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Liberty Blog

Key Elements to Effectively Negotiating Transition Service Agreements (TSA)

Sean True, Principal at Liberty, writes about his keys for effectively negotiating transition service agreements (TSA)

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Business & Technology Strategy

The Inflation Reduction Act and its Impact on Life Science Companies

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) went into effect on October 1, 2021. Liberty outlines impacts to Life Sciences companies.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Key Elements to Writing a Transition Service Agreement

TSAs are an important piece of the merger and acquisition process and help the buyer and seller achieve a clean separation, but they can be complex and require a structured approach. We list our key considerations when approaching a TSA.

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Transformation & Assurance

Preparing for an ERP Transformation – Key Foundation Activities

Liberty’s ERP expert, Dave Leopold, outlines the preparation items that can be started right away to ensure a successful ERP transformation.

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Transformation & Assurance

What ERP Migration Path is Best for Your Company?

Liberty’s ERP Expert, Dave Leopold, outlines the migration path options companies face when moving off of legacy ERP systems.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Supply Chain Management: Optimizing Procurement Strategies

Procurement optimization is one of the most effective strategies supply chain executives can use to ensure a more efficient and cost-effective supply chain.

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Building a Resilient Supply Chain: Importance, Challenges, and Strategies

Liberty discusses the need for building a resilient supply chain, the challenges to overcome, and the strategies to adopt for success.

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Liberty Blog

National Women’s History Month 2023: Ladies of Liberty Spotlight

The Ladies of Liberty Advisor Group talk about their experience working as a woman in technology, what drives them, and who their mentors are.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Your ESG Measures Need An Overhaul

Gone are the days of “move fast and break things.” Technology can enable our businesses to scale, serve more people, and solve incredibly hard problems. Let’s make sure we are thoughtful in how we leverage technology to build a better, more prosperous, and inclusive future.

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Liberty Blog

Navigating the AI Disruption in Supply Chain: Key Takeaways from NAED Conference

Liberty Blog: Navigating the AI Disruption in Supply Chain: Key Takeaways from NAED Conference

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Liberty in the News

Mark Boushka wins 2023 Rising Star Award: Excellence in Client Service from ALM Consulting Magazine

Mark Boushka wins the 2023 Rising Star Award: Excellence in Client Service from ALM Consulting Magazine

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Business & Technology Strategy

AI Disruption in Distribution and Supply Chain

Liberty outlines key AI trends that will disrupt current Distribution and Supply Chain business processes.

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Business & Technology Strategy

4 Expert Ways to Mitigate Cybersecurity Risks in Your Supply Chain

The remedy is to be as keen, if not keener, than cybercriminals in the integrity of our cyber security. Here are some proven ways to mitigate cybersecurity risks in your supply chain. 1. Establish Strong Communication and Collaboration in the Supply Chain Open-source software is currently one of the biggest threats to supply chains. Malware…

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Business & Technology Strategy

AI Technology Advancement Enables Businesses to Leapfrog the Competition

Liberty’s studies of mid-market and large companies show that, on average, 2% of revenue on IT.  Of that 2%, 90% is spent on keep-the-lights-on IT endeavors, such as maintenance, support, licensing, etc.  Only 10% is spent on true innovation projects.  Spending a paltry 0.2% of revenue on IT innovation has kept enterprises in many industries…

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Transformation & Assurance

The End of ERP: How ChatGPT Will Change the Face of Business Software in the Next Decade

Here was our prompt for ChatGPT: PROMPT: Write an article on how ChatGPT will disrupt the traditional enterprise software upgrade cycle over then next 10 years. Give specific examples to ways AI can surpass ERP as a functional business enhancer give me more supporting detail and try this again, in longer form. write a title…

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Business & Technology Strategy

6 Steps for Building Your Business Case

Companies should require a sound business case for all large-scale technology initiatives. Liberty Advisor Group follows 6 key guiding principles when building a business case with our clients.

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Liberty in the News

Tom Comfort named Partner at Liberty Advisor Group

Liberty Advisor Group strengthens Manufacturing and Supply Chain Practice with Partner, Tom Comfort.

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Business & Technology Strategy

2023 Tech Trends: Fast Track to the Future for Business & IT Leaders

Scott Albrecht, CTO at Liberty Advisor Group, provides our 2023 Tech Trends. These differentiating capabilities will help fast track business and IT leaders to position their company for future growth and success.

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Liberty in the News

SAP Midmarket Strategic Initiatives Council

Liberty Advisor Group is proud to sponsor the SAP Midmarket Strategic Initiatives Council discussing The Path to a Technology-Driven Divestiture Strategy

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Liberty in the News

National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) Conference

Liberty Advisor Group, represented by RJ Deaton and Chad Smith, will be speaking at the 2023 NAED South Central Conference

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Business & Technology Strategy

Is Cloud Migration Right for My Organization?

Liberty outlines our perspective on cloud migration and the factors that should influence a company’s decision to make the migration…and cost isn’t the only one to consider.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group Employees Volunteer with Ronald McDonald House

The Liberty ‘Day of Change’ initiative with the RMHC-CNI – a program that provides a home, comfort, support, and resources to families traveling far for the medical care their child needs – was part of our company’s commitment to giving back to the community where we live and work. Liberty employees bundled care packages for…

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Transformation & Assurance, Business & Technology Strategy

Case Study: SAP ECC to S/4 HANA Migration

Liberty worked with a client to migrate them from SAP ECC to S/4 HANA, helping unlock their ERP of the future.

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Transformation & Assurance, Business & Technology Strategy

SAP RISE: What is it, and more importantly, who is it best for

As technology advances, the seemingly complex becomes more and more achievable. SAP is no different. Their new Go-to-Market offering, RISE, provides the market with an attractive path to both SAP and the cloud. Clarify your understanding of RISE and where it falls within the broader SAP landscape to ensure you evaluate this opportunity for your organization.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Supplier Viability: Are Your Suppliers Prepared for a Downturn?

