Software strategy consulting

EY-Parthenon software strategy consulting is the leading advisor to companies and investors seeking guidance on growth, operational and product/technology performance and M&A related to the software economy. Software-driven and software-enabled companies and investors look to us for guidance on how to drive value across commercial, product, technology and R&D strategy.

The team

Jeff Vogel

EY-Parthenon Americas Software Strategy Group Leader

Allie O'Rourke

EY-Parthenon Principal, Software Strategy Group, Ernst & Young LLP

Max Bulger

EY-Parthenon Principal, Software Strategy Group, Ernst & Young LLP

How a century-old firm disrupted itself with automation software

We help tech and non-tech companies make the right software strategy and investment decisions to stand out in the software economy.

What EY-Parthenon can do for you

Making the right decisions about software strategy and investments has never been more important. Many companies, both technology-native and historically non-technology, are now part of the software economy, where most or all of a company’s differentiation and value proposition are driven by software.

EY-Parthenon Software Strategy Group (SSG) is a specialized advisory practice serving:

Investors, including private equity firms
Publicly listed software companies and software-enabled services businesses
Non-tech companies that are transforming into software companies

We work with nine of the 10 largest private equity funds by assets under management, as well as Fortune 500 businesses, consulting on topics ranging from strategy to diligence and execution.

We help companies and investors solve their toughest challenges, including identifying investment opportunities and assessing risks across commercial, product, technology and R&D lenses through due diligence and value creation services. From developing growth strategies to executing major technology changes and improving R&D organizational effectiveness, SSG provides services that help companies to expand market share and enhance their bottom line.

Case study

How CEOs can gain insight into technical progress and R&D spend

▉ The challenge

The CEO of a software company was frustrated over a lack of insight into his R&D organization, calling it an impenetrable “black box.” The company had a large product portfolio but lacked go-to-market know-how, a strategic product roadmap and a way to measure R&D.

▉ The solution

Leveraging its extensive software CTO and chief product officer experience, the SSG team developed a methodology to measure R&D performance from initial roadmap planning through to post-release customer support.
The team also designed a model for product governance and portfolio structuring that could be used for business planning, organizational design and go-to-market activities.

▉ The outcome

The CEO and Board of Directors gained a better understanding of how to measure the performance of the company’s R&D organization and other functions.
The company reorganized its business units, empowering teams to make faster decisions.

How we help solve your biggest challenges

M&A diligence
Our market-leading software M&A diligence engagements include providing guidance on competitive and market trends, market size and growth, product capabilities, go-forward product roadmap, underlying technical architecture, and software R&D organization. We enable our clients to understand a software company’s ability to execute against its corporate strategy while also identifying opportunities and risks. We work with clients to answer the following questions:

Technology assessment: is the software company’s product portfolio, as well as the R&D team, built to support our client’s investment thesis (e.g., market share growth, new market entry, changing market dynamics, future M&A)?

Product ecosystem: how does the company’s product capabilities and technology compare to those of competitors? How is the space evolving, and how are customers and vendors responding to this? What is the company’s key value proposition?

Commercial assessment: what is the software company’s total addressable market and serviceable market? How is the serviceable market segmented? How do customers in this market perceive the product capabilities of the various players in this market? How do users decide to purchase a solution?
Growth strategy and value creation

Many senior leaders of software companies choose us to help solve their biggest challenges, including identifying how to make their organizations more effective and how to uncover opportunities for future expansion and growth. Our value creation engagements often focus on growth strategy, product and technology roadmap strategy, software R&D organization enhancement, and building a go-forward product portfolio and organizational approach after a client has undertaken a major acquisition or merger.

Recent client challenges that we’ve answered

Drone delivery company: Can they grow at forecasted rates via expansion opportunities (e.g., new use cases, new geographies, innovation)?
Video streaming company: How does the company’s market strategy adapt to the needs of current and potential new customers?
Air travel mainframe software developer: How should the company prioritize product development initiatives to support the needs of both existing and prospective new customers?
Agriculture IoT company: Is the underlying technology capable of serving other markets outside the current core agriculture use case?

Why EY-Parthenon?

Why have hundreds of Global 2000 companies and top private equity firms chosen SSG to help guide their decision-making? The answer is simple. SSG brings real-world, CTO-level experience, as well as deep exposure to hundreds of software companies, enabling us to drive value and create a better future for hundreds of companies across the globe.