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A merger or acquisition changes everything — overnight. Two sets of financials, two CRM systems, two ways of working, two cultures. The deal may be done, but the hard work of actually becoming one business has only just begun. The SMEs that get this right are the ones who take control of their systems and data from day one.

EdgeFusion™ is Advantage's AI accelerator for businesses going through mergers, acquisitions or group restructuring. Built on the Microsoft technology stack, it gives you a structured, proven framework for bringing systems together, consolidating data, connecting teams and gaining the visibility you need to manage performance across the combined business — while still being fully configured around your specific situation. No two deals are the same. EdgeFusion™ is built to flex around yours.

Built on the Microsoft Technology Stack

EdgeFusion™ brings together Microsoft's most powerful business tools, configured specifically for the integration challenges that come with M&A activity.

Key technologies include:

  • Dynamics 365 Business Central — Unify financials across multiple entities, automate consolidation and gain real-time performance visibility across the combined group — in one scalable ERP system.
  • Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement — Merge CRM data, unify your customer view and ensure your sales and account management teams can operate as one from day one.
  • Microsoft 365 & Copilot — Connect teams, standardise collaboration tools and use AI to reduce the admin burden of integration — from communications to document generation and data analysis.
  • Power BI — Build consolidated dashboards across the combined business, track integration milestones and give leadership a single view of performance, risk and opportunity.
  • Power Platform & Azure — Automate integration workflows, connect legacy systems and extend the solution as the combined business evolves.
  • Azure & Cloud Migration — Consolidate infrastructure, retire duplicate systems and move to a secure, scalable cloud environment that supports the combined organisation long-term.

Why Technology Integration Makes or Breaks a Deal

Most M&A deals don't fail because of the commercial terms. They fail — or underperform — because the operational and technology integration is underestimated. Disconnected systems create blind spots. Duplicate processes create inefficiency. Unmerged data creates conflicting reports. And a leadership team trying to manage a combined business from two separate spreadsheets can't make the fast, confident decisions that the post-deal period demands.

For SMEs in particular, the pressure is acute. There's rarely a large integration team. The business still needs to run while the integration happens. And decisions made in the first few months set the course for everything that follows.

EdgeFusion™ gives you a structured, accelerated path to a single, connected Microsoft platform — reducing the time it takes to achieve genuine operational unity and giving leadership the visibility they need from the earliest possible stage.

Common integration challenges EdgeFusion™ addresses:

  • Duplicate finance systems running in parallel, preventing consolidated reporting
  • Two separate CRM databases with inconsistent, overlapping or conflicting customer data
  • Disconnected IT infrastructure across sites, with different tools and security standards
  • Teams using different processes for the same tasks, creating friction and errors
  • No single view of performance across the combined entity
  • Legacy systems in the acquired business that need replacing without disrupting operations

How EdgeFusion™ Drives Successful Integration

Financial Consolidation & Reporting

The fastest route to leadership confidence in a combined business is unified financials. EdgeFusion™ uses Dynamics 365 Business Central to bring together the financial operations of both entities — consolidating reporting, standardising processes and giving the leadership team a real-time view of group performance.

Benefits include:

  • Consolidated multi-entity financial reporting from a single platform
  • Automated intercompany transactions and eliminations
  • Multi-currency and multi-jurisdiction support for cross-border deals
  • Unified budgeting, forecasting and cash flow visibility
  • Clean, audit-ready financials from the point of integration

Customer & Commercial Integration

Losing customers in the post-deal period is a real risk — especially if your teams are working from inconsistent data or duplicating account management effort. EdgeFusion™ uses Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement to bring CRM data together, eliminate duplication and give sales and account teams a single, authoritative view of every customer relationship.

This enables:

  • A unified customer database with deduplication and data cleansing
  • Consistent sales processes and pipeline management across the combined team
  • Improved visibility of cross-sell and upsell opportunities in the acquired business
  • Joined-up marketing and communication across the combined customer base
  • Retained customer relationships through better-coordinated service

People, Collaboration & the Modern Workplace

Integration isn't just about systems — it's about people. EdgeFusion™ uses Microsoft 365 to standardise the collaboration tools, communication channels and working practices across the combined business, helping teams feel and function as one organisation faster.

This includes:

  • Standardised Microsoft 365 environment across all users and locations
  • Secure, cloud-based access from any device or site
  • Consistent communication tools, document management and workflows
  • IT infrastructure consolidation and legacy system retirement
  • AI-assisted productivity tools via Microsoft Copilot to reduce integration admin

Configured Around Your Integration

EdgeFusion™ provides the framework. Your implementation is shaped entirely around the specifics of your deal — the size of the businesses, the complexity of the systems, the pace of integration and your commercial priorities.

We configure EdgeFusion™ to match:

  • Your integration timeline and phasing priorities
  • The specific systems in both businesses that need connecting or replacing
  • Your financial consolidation and reporting requirements
  • Your customer data structure and CRM migration needs
  • Your IT infrastructure across both businesses
  • Your team structure and change management approach

Whether you're a founder-led business going through your first acquisition, a management team integrating a bolt-on, or a PE-backed group managing multiple deals, EdgeFusion™ scales to your situation.

Who EdgeFusion™ Is For

EdgeFusion™ is designed for SMEs navigating the technology and operational challenges that come with M&A activity, including:

  • Businesses that have recently completed an acquisition and need to integrate systems quickly
  • Owner-managed businesses merging with or acquiring another SME
  • Management buyout or PE-backed businesses scaling through acquisition
  • Businesses restructuring group entities and needing consolidated reporting
  • Companies planning an acquisition and wanting to ensure the technology integration is scoped and ready before the deal closes
  • Businesses inheriting legacy systems from an acquired company and needing a clear migration path

If your business is changing shape through M&A, EdgeFusion™ gives you the technology foundation to make it work.

Why Implement EdgeFusion™ with Advantage?

As a Microsoft Solutions Partner with experience supporting SMEs through complex business change, Advantage brings both the technical expertise and the commercial understanding to deliver integrations that work under real-world pressure.

We understand that M&A integration happens while the business is still running. Speed matters. Disruption must be minimised. And the decisions made in the implementation phase have long-term consequences for how the combined business operates. Our team works with you to sequence the integration intelligently, prioritise what matters most and build a Microsoft platform that the combined business will rely on long after the integration is complete.

Talk to our M&A technology team about your specific integration challenges. No commitment required — just a practical conversation about what your situation needs and how EdgeFusion™ can help.

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Move Faster. Integrate Smarter. Build Something Better.

Ready to take control of your M&A technology integration?

Contact our team today

Work Smarter. Grow Faster. Stay Ahead.

The technology you use should help you move faster, not hold you back. At Advantage, we help SMEs unlock the full power of Microsoft - from cloud and security to AI and automation. Whether you're modernising systems or exploring Copilot, we'll help you transform the way you work. Let's build something smarter. Together.

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