With a potential economic downturn in 2023, taking a look at your supplier base to assess critical supplier long-term viability is imperative. Liberty has a framework to assess, measure, and identify options for mitigating these supplier viability risks.

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Mergers & Acquisitions, Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Due Diligence in M&A and Divestitures

Cybersecurity should be a key focus area when assessing a company in M&A or Divestiture activities. Liberty outlines how we can help minimize cyber risk during these transactions.

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Cybersecurity

How to Mitigate Supply Chain Cyberattacks

Supply chain cyberattacks are increasing. In fact, the growing digital and connected global economy makes it even easier than ever for malicious people to carry out attacks exploiting the trust partners and businesses have for one another. In December 2020, network software developer SolarWinds suffered its biggest security breach. The SolarWinds “Orion” attack was so…

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group Named One of 2022 Best Places to Work in Chicago

CHICAGO, September 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Liberty Advisor Group (Liberty), a premier management consulting firm that helps clients tackle their toughest business and IT challenges, has been named one of the 2022 Best Places to Work in Chicago. Crain’s Chicago Business partnered with Best Companies Group on this survey and awards program to identify companies…

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Business & Technology Strategy

Zero-Based Budgeting for Information Technology

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a business transformation initiative that starts every annual budgeting process anew and, in the context of IT budgeting, serves as a useful tool to bring focus on savings from not just the “what” but the “how.”

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Business & Technology Strategy

Annual Planning for Information Technology

As calendars turn to fall, we’re flooded with back to school ads and the prospect of enjoying football games. For executives, it’s also time to create a successful Annual Plan.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Inflation and Technology Investments: Fight or Flight?

With inflation at 40-year highs, many companies are looking at ways to cut costs to remain competitive. CFOs have little control over inflation but must be proactive in navigating their organization through tough times.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Technical Due Diligence: Importance and Approach

Technical due diligence provides an acquirer peace of mind that there are no issues in the infrastructure or security of a potential target.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Sell-Side Due Diligence: Why is it Important in BioPharma Companies?

The BioPharma market is expected to grow and Private Equity investors continue to play a critical role in the growth of this industry. Sell-side due diligence is a critical part of the process for a BioPharma company searching for external funding.

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Business & Technology Strategy

ESG: A Changing Business Landscape

As more stakeholders and investors begin to value sustainability commitments, understanding ESG and the role it plays in the changing business environment has become vital. ESG, which stands for environmental, social, and governance, is a set of criteria to assess a business’s broader impact on the world outside of traditional financial-centered metrics.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group Appoints Mark Boushka as Head of M&A and Transaction Services Division

Mark Boushka’s appointment strengthens Liberty’s ability to partner with Private Equity and M&A focused businesses and builds Liberty’s expertise on executing pre-close diligences, post-close value creation initiatives and go-to market advisory engagements. Liberty’s M&A and Transaction Services team has decades of experience focused on increasing valuation and mitigating risk throughout the entire deal lifecycle.  This…

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Data & Analytics

What is Data Science and Why that Matters?

Data Science, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are now the noisiest buzz words in business. The software and platforms you choose to monetize your data are crucial but can also be confusing. Liberty Advisor Group is here to help.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group Named Great Place to Work in Chicago

CHICAGO, June 15, 2022/PRNewswire/ — Liberty Advisor Group (Liberty), a premier management consulting firm that helps clients tackle their toughest business and IT challenges, has been honored for the fourth year in a row by Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine as one of the 2022 Best Workplaces in Chicago™. This year’s Best Workplaces in…

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Business & Technology Strategy

Supply Chain Sustainability: Put into Practice what Matters

C-level executives are under constant pressure to find new ways to improve their companies’ supply chains. But amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be challenging to know where to focus your attention. One area that is more important than ever is supply chain sustainability.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Energy Transition: Electrification of the Supply Chain

During the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21), 195 nations agreed to the first universal, legally binding global climate deal on climate change. With a significant focus on the Sustainability of the Supply Chain, many organizations have stepped up their efforts toward using renewable energy.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Six Key Success Factors for Large-Scale IT Transformation Projects

Failed IT projects continue to occur at higher alarming rates and impact business efficiency and growth. Here are six factors to keep in your back pocket when planning large-scale IT transformation project for success.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Five Benefits in Conducting Technology Due Diligence for Your Upcoming M&A

When it comes to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), not all companies are created equal. Like puzzle pieces, the capabilities, corporate culture, and goals of one company must complement the other. This creates a single business entity where the sum of the whole is truly greater than its constituent parts. Technology due diligence is the art of ensuring that those puzzle pieces fit seamlessly together.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Ed Tech Heats Up in 2022

There was a significant challenge in conventional thinking after school shutdowns. Implementation of different hybrid and remote approaches to teaching and distance learning increased as COVID-19 kicked to the curb classroom status quo. What is Ed Tech? Ed Tech (educational technology) is a terminology used to refer to companies that create hardware and software solutions…

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Business & Technology Strategy

10 Technology Trends for 2022

2022 is here, which apart from being great news, raises lots of questions about what the future holds. This year, the trends set in 2021 are only going to get stronger. Expect robust economic growth, rising employment rates, and expansion. Above that, expect lots of technology.

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Cybersecurity

How to Protect Yourself When Working With Contracted Third-Party Vendors

Every business – small, medium, and large – finds itself open to cloud breaches. With outsourcing being a major part and parcel of modern-day business best practices, how can enterprises protect themselves and their clients when doing business with third-party vendors?

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Transformation & Assurance

ERP: Roulette or High Caliber Initiative?

ERP solutions comprised the lion’s share of a global estimated $600 billion in enterprise software spending in 2021. However, year after year, ERP initiatives prove to be a game of roulette, with unpredictable risks and rewards. Before starting an ERP project, it is essential to evaluate your organization’s ability to take on the initiative.

