keen interest on both sides around our data, making sure we utilise it in the right way and that it's being stored correctly. LIMA work closely with us to ensure we’ve got the platforms and services in place to analyse our data and build a data-led culture within the business.”