Dreamware / Services / Strategy & Advisory / Technical Due Diligence
Technical Due Diligence
Code audits, architecture review, M&A tech assessment.
About this service
Technical due diligence is the process of understanding what you're actually buying when a technology business or technology system is part of an acquisition or investment. The gap between the technical narrative and the technical reality can be significant — and discovering that gap after closing is expensive.
We conduct technical due diligence for investors and acquirers evaluating technology businesses, and for businesses evaluating technology vendors or systems. We review code quality, architecture, security, scalability, team capability, and technical debt — producing an honest assessment of what exists and what it would cost to address the gaps.
Our reports are written to be read by non-technical stakeholders as well as technical ones. We explain technical findings in business terms: what the risk is, what it would cost to address, and how it should affect deal structure or pricing.
How Dreamware approaches this
We typically have two to four weeks for a due diligence engagement. We use that time efficiently: automated code analysis tools for breadth, manual review for the highest-risk areas, and structured interviews with the technical team to understand decisions and context.
We look beyond the obvious. Code quality is visible — but the more important signals are often in deployment processes, incident history, security practices, and how the team handles technical debt. These are harder to see in a code review but more predictive of future performance.
What you get
- Due diligence report — comprehensive assessment of technical assets, risks, and debt
- Code quality assessment — automated and manual analysis of the codebase
- Architecture review — evaluation of system design and scalability
- Security assessment — identification of significant security vulnerabilities and practices
- Team assessment — evaluation of engineering team capability and culture
- Remediation cost estimates — for identified issues, expressed in effort and NZD ranges
- Management presentation — executive summary suitable for board and investor audiences
Investment guide
Technical due diligence engagements typically run $8,000–$20,000 NZD depending on the scope and complexity of the system under review. Simple SaaS products with small codebases and clear architecture run at the lower end. Complex multi-system acquisitions with large codebases and multiple technology stacks sit higher. Turnaround time is typically two to three weeks from access being granted.
All pricing in NZD excluding GST. Fixed-price engagements where scope allows — we'll confirm pricing after a free scoping conversation.
Ready to get started?
Book a free conversation. We'll tell you honestly what's realistic, what it costs, and how we'd approach it.