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Cybersecurity

Are you Ready for the (Cyber) Winter?

Cybersecurity attacks continue to cripple both government agencies and companies.  Cybercrime is projected to cost the world $10.5 trillion dollars annually by 2025. In the United States, an average cost of a data breach is $9.44M with healthcare being hit the hardest.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Why Technical Due Diligence is Crucial in Mergers and Acquisitions

As an organization prepares for a merger or acquisition, technical due diligence has become increasingly critical. Private equity has many options available to improve a company’s operations. The first play, however, should almost always be on the technology side.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Case Study: Accelerating an Autonomous Division

Liberty worked with a Large Automotive Software and Engineering Company to help accelerate their autonomous vehicle division resulting in a 10% increase in stock price and a 1200% increase in vehicle uplifting production.

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Emerge Stronger

Remote Work is the New Normal: What That Means for Employers

While employees and employers may differ on their view of what work may look like in the future, particularly as the pandemic comes to an end and many businesses start to resume normal operations, one thing is clear: the Work From Anywhere (WFA) model will permanently change the way many people view work and work…

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Business & Technology Strategy

Digital Supply Chain and Understanding Why the Next Normal Needs It

Consumers felt its disruptive impact when borders closed and countries were locked down. These disruptions may have inconvenienced the world’s population, but they had significant repercussions for the global economy. In this article, we’ll discuss more on what you should know about digital supply chain. In 2020, the US and EU suffered an estimated $4T…

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group named to Best Workplaces in Chicago™ by Great Place to Work

Liberty Advisor Group (Liberty), a premier management consulting firm that helps clients tackle their toughest business and IT challenges, was honored by Great Place to Work as one of the 2021 Best Workplaces in Chicago™.

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Business & Technology Strategy

AI and Robotics will Gain a Foothold and Drive Massive Efficiency Gains

Corporations are seeing an increasing need to implement AI due to the COVID-19 pandemic as shifts in the workplace threaten their traditional infrastructure.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group Named One of 2021 Best Places to Work in Chicago

Liberty Advisor Group is again named one of the Best Places to Work in Chicago according to Craine’s Chicago Business Journal’s 2021 Report.

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Transformation & Assurance

ERP Selection: Four Areas to Supercharge Your Process

Traditional selection methodologies are riddled with inefficiencies and take much longer than they should. Liberty outlines four speed and quality focus areas that will make your selection process quicker as well as drive value. Save your money for the real work, and see your ERP payback in months with Liberty!

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Accurately Plan for M&A Costs in your Due Diligence

Today, there is a lot of talk about divestment activity and rebound. While this is good news for sellers keen on divesting underperforming assets so they can restructure and focus on growth in core areas, we believe it is imperative not to overlook associated M&A costs.

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Transformation & Assurance

Complex Enterprise Software Selection: A High-Value Remote Solution

Liberty Advisor Group’s Michael Atkinson explores the advantages and challenges of conducting a complex enterprise software selection in a remote setting.

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Cybersecurity

Are Your SaaS Applications Actually Making You Less Secure?

Companies over the past several years have been shoring up their cybersecurity capabilities and increasing overall security budgets, but Software as a Service (SaaS) providers are often overlooked in these efforts.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Autonomous Technology Advances At A More Rapid Pace

With advancements in 5G technology, autonomous vehicles are making great strides towards reality. The global driverless car market is anticipated to experience a compound annual growth rate of 18.06% between 2020-2025.

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Business & Technology Strategy

5G Accelerating Transformation & Adoption of New Technologies

5G or fifth-generation wireless technology is a term that you have probably heard about in the media recently. Understanding what 5G is and how it’s set to reinvent life as we know it is critical for B2B and B2C companies.

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Transformation & Assurance

Improving the Odds of Delivering Measurable ERP Benefits

ERPs help manufacturers achieve measurable benefits, but deploying such a solution does not guarantee improvements. To increase the likelihood of realizing quantifiable outcomes, Liberty developed a simple method to identify and validate benefits that ERPs can facilitate.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Utilizing SKU Rationalization to Emerge Stronger in Today’s Supply Chain

COVID-19 continues to impact companies across the world in new and unusual ways, unlike anything else in modern history. Never before have companies had greater reliance on access to global suppliers, customers, and resources. While highly beneficial for the growth of the global economy, this strength has quickly turned into a major risk due to COVID-19.  Companies are struggling to manage diverse and complex supply chains, with decreased access to data. Additionally, consumer preferences have been turned upside down in many industries, as customer purchasing habits have changed due to changing priorities and financial volatility.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Technology Trends for 2021

From Autonomous Vehicles to 5G Applications to Telehealth, Liberty Advisor Group outlines the top technology trends for 2021.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Leverage Your Existing Assets In AI

Did you know that artificial intelligence (AI) can potentially increase your business productivity by as much as 40%? AI is disrupting the world as we know it. From healthcare to fintech, industries are beginning to embrace this fascinating field of computer science. And with the global coronavirus pandemic which has seen mass retrenchments and 42% of U.S. workers forced to work remotely, there has never been a bigger need for AI in business than now.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Telehealth Offers More than Convenience

In the midst of a global pandemic, millions of people have experienced telehealth with a virtual exam for the first time this year.  I did.  It was enlightening.  I completed my patient intake online, waited in the virtual lobby for a few minutes, had a quick introductory consultation with my doctor, and I was done. …

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group Designated as a Great Place to Work

“We are proud to be Great Place to Work-Certified™,” said Chad Smith, CEO and founder of Liberty Advisor Group. “Our people, with their innovative spirit and ‘do-whatever-it-takes’ attitude, make Liberty great. This certification is a testament to their dedication and hard work and the outcomes they achieve every day for our clients.”

