Executive Takeaway
A private equity firm needed one of its portfolio companies to move from a collection of loosely connected acquired businesses to a more integrated, scalable operating platform. The company had never had a CIO. IT was spread across separate business units, contracts were incomplete, systems were fragmented, and infrastructure decisions were being made locally with little central visibility.
ARG helped the new CIO bring structure to the environment, evaluate the right partners, and begin turning a messy technology estate into a more disciplined foundation for growth, efficiency, and eventual exit readiness.
Adam Carreno, the ARG advisor leading the relationship, had worked with the CIO across several prior engagements. That history mattered. The CIO trusted ARG to help him move quickly, validate decisions, and keep multiple workstreams moving while he worked to bring order to a complex portfolio company environment.
The Moment IT Became a Business Issue
The portfolio company had grown through acquisition, but the operating model had not kept pace.
Behind the legal structure was a collection of eight to ten businesses still functioning like separate companies. Each had its own local IT habits, vendors, contracts, infrastructure, systems, and ways of working. The company had never had a CIO, and the internal team was built for small, independent operating units rather than a mid-market platform preparing for its next stage of growth.
The private equity sponsor eventually mandated a change. The company needed senior IT leadership, a clearer operating model, and a plan to get the technology environment in shape before a potential sale.
The new CIO walked into an environment with urgency and limited visibility. He had a team of 19 people, but little confidence that the function could support the business at the level required. When he asked for contracts, the team could produce only a fraction of what should have existed. There was no reliable view of vendors, services, renewals, ownership, or risk.
This was no longer an IT housekeeping issue. It was a value creation issue.
What Made the Problem Hard
The challenge was not isolated to one system or one vendor. It was the accumulated complexity of acquisition-led growth.
The company had multiple Microsoft enterprise agreements that needed to be consolidated into a single tenant. It had several Oracle NetSuite instances that were not taking advantage of scale. Many locations had basic internet connections, but the business depended on cloud and SaaS applications. Some offices were running on aging phone systems, including end-of-life digital PBXs and consumer-grade equipment. Conference rooms had unused or poorly configured video gear. Server rooms and network closets contained old equipment, loose cabling, and infrastructure no one fully owned.
The documentation gap made every decision harder. Even after the CIO tried to gather circuit and voice service information directly from carriers, the team was still working with partial data. ARG brought in an audit resource at its own cost to help close the gaps, but even then the environment remained incomplete.
That is the reality many PE-backed companies face after years of add-on acquisitions. The company may look consolidated on paper, while technology, contracts, vendors, and accountability remain scattered across the business.
How ARG Created Clarity
ARG helped the CIO create order without slowing the business down.
The first major move was helping the company evaluate outsourced IT managed service providers. ARG brought three MSP options to the table and helped the company select DYOPATH, which ultimately became the outsourced IT operations partner. DYOPATH also became the Microsoft licensing partner and supported the technical work required to consolidate Microsoft environments.
ARG then helped bring in additional expertise where needed. For Oracle licensing, ARG introduced Remend to audit and support negotiations. For office and infrastructure cleanup, ARG sourced third-party resources to modernize conference rooms, remove unused equipment, clean up server rooms, and improve the working environment across several major offices.
The network required a separate workstream. The company did not have a true standardized network, despite relying heavily on cloud-based systems. ARG helped evaluate circuit providers and moved the company toward a standardized approach for primary connectivity across locations. ARG also helped source SD-WAN options, with Cato Networks selected to improve application performance, latency control, and reliability.
Communications modernization became another priority. Legacy phone systems across locations were moved toward a Microsoft Teams-based model, with BCM One Pure IP selected to support voice and IVR needs.
ARG’s value was not limited to vendor introductions. Adam emphasized that the CIO trusted ARG’s process, financial analysis, board-ready documentation, rollout support, and ability to act as a second set of eyes and ears across multiple workstreams. “He trusts us even down to the recommendation,” Adam said. “He really trusts our opinion and our perspective, and he runs with it.”
That trust was earned over time, but it became especially important in this engagement. The CIO was under pressure to act quickly, but the environment was too fragmented for quick decisions without structure.
From Decision to Momentum
The turning point was the shift from reactive cleanup to structured execution.
The CIO no longer had to personally chase every contract, interpret every provider claim, or sit in every technical meeting. ARG helped him compare options, understand tradeoffs, and move work forward with more confidence.
Adam described ARG’s role as practical execution support during a period when the CIO was stretched across too many priorities. “He leans on us quite a bit because he’s not able to join every call,” Adam said. “We send him the call recordings, we send him our notes, we help him follow up with the vendors.”
That support mattered because the CIO was carrying more than an IT mandate. He was also helping create operational structure across the business. With gaps in other leadership functions, he was building workflows, defining how teams should engage, and helping the business operate more like an integrated platform.
ARG gave him leverage.
The MSP decision reduced the burden of running day-to-day IT with an internal team that was not built for the company’s next stage. Network and SD-WAN decisions began addressing chronic circuit complaints. Microsoft consolidation moved the business toward a more manageable environment. Communications modernization replaced outdated systems with a more standardized model. AI use cases, including contract review, began giving leadership a way to evaluate risk and reduce legal review burden.
For a PE-backed company preparing for exit, this kind of progress matters. It creates a cleaner operating model, a more defensible IT story, and a clearer path from inherited complexity to scalable infrastructure.
The Impact
- Operating model shift: The company moved from separate IT environments across acquired businesses toward a more centralized, supportable model.
- MSP transition: ARG helped evaluate three MSPs and select DYOPATH to take over IT operations and help desk support.
- Human capital impact: The MSP ROI was tied to reducing or repurposing approximately six to seven IT roles.
- Systems consolidation: Multiple Microsoft agreements began moving into a single tenant, with additional ERP consolidation work underway.
- Infrastructure cleanup: Several major offices had conference rooms, server rooms, cabling, and unused equipment cleaned up or modernized.
- Network modernization: ARG helped source new circuits and SD-WAN to improve reliability, latency control, and application performance.
- Communications modernization: Legacy phone systems were moved toward a Microsoft Teams-based model.
- Global scope: ARG supported work across approximately 25 locations in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
- Leadership leverage: ARG gave the CIO sourcing discipline, vendor management support, financial analysis, and execution oversight during a high-pressure sale-readiness window.
Why It Matters for Private Equity
This case shows where ARG creates value for private equity: in the gap between acquisition strategy and operating reality.
A portfolio company can have the right market position and still carry hidden IT risk. Contracts may be scattered. Vendors may overlap. Systems may not talk to each other. Local infrastructure may be fragile. Internal teams may be loyal, but not equipped for the next stage of scale.
ARG helps turn that ambiguity into a decision-ready view. For operating partners, that means better visibility into risk, spend, vendor performance, and execution readiness. For portfolio company CIOs, it means a partner who can help move faster without forcing every decision through an already stretched internal team.
As Adam described it, ARG became a trusted extension of the CIO’s decision-making and execution capacity. The relationship gave the CIO confidence that recommendations were grounded in market knowledge, provider experience, and a delivery model he had seen work before.
What began as a fragmented IT environment became a structured path toward a more scalable, resilient, and sale-ready business.
If vendor sprawl, fragmented infrastructure, or unclear IT ownership is slowing a portfolio company down, ARG can help bring the environment into focus.
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Adam Carreno is a technology advisor at ARG who helps CIOs and private equity-backed companies simplify complex IT decisions, evaluate providers, and move critical infrastructure initiatives from strategy through execution.