Harmonious systems

Secondaries-focused firm Paul Capital has seven offices in six countries, three lines of business, and has raised 14 funds. To manage its far-flung operations, Paul Capital has built an IT department that operates across multiple time zones around the globe. Communication and alignment across the team is paramount. As a result, the IT department has been structured according to the best practices and proper compliance regulation procedures. Paul Capital has established operational processes and procedures similar to those of other large companies. Examples of these include hiring and dismissal processes, change management, and approval process channels, among others.
When an employee is hired or dismissed, a technology service request (TSR) is routed from human resources (HR) to the IT department.
Unless a change is very minor and only affects a few users, an engineer who is instructed to make a service, application, or hardware change, requires proper approval (through the designated approval channel). All changes are logged in the change management database.
Network maintenance proposals are implemented through a process that includes an assessment of risk management and a backup plan, an approval process, a project schedule and multiple notifications to user groups.
Having IT processes and procedures aligned with business operations ensures that technological changes, and the resulting impact on end-users, are always communicated. Users can always request maintenance or project execution postponements. The above-mentioned approach enforces the streamlined process that Paul Capital’s IT department has followed for years.

User buy-in
To gain synergy between different departments and lines of business (LOB), a firm should consider integrating innovative business tools and applications. Business functions such as customer relationship management (CRM), investor relations, deal flow management, portfolio management and administration, as well as a connection between the front- and back-office, require finding a holistic service with end-user support from day one.
If business users are not committed to putting forth the effort to fully integrate an application, many projects could be rendered obsolete even before they start. Paul Capital has organized an IT input committee comprised of representatives from all departments and LOBs. This committee is responsible for reviewing the above-mentioned initiatives, and for establishing proper project sponsorship by selecting appropriate project leaders among business users who may benefit from the new service. When due diligence is complete and a selection is made, the project sponsor submits a proposal to the operating committee (OC), which may approve the project.
Often, the IT departments in small- and mid-size companies overlook such procedures, failing to include the business users, who may benefit from the new services, in the due diligence and approval processes, and focus instead on service execution themselves in isolation. It is imperative to establish IT practices that are highly aligned to the business operations and that are governed by best practices from sources such as the Information Technology Infrastructure Libraries.
Even without external compliance requirements, the IT department should be able to pass any compliance or other audit. Only this approach will maximize uptime, ensuring that the business is using services and tools that are fully aligned with the business operational development plan, and are within approved operational budgets.

This is an excerpt from Technology in the Private Equity Firm, published by PEI Media and out now.