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Emerge Stronger

Leverage AI to Streamline Operations and Realize Value

AI in IT Operations With increasingly remote workforces, IT operations groups found themselves scrambling to ensure that their organization had the proper infrastructure and collaboration tools. With an increasing workload, ‘business as usual activities’ may have been moved to the back burner. AI in IT Operations (AIOps) has a key role here in automating day-to-day…

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Data & Analytics

Case Study: Cost Savings in Indirect Spend

Liberty worked with a Large Auto Parts Manufacturer to realize over $8MM in annual savings via Indirect Spend optimization.

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Liberty in the News

Device Management – BlueFletch EMM Case Study

Liberty Advisor Group partnered with BlueFletch Enterprise Installer to help launch our Virtual PPE pilot testing. BlueFletch allowed us to securely test and deploy mobile devices to our pilot clients.

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Emerge Stronger

Utilizing Technology to Return to the Workplace with Less Risk

Working from home has become the “New Normal” since March 2020, when COVID-19 forced employers to move employees out of physical offices for health and safety reasons. Now, states across the U.S. are slowly emerging from stay-at-home orders and businesses are looking to resume activities within both essential and non-essential business sectors. But with this shift…

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group launches a strategic partnership with CAC Specialty

Liberty Advisor Group is excited to announce a strategic partnership with CAC Specialty, an integrated specialty insurance brokerage and investment banking business.  Together, CAC Specialty and Liberty Advisor Group are creating a leading-edge solution for insurance clients.  This solution will enhance CAC Specialty’s dedication to client service through a new real-time data analytics insurance platform. 

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Liberty in the News

EHS Daily: Technology Impacts to Employee Health and Risk Mitigation

Liberty Advisor Group’s CTO Mike Magnifico was recently featured in EHS Daily Advisor exploring utilizing technology and mitigating risk as employees begin to return to traditional office settings.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group Named to 2020 Best Places To Work in Chicago

Liberty Advisor Group has been honored by Great Place to Work as one of the 2020 Best Workplaces in Chicago.

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Emerge Stronger

Utilizing Robotic Automation to Win in the New Normal

Over the last couple of months, our world has undergone a seismic shift to a place where working from home and face masks are the “new normal.” Gone are the days of eating in neighborhood restaurants and taking part in social gatherings. Yet, in the United States, the light is starting to emerge at the…

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Emerge Stronger

Virtual PPE – Features and Benefits

Liberty and EPSoft announced in May the development of Virtual PPE, a workplace wellness and risk management platform. Outlined in this insight are more around the platform features and benefits.

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Transformation & Assurance

Transformational Technology Initiatives: Five Red Flags to Listen For

Major transformational technology initiatives such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects are typically big, costly, and complicated. Even today, many fail to live up to expectations. As consultants, we’ve spent countless hours helping clients avoid or recover from mistakes – and unsurprisingly, avoidance is always less painful than recovery. In the spirit of helping you avoid costly mistakes in your transformational technology initiatives, we would like to share with you five expressions we commonly hear that tend to indicate there are problems on the horizon.

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Liberty in the News

COVID-19 Wellness and Risk Management Platform ‘Virtual PPE’

In support of restarting the economy and the lifting of stay-at-home orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Liberty Advisor Group has developed an automated contact tracing solution called Virtual PPE designed for companies looking to ensure the safety of their workforce as they re-open operations.

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Transformation & Assurance

Manufacturing Execution Systems: ERP on the Shop Floor

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) enable shop floor operations while helping producers to increase yield that meets QA criteria. Purchasing and implementing such a solution, however, is an expensive and time-consuming initiative that will disrupt business for months. To improve the likelihood of a successful program that delivers operational benefits, Liberty Advisor Group discusses what manufacturers should consider prior to starting an MES transformation.

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Emerge Stronger

Protect your employees and your business with contact tracing

As many states look to reopen and lift stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations are looking to protect their employees while re-opening up their business operations.  Yet, what will the new normal look like?

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Mergers & Acquisitions

M&A Trends PE Firms Are Mandating Portfolio Cyber Measures during Evaluation

The relationship between PE firms and portfolio companies is delicate. General Partners (GPs) often have strong operational experience, something that translates into detailed thought on how to run the businesses they own. But strong managers don’t want to be micro-managed. To attract and retain top talent, funds, therefore, aim to be additive vs directive. With…

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Emerge Stronger

Emerge Stronger: Leading Through The Crisis

Times of crisis in the business sector can often lead to an overall improvement if one takes insight and a little courage to make changes. Leaders must build adaptive organizations that rapidly respond to changing conditions, in order to deliver customer value and stave off competition and remain relevant.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty’s Dave Leopold wins prestigious ‘Rising Star’ Award

Principal Consultant Dave Leopold has won a Consulting Magazine ‘Rising Stars of the Profession’ Award in the ‘Client Services’ category. The award recognizes the achievements of consultants aged under 35.

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Cybersecurity

Reader’s Digest: 8 Places You Should Never Use Free Wi-Fi

Read this article from Reader’s Digest that outlines the ‘8 Places You Should Never Use Free Wi-Fi’ where Liberty Advisor Group’s Armond Caglar is quoted with his perspective.

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Business & Technology Strategy

A Rapid Response to COVID-19: Four steps to build Resilience

Economic disruptions like the Coronavirus demonstrate the growing need for the digitization of critical business functions. Liberty Advisor Group explores how to transform into a more resilient company.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Liberty’s Response to COVID-19

During the COVID-19 crisis, Liberty continues to partner with our clients to help them create collaborative, virtual workspaces while ensuring they protect and secure their businesses.

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Business & Technology Strategy

The Coronavirus and Your Business

As the coronavirus expands globally, Liberty provides an update on the current state and steps Liberty recommends your business takes today.

