Exploring the emerging trends in the private equity space and a look back at our initial predictions
Our annual Private Equity Outlook—published in December 2022—discussed the key trends we expected to define the upcoming year; as we enter 2023’s second half, here’s an update on those topics.
Deal flow has been slow to pick up in 2023—and most private equity firms are focusing on value creation across their portfolio because of it. Each dollar needs to be spent wisely, and the bar for conviction is dramatically increasing.
This should be done before investing significant resources. When evaluating feasibility, organizations should not only factor in data considerations but also organizational impact and readiness for new solutions and enhanced workflows.
Upgrading and/or replacing core systems can be slow, risky, and expensive. Look instead for more tactical solutions that solve specific business problems rather than reworking entire applications.
When it comes to demonstrating value, it will always be more impactful to show stakeholders how an enhancement will be used by the organization rather than just describing it.
Digital investments are proven to drive higher EBITDA. Pivot from high-cost, high-risk efforts and instead focus on quick-win use cases.
There’s been an incremental rise in cases of business email compromise (BEC) scams, a type of phishing attack that aims to get employees of a company to send money or divulge sensitive company information to a bad actor.
There have been reports of companies being compromised from overseas locations despite only doing business in the United States.
Rather than basing admin privileges on job level, admin privileges should be granted to individuals based on job function. Determine who actually needs advanced access—and limit all other employees.
Employees should be trained to not open attachments or click on links from unexpected or unverified senders, and all requests should be verbally verified if they look suspicious.
Though most take cyber threats seriously, private equity firms must recognize the urgency of addressing cyber threats—the FBI's 2022 Internet Crime Report revealed more than $83 million in losses due to BEC attacks that year.
Economic hurdles exist for private equity firms—and those that succeed will use digital and data to drive value with their deals