A fund-level read on technology across the portfolio. Commissioned by the PE operating partner.
A six-to-ten-week engagement that scores every portfolio company (portco) on seven technology axes. Output is a fund-level dashboard, a per-portco red-flag list ranked by exit-window risk, and a partner-meeting deck. A Diagnostic can begin as a Portco Technology Review on one portco where the GP has a technology question. If the review is useful, the PE operating partner can commission the Diagnostic to apply the same scoring to the rest of the portfolio.
Why this exists
Many funds have no common view of technology across portcos.
Portcos often report technology in their own format, on their own cadence, in their own vocabulary. The pattern that matters is the one across the portfolio, and it is hard to see until the same scoring is run on every portco.
What gets scored
Seven axes per portco.
The same seven questions on every portco. Each is scored red, yellow, or green, with a dollar-magnitude estimate against EBITDA where the gap is sizeable.
- 1. Tech-spend trajectory. Quarterly trajectory normalized to revenue, by portco. Flags portcos where spend is rising faster than revenue without a documented business case.
- 2. Architecture documentation. Which portcos have a current-state architecture document that a buyer's diligence team could read in 20 minutes. Flags "would have to redraw from memory" cases.
- 3. Cybersecurity posture. Which portcos have had a formal posture assessment in the past 18 months. Cyber insurance renewal and buyer-diligence exposure scored together.
- 4. SaaS rationalization status. SaaS spend mapped against utilization, by portco. Identifies the portcos with the most room to cut SaaS spend.
- 5. AI exposure. Which portcos are deploying AI features with documented governance and which without. Names the emerging risk.
- 6. AI data foundation readiness. Which portcos could ship an AI use case to production today and which need substantial data work first. Sets a realistic AI timeline for the portfolio.
- 7. IT leadership continuity. CIO or IT-leader gaps and turnover risk by portco. Execution risk on every technology decision the portfolio is making.
The deliverables
What you walk away with.
01
Per-portco snapshot
A one-page summary per portco: scored across the seven axes, named issues, dollar-magnitude estimate against EBITDA where the gap is sizeable. The CFO and CIO at each portco can read theirs in 10 minutes.
02
Fund-level dashboard
Every portco on every axis in one view. Red, yellow, green. Sortable by exit-window proximity, by axis, by sector. The single picture a partner meeting can act on.
03
Per-portco red-flag list
The portcos that need the most attention, ranked by exit-window risk, with named issues and dollar magnitude. Recommended Initiative per portco for the next quarter.
04
Partner-meeting deck
Board-ready presentation: fund-level posture, cross-portfolio patterns, the red-flag list, recommended next-quarter actions. Designed for the investment committee, the limited partner review, or the annual fund-strategy session.
05
Quarterly refresh option
Same scoring framework, lighter touch, refreshed dashboard, change-since-last-quarter view. Three to four weeks per quarter. The cadence that turns the Diagnostic into a standing engagement instead of a one-time project.
How the engagement runs
Three phases, six to ten weeks.
Weeks 1 to 2
Setup and per-portco discovery
Fund-level intake call with the GP or operating partner. Portco list, sector, hold position, named IT or operations lead per portco. Introductions to each portco's primary IT contact. Read-only access where access is granted; otherwise, structured interviews.
Weeks 2 to 8
Per-portco scoring
One to two weeks per portco, parallelized across the engagement window. Each portco gets its seven-axis snapshot. Issues are documented with dollar magnitude where the data supports it. The portco's IT contact receives the snapshot in draft for accuracy review before it goes into the fund-level rollup.
Weeks 8 to 10
Fund rollup and partner deck
Cross-portfolio pattern analysis. Dashboard production. Red-flag list and recommended Initiatives. Partner-meeting deck. Walkthrough call with the GP or operating partner. Handover.
Scope
What this engagement is not.
This is a scoring and prioritization engagement at the fund level. It is not a per-portco IT due diligence (that is the IT Due Diligence Initiative). It is not a remediation engagement (each priority portco will need its own Initiative or Program level to close the gaps it surfaces). It does not produce certified, audit-grade evidence (that comes from named Initiatives where required). The Diagnostic is the read; the Initiatives and the Program levels are the work.
How it is structured
Scoped per portco, with a fund-level rollup.
Fixed scope, fixed price, quoted in the brief. Scope depends on portco count, depth of access granted, and whether the quarterly refresh continues.
Per-portco scoring
1 to 2 weeks
Per portco. Includes the per-portco snapshot.
Fund-level rollup
Per portfolio
Dashboard, red-flag list, partner deck, walkthrough.
Quarterly refresh
Optional
Available after the initial engagement.
The Technology Review is credited toward the Diagnostic if the Diagnostic is scoped within three months.
For your role
Where this engagement fits.
For PE Operating Partners →
If you carry value-creation accountability across multiple portcos and need the same picture for every one. The Diagnostic gives you that picture.
For PE General Partners →
If technology risk and value capture have to be explained in limited partner and partner-meeting terms. The Diagnostic produces a report you can use in those conversations.
Run the Diagnostic once. Decide on the cadence after.
Six to ten weeks. There is no obligation to continue after the Diagnostic.