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Emerge Stronger

Coronavirus: Safeguard Your Business with a Continuity Plan

As the Coronavirus continues to impact businesses globally, Liberty recommends that companies outline a business continuity plan for their employees. In this article, Liberty outlines Four Critical Steps to protect your employees and business.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Private Equity: Three Tips to Test Technology Prowess

Private equity (PE) has traditionally been a sector that focused on fundamentals: what are the earnings and how can they be increased? While that remains the case today—healthy profits are required to pay down debt service from the acquisition and give PE firms room to breathe as they look to improve the underlying business—we are…

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Business & Technology Strategy, Financial Services

Financial Services: Three trends to watch in 2020

Across our clients in our Financial Services practice, Liberty saw three major trends in the financial services sector in 2019, and forecast these to continue into 2020: increased consumer credit, end-to-end digitization, and conversational commerce. Trend 1: Increasing Consumer Credit and Emerging Signs of Trouble Even though the economy has been strong, with unemployment at…

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Business & Technology Strategy

Consumer Packaged Goods Technology: Five trends to watch

The consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry is changing rapidly. With new technologies shifting the way consumers shop and companies do business, there is a growing demand for CPG companies to accomplish more with less and drive business value using technology and data. Innovations in technology are driving new expectations and behaviors among today’s consumers. To…

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Part 2: A New Decade For The Automotive Industry

The US and China comprised nearly half of global car sales in 2019 but economic conditions may stall future growth. Understanding the regional factors affecting these auto-markets and how they may impact OEMs is the focus for Part 2 Ed McCarter’s automotive industry analysis.

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Part 1: A New Decade For The Automotive Industry

The new decade presents a precipitous landscape that few in and outside of the automotive sector have previously experienced. To help make sense of this captivating, yet complicated industry, Liberty Advisor Group and Ed McCarter investigate the major trends impacting the global car-manufacturing business.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group recognized as Top 10 BI and Analytics Consulting Company

Our data and analytics experts understand how to unleash the power of data and realize the highest value through large-scale data and reporting solutions.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

M&A Trends: Ignoring Web Sales Channels Can Limit Growth, Empower Competitors

Sophisticated sales processes and commission structures are no reason to limit how a company seeks new sales via the web. Failing to provide a good experience on the web opens the door to competitors who do.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Taking Your Automotive Technology to CES? Five critical steps to success

The approach to delivering disruptive hi-tech automotive products and features in today’s business environment has dramatically changed over the last decade. It is no longer sufficient for OEMs and suppliers to solely rely on traditional product management and engineering capabilities to win in the marketplace.

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Transformation & Assurance

ERP Implementations: Four steps to ensure data readiness

Companies don’t think about data readiness efforts for their large scale software implementation until it is too late. Begin readying your data as soon as possible, before the official program launch, to avoid costly delays or program failure.

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Liberty in the News

Cybeta Launched to Protect Businesses from Cyber Attacks

More than a billion people were affected by corporate cyber attacks in 2018 with the global average cost of $13 million per attack. In addition to the financial costs, the intangible damage to brand value, customer relationships, and intellectual property can be vast. Liberty Advisor Group is proud to announce the launch of Cybeta™, a suite of intelligence products and services designed to help keep your business off the Cyber X.

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Cybersecurity

Healthcare Sector Needs a Cyber Tune-Up

Recently healthcare data breaches have grown in both size and frequency, with the most significant breaches impacting as many as 80 million people. Medical data can paint an intimate picture of a person’s life, which makes the information particularly valuable to cyber actors looking to exploit victims. As the healthcare industry continues to adopt new technologies, the volume of sensitive data that can be extracted through existing security gaps grows exponentially.

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Cybersecurity

Communicating Cyber Risks to the Board

Cybersecurity risk oversight is a major focus for boards and one that will remain front and center on their agendas. In recent years, boards have often underestimated cybersecurity risks, resulting in large breaches with significant costs despite significant investments in defensive technologies.

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Cybersecurity

$70M Avoided in Cybersecurity Breach Losses

An athletic clothing design company was looking to strategically select a mix of technologies to power their e-commerce sites while ensuring that protection against cybersecurity threats was top priority. Cybeta’s tools were used for a technology attack chain analysis, yielding an objective and predictive measure of how each layer of the e-commerce platform would perform as a stack. The right mix of technologies optimized breach likelihood, return on investment, and potential breach damages.

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Data & Analytics

Data Analytics Unlocks Business Process Improvements

Liberty Advisor Group was engaged to identify procurement process gaps and improvements. A project resulting in increased discount realization and improved accounts payable processing times.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group Designated as a Great Place to Work

“We are proud to be Great Place to Work-Certified™,” said Chad Smith, CEO and founder of Liberty Advisor Group. “Our people, with their innovative spirit and ‘do-whatever-it-takes’ attitude, make Liberty great. This certification is a testament to their dedication and hard work and the outcomes they achieve every day for our clients.”

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Transformation & Assurance

Process Optimization: Four critical success factors to keep in mind

Continuous improvement and process optimization is something all companies must work at to maintain their competitive advantage. These initiatives must be well thought through from the top down to ensure they are successful and align to the company’s strategic goals.

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Cybersecurity

Blockchain Applications in Cybersecurity

There are numerous applications for blockchain in cyberspace – all of them capitalizing on the fundamental security provided by decentralization and data immutability.

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Business & Technology Strategy

An Enterprise Blockchain Approach

The operational potential of a blockchain-based decentralized ecosystem is something every enterprise should explore mindfully.

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Business & Technology Strategy

To Blockchain or Not To Blockchain

Why will using blockchain prove more effective than using a normal database? Satisfying that query will signal that blockchain’s role will be more than a curiosity.

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Business & Technology Strategy

To ERP or Not To ERP

Implementing an ERP is usually a long, arduous and expensive endeavor.  Good answers to the ‘Why’ question are imperative, in our mind, to justify moving forward. We frequently see firms choosing to invest in an ERP for the wrong reasons.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Avoiding a Game of ERP Roulette

ERP solutions comprised the lion’s share of a global estimated $405 billion in enterprise software spending in 2018. However, year after year, ERP initiatives prove to be a game of Russian roulette, with unpredictable risks and rewards. Before starting an ERP project, it is essential to evaluate your organization’s ability to take on the initiative.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Considering an ERP Implementation

With technology trends continually changing and advancing, it is paramount that you consider all factors when analyzing or updating your ERP landscape, such as business and technology requirements, cost vs. benefit analysis, your current technology landscape and data architecture, and your current organizational structure. Liberty can help you review all possible ERP software options and find the right fit for your business’s needs.

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Financial Services

Ten robotic process automation strategies for retail bank success

Robotic process automation which uses computers to tackle repetitive tasks—has very human benefits for mid-sized banks. It frees up staff for higher value work, streamlines operations, reduces costs, and plays a vital role in the digital transformation needed to compete with larger retail banks.

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Data & Analytics

Outcome-Based Analytics: Unlocking hidden value

Achieving real, measurable outcomes from your organization’s analytics practice is pivotal to remaining competitive in today’s data-centric landscape.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Enabling the Right Customer Experience:Building Blocks for Connected Strategies

To enable differentiated experiences, companies must build connected strategies on a strong foundation firmly rooted in user experience design, integrated operating models, process efficiency, digital systems and technology, and robust data sets.

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Transformation & Assurance

Ready to harness the power of AI? Take care of the basics first

What is the key to capitalizing on the power of AI? Having a good understanding and taking care of the enabling foundation work before diving into AI implementation.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Liberty develops a strategic roadmap to transform technology processes and deliver high business value

Liberty Advisor Group created a roadmap for a Fortune 100 World Global Manufacturer Company to improve the value coming from IT.

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Financial Services

Liberty Advisor Group Mobilizes a Value-Based Program Management Structurefor Fortune 100 Global Financial Services Company

A Fortune 100 Financial Services company discovered a need to establish and mobilize a solid program/value management and governance organization to plan, track and measure the success of the investment.

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Cybersecurity

Threat Actors’ favorite source of quick cash

A wily type of malware that has been around for 30 years, ransomware seems like it would have been obsolete by now.  But the rise of cryptocurrency has helped ransomware gain ground as identifying the receiver of payments becomes harder.

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Financial Services

Drowning in the Data Lake?

Seeking a competitive advantage, many financial services providers have developed innovative products and services for their customers based on analyzing large volumes of data. Investing heavily in creating the infrastructure to pull together and analyze disparate data – only to discover that the expected return on that investment has not materialized. We have found that clients struggling with how to optimize their current and future investments in data and analytics must overcome several hurdles that cross the boundaries of technology, skill sets, and organizational readiness.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group named to FORTUNE’s list of “Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services”

Liberty Advisor Group has been honored by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE as one of the 2019 Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services.

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Cybersecurity

Omnichannel Cybersecurity: Protecting Critical Assets

To build cybersecurity, attention must be focused on persistent, predictive, real-time analysis of the entirety of discoverable technologies. Data should be compiled from dozens of sources, and partnerships forged with specialized groups, including local, state and federal agencies.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty Advisor Group Named to 2019 Best Places to Work in Chicago

Liberty Advisor Group was named one of the 2019 Best Places to Work in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business. “This recognition further confirms that Liberty Advisor Group truly is an excellent place to work, with our unique team of senior, results-focused consultants working to solve clients’ toughest business and IT problems.”

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Business & Technology Strategy

Designing a Seamless Omnichannel Shopping Experience

Omnichannel is neither a technology solution nor a means to an end. Rather, it is a transformational way of doing business that connects disparate processes and technologies around an integrated, customer-centric operating model.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Top-Line Growth through Improved Customer Experience and Omnichannel Journey

Through enabling new technology, enhancing systems integration, and implementing a new operating model, Liberty assisted a client to achieve customer-centricity in a new omnichannel environment.

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Data & Analytics

Data & Analytics Analysis Delivers $40 million/year in Savings

A client asked Liberty to investigate opportunities, consolidate procurement spend and generate savings, but had not previously been successful due to decentralized operations across various locations.

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Data & Analytics

Aligning data priorities with business goals: A critical role for metrics

Quantifying the value a foundational project brings to your organization may be challenging, yet it is important to demonstrate impact not only on the bottom line, but also to functional business areas and overarching corporate strategic initiatives.

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Cybersecurity

Evaluating cyber risks in M&A due diligence

Vulnerability to cyber threats is starting to be a key element in due diligence process – as Yahoo found when two massive cyber breaches led Verizon to reduce its purchase price for the Internet company by $350 million.

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Liberty in the News

Liberty’s Maggie Ross wins prestigious ‘Rising Star’ Award

Liberty Advisor Group’s Principal Consultant Maggie Ross has won a Consulting Magazine ‘Rising Stars of the Profession’ Award in the ‘Leadership’ category.

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Data & Analytics

Liberty Advisor Group recognized as Top 10 BI and Analytics Consulting Company

Liberty Advisor Group aids clients by helping them make informed business decisions and execute a data and analytics strategy that is aligned with the desired business outcomes effectively.

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Mergers & Acquisitions, Cybersecurity

Travel Industry Remains a Target for Hackers

The travel industry has been an attractive investment area for Private Equity, showing around 5% growth every year. PE firms should take an extra look at any of their portfolio companies in the travel, hospitality, loyalty space and take the necessary steps to ensure customer data is protected.  Applying a strategic approach to security will empower companies to identify and prioritize their sensitive assets so they can proactively safeguard them.

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Liberty Advisor Group Celebrates 10 year anniversary

Founded in 2008, Liberty’s world-class and award-winning team has an average of 15 years’ experience. Our mission is unchanged: to do the right thing for our clients, our people, and our loved ones at all times.

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Cybersecurity

Emerging Cyber Threat Vulnerability Chaining

Recent chatter in dark web forums is trending to attackers developing and testing new schemes to gain access to systems using vulnerability chaining.

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Cybersecurity

GDPR: Don’t Let the Alarm Bells Shape Your Thinking

GDPR will evolve as an opportunity to reshape the personal data landscape and businesses will necessarily adapt.  While much focus has been on enforcement mechanisms and potential fines, the fact is businesses around the world have invested significant resources moving their organizations towards compliance – but the effectiveness of those investments remains to be seen.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Is Technical Debt Dragging Down Your Company’s Ability to Innovate and Dramatically Increasing Your Risk?

Companies are realizing technical debt at a growing rate. Technical debt will never go away and if you are not currently working on reducing it, you are potentially increasing your risk profile and reducing your ability to innovate and compete.

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Cybersecurity

Why The Supermicro Hack Matters

Global Business leaders need to accept the reality that today’s intellectual property is always at risk. Taking a long-term view of their cyber security and supply chains will enable them to secure their most valuable assets – intellectual property.

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Cybersecurity

Do you Know if you Have Been Impacted by the Supermicro Big Hack?

Supermicro is the latest hack to affect the business world. Liberty’s Triton Cyber team has developed some key thoughts to get you up to speed on what is happening and if you could potentially be impacted.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

For Superior Returns, Private Equity Should First Look To Technology

Most enterprises can expand their enterprise value 10% to 15% by achieving reasonable levels of digital synchronization. These results come from increases in EBITDA tracing to better productivity—fewer employee hours required around many operations—and better and more responsive experiences for customers, which helps fuel sales and reduce churn.

In short, smart applications of technology will almost always offer the best way of putting incremental capital to use in a portfolio company. With the right technologists and operators, investments here will lead to better yields.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Is Your Autonomous Market Strategy as Modern as Your Technology?

Long before products compete in the marketplace, corporations battle one another for talent, capital and brand awareness. This struggle has intensified with autonomous vehicles as there is a global race to be first to market. To win requires a Pre-Launch Product Mobilization (PLPM©) strategy that secures resources and gets your autonomous program noticed years before it launches. A critical piece to garnering attention and buzz requires serious players to exhibit at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and demo their prototypes on the streets of Las Vegas. Failure to execute either one flawlessly leaves you vulnerable to your competitors.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Creating an Outcome-Based IT Budget Using a Zero-Based Budgeting Approach

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a method of budgeting in which all expenses must be justified for each new period. The process of zero-based budgeting starts from a “zero base,” and every function within an organization is analyzed for its needs and costs. Liberty gives you the Pros, Cons and four keys steps when implementing this budgeting process.

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Business & Technology Strategy

What Will It Take To Commercialize Autonomous Vehicles?

The autonomous vehicle industry is hot, and, as OEMs, tech giants and startups vie for a piece of the market, a fundamental question remains: how do we commercialize autonomous vehicles? Liberty Advisor Group explores the path to commercialization in this unchartered industry.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Is Cloud Right for Me? Navigating the IT Infrastructure Landscape

“What is/are the correct hosting options for my business?”. Cloud IT platforms have gained millions of customers for good reason, but they’re often only a part of the best solution for an enterprise. Liberty suggests a few additional things to consider in order to make a more informed decision.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Becoming Customer-Centric:The Realities of Operating an Omnichannel Environment

As we consistently see customers expectations shift and new experiences occur, the dynamic omnichannel ecosystem must be continually evaluated and optimized. IT functions must continually optimize processes and improve technology-enabled capabilities that enhance the customer experience through speed, choice, and convenience.

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3 Reasons Why We Need Smart Mobility Now

As with electric trains of the early 20th century, the emergence of smart mobility in the past five years is a major paradigm shift in the world of transportation. Ultimately, the gains of adopting smart mobility will far outweigh the initial monetary costs. Cities with effective smart mobility programs will see a decrease in death and injury caused by human error, a decrease in congestion, and increased economic advantage.

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Cybersecurity

Cyber Conduit Threat

Corporations need to expand their cybersecurity footprint from employees that are on-premise using corporate equipment and must prepare against the newest trend in advanced threats: citizens as cyber weapons.

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Industry Perspective: Hospitality Vertical

Technology strategies can assist in mitigating a potential downturn in the hospitality vertical. Liberty covers that in addition, we review the future state of this booming industry.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Becoming Customer-Centric: Architecting the Omnichannel Experience

Part 2 of our Omnichannel series, Becoming Customer-Centric, outlines key tenants to architect meaningful, authentic, and seamless omnichannel experiences.

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Cybersecurity

10,000+ Companies Continue to Voluntarily Download Vulnerable Software

Thousands of companies continue to have issues with individuals downloading known vulnerable software and companies need to figure out better ways to protect themselves and their customers.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Becoming Customer-Centric: Embarking On An Omnichannel Transformation

Omnichannel is a transformational way of doing business connecting processes and technologies around an integrated, operating model becoming more customer centric.

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GDPR officially takes effect May 25th, 2018

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect May 25, 2018, is designed to unify data privacy requirements across the European Union (EU).

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Liberty in the News

Consulting Magazine names Liberty Advisor Group’s Dan Izzo as a 2018 Rising Star

Liberty is proud to announce Dan Izzo as one of Consulting Magazine’s “Top 35 under 35” for the category of Excellence in Operations Management.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Stranded Cost Analysis in Strategic Divestitures

Businesses continue to pursue and grow through a number of different strategies, both organically and through M&A activity. With transaction levels near all-time highs the demand for fundamentally sound businesses forecasting is paramount. One overlooked cost with M&A activity is Stranded Costs.

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Cybersecurity

Hudson’s Bay Company Data BreachA Reminder To Be Proactive, Continually Adapt Defenses

In the wake of the Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor data breach, it’s a reminder for firms to be vigilant in protecting user and payment data and the repercussions of not investing in security.

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Cybersecurity

2018 MAPI Risk Management Council Meeting

The roundtable exercise at the 2018 MAPI conference challenged senior risk managers with the tasks of finding, isolating, and remediating the security incident affecting production operations.

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Cybersecurity

Proactive Threat Mitigation for Businesses

Organizations must be prepared, responsible, strategic and proactive when it comes to protecting themselves and their networks. From the new reality where the technical barriers to entry continue to lower for new attackers while the toolsets at their disposal quickly proliferate and strengthen.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

In the News: CheckedUp Completes Platform Assessment Conducted by Liberty Advisor Group

CheckedUp, a specialty point of care company, today announced that Liberty Advisor Group, its retained technology assessment partner, has completed a review of their patient engagement platform.

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Data & Analytics

In the News: Liberty Named One of the Top 25 BI and Analytics Companies of 2017

Liberty is proud to be named one of the top 25 BI and Analytics firms of 2017 by CIO Applications Magazine.

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Cybersecurity

Perspective: Equifax Data Breach

Equifax, one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies, disclosed on 7 Sep 2017 that hackers had successfully obtained unauthorized access to sensitive privacy and financial information of upwards of 143 million American consumers.

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Cybersecurity

In the News: Liberty Perspective on The dark web goes corporate from CSO Online

Read our perspective on the growing dark web threat from Liberty’s own Armond Caglar in CSO Online.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Technical Debt: Identify, Reduce & Prevent Your Liability

As another new year begins, organizations are busy compiling their assets and liabilities to prepare their annual reports.  However, there is one critical liability that likely will not make it on most balance sheets — technical debt.

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Mergers & Acquisitions

Seven Deadly Sins of M&A

Even when a transaction makes sense strategically and is valued appropriately, poor merger execution can prevent a company from achieving success. Over the following pages, the “7 Deadly Sins” of merger integration will be explored, presenting the most common execution pitfalls and how your organization can mitigate the risk of M&A hell.

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Cybersecurity

Cyber Health Check

How transparent is your cyber risk landscape? Liberty has compiled a simple health check enabling executives to self-evaluate their exposure.

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Cybersecurity

Perspective: WannaCry Ransomware

May 17, 2017 – Another day, another devastating cyber incident with global reach that is leaving companies and organizations around the world reeling.  Isn’t that how the expression goes?  If not, it sure does feel like it.

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Business & Technology Strategy

Innovate to Market Leadership

Market leaders who exhibit a relentless appetite for innovation and change achieve the twin benefits of increased sales and total shareholder returns.  Remaining vigilant to this pursuit over time, these leaders are big winners in both the marketplace and with their customers, as compared to their peers.

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Data & Analytics

Advanced Analytics: Putting the Power of Profits into Your Hands

Analytics and Big Data are all the hype these days, just as it seems that traditional Business Intelligence has reached maturity. The diversity of solutions and cacophony of voices can be paralyzing when considering the costs.

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Data & Analytics

It’s the Principle of the Thing: Go Lean On Pricing for Improved Profits

The mandate for improved profitability has become more intense over the last five years thanks to external pressures and internal demands. But where will this profitability come from? Waste and reduction in virtually every area have left few stones unturned. The last hold out often turns out to be sales and marketing.

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Cybersecurity

Liberty Advisor Group Bolsters Security Capability with Acquisition of G²S Global

CHICAGO, January 16, 2017 –  Liberty Advisor Group, a top-tier business and technology consultancy and a 2016 fastest growing firm, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of G²S Global, an Indianapolis-based security advisory specializing in business threat intelligence and cyber monitoring solutions. 

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Liberty Named Consulting Magazine’s Fastest Growing Firms

October 17, 2016 – CHICAGO, IL – Liberty Advisor Group is pleased to announce it has been named to Consulting magazine’s Fastest Growing Firms at the 2016 annual gala and award dinner. Liberty grew 196 percent from 2012 to 2015, earning them the 16th place on the list of combined domestic and international firms.

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Transformation & Assurance, Mergers & Acquisitions

How to Hire A CIO or CTO For Your Portfolio Company

One of the most common questions clients ask is, “How do I go about hiring a CIO/CTO?” An organization’s technology decision maker plays a critical role in shaping its future; choosing one is a delicate process, as the decision will have an immeasurable impact on your business’s ability to grow and evolve.

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Transformation & Assurance

ERP: Russian Roulette Or High Caliber Initiative?

For the better part of 20 years, investment in packaged ERP systems has been big business.  According to Gartner, worldwide spending on ERP program implementations, upgrades, and maintenance totaled an estimated $120.4 billion in 2012. The ability to systematically integrate functions of your business into a streamlined application has promised to provide greater operational efficiency, advanced data capabilities, and competitive advantages

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Mergers & Acquisitions, Cybersecurity

Security Gaps Are Lurking In These 4 Areas of Your Portfolio Companies

As part of the due diligence process, private equity investors are increasingly focusing on the security of the potential investment’s technology infrastructure and critical business information. However, that same scrutiny is often lacking when investors look at the systems and processes of companies already within their portfolio.

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Transformation & Assurance

Six Key Success Factors for Large-Scale IT Transformation Projects

Large corporations’ failures with large IT projects are – if not stemming from precisely the same issues – still failures in kind. By far the largest overarching mistake that corporations make is the tendency to view their transformational projects as belonging entirely beneath IT’s umbrella. As a result, they fail to accord these projects whole-business importance, and thus they lack active top-level business support and commitment, as well as a clearly defined economic business case.

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Transformation & Assurance, Business & Technology Strategy

Annual Planning Maturity Model: Move Beyond Compulsory Process To Realize Value

As calendars turn to July and August, thoughts often turn to summer weather, baseball games and weekend getaways. However, in the hearts and minds of executives, this time of year also signals the commencement of another annual planning cycle.

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