From Sales-Driven to Product-Led: The Remarkable Datasite Transformation Story
From Pandemic Peril to Product Powerhouse: The Transformation That Saved Millions
"If we decide to solve a customer problem, it's only because the salespeople want it solved," was the stark reality at Merrill Corporation before its transformation.
This sales-first mentality had created an organization where technology played second fiddle and innovation stagnated.
This is a summary of Datasite’s real transformation case study in “Transformed: Moving to the Operating Model”
A Company at a Crossroads
Founded in 1968, Merrill Corporation (now Datasite) began as a family-owned brick-and-mortar operation providing financial printing services and document management for M&A transactions. For decades, this model worked well.
But the digital revolution changed everything. Competitors who leveraged technology to be faster and cheaper were eating Merrill's lunch. Their Minneapolis headquarters, with high cubicles and little natural light, mirrored the company's increasingly isolated position in the market.
After a disastrous six-year platform development project that cost $6 million but generated less than $30,000 in revenue, it was clear: something had to change.
The Three Root Problems
Christian Idiodi, who joined as head of product, quickly identified three fundamental issues:
Sales Called All the Shots: "What you need to understand is that Merrill is, first and foremost, a sales-driven company," explained the head of sales. This created a disconnect where technology existed merely to serve sales, not customers.
Mercenary Culture: Employees felt disempowered. Engineering was outsourced, decisions came from the top, and teams simply executed feature lists without understanding the why. The physical workspace reinforced this isolation.
Scattered Focus: With 4,000 staff across 23 countries and growth through random acquisitions, the company lacked a cohesive direction. As one new competitor, Workiva, began stealing customers, panic set in.
This is a summary of Gympass’s real transformation case study in “Transformed: Moving to the Operating Model”
Flipping the Script: The Product Model Transformation
Under new leadership, Datasite embarked on a complete reinvention across three fronts:
Rebuilding the Technology Foundation
Gone was the brittle legacy platform. In came a modern, cloud-based architecture built on microservices. This wasn't just a tech upgrade—it was a complete mindset shift that paid off dramatically when a major client discovered a security bug.
In the old days, such an issue might have taken weeks to resolve. The new Datasite team fixed it within an hour—before the client's escalation call to the CEO even took place. The client actually called back to apologize for the false alarm!
Empowering Problem Solvers, Not Order Takers
"Problem solving is a collaborative process," became the new mantra. Instead of salespeople dictating features:
Project funding shifted to empowered product teams
Cross-functional "troikas" of product managers, designers, and engineers worked together
Staff actually talked directly to customers (revolutionary!)
Internal engineering talent replaced outsourced contractors
As one executive put it: "We don't fund projects anymore. We fund people and give them problems to solve rather than features to build."
Getting Ruthlessly Focused
The hardest change? Admitting they couldn't do everything. Datasite developed a clear product vision and strategy, identifying which customers they would serve and which problems they would solve.
This meant making tough calls—divesting several businesses and shutting down others—to focus exclusively on their best opportunities.
The Remarkable Results
By 2020, the transformation was so complete that Merrill Corporation rebranded as Datasite, reflecting its evolution into a purely SaaS-based technology platform for M&A professionals.
Where once they took months or years to deliver new capabilities, Datasite now delivers value to customers almost daily. The numbers don't lie: revenue jumped 30% in a single year, with the company facilitating over 10,000 M&A deals annually.
This is a summary of Datasite’s real transformation case study in “Transformed: Moving to the Operating Model”
The Secret Sauce: Product Training and Coaching
None of this happened by accident. Datasite invested heavily in product training and coaching to build new muscles:
They replaced business analysts with professional product managers
They built an internal product design competency
They created new skills around product discovery
Leadership teams learned to collaborate rather than compete
What This Means for Your Organisation
For business and product leaders considering a similar shift, Datasite proves that even old-school, sales-dominated companies can transform successfully. It's not easy—it requires genuine commitment to product training, coaching, and cultural change—but the payoff is immense.
As one Datasite executive observed about their now-thriving innovation culture:
"The new muscles within the company to identify and diagnose a problem are impressive...but what really stands out is how fast we can respond to our customers' needs."
FAQs
Q. What was Merrill Corporation’s primary business before its transformation into Datasite, and why was a change necessary?
Merrill Corporation was primarily a traditional, family-owned financial printing services provider, handling tasks like printing annual reports and managing document storage. This business model was becoming outdated due to the increasing adoption of digital technologies and a decline in traditional print media. The company needed to transform to remain competitive.
Q. What were the key issues hindering Merrill Corporation's competitiveness before its transformation?
Several factors contributed to Merrill’s challenges: a heavy reliance on legacy print business, limited technological innovation, a project-based model hindering internal motivation, high debt levels, and reputation damage from data breaches. A sales-driven culture, where technology played a subservient role, further stifled innovation and agility.
Q. What was the "product model" that Datasite transitioned to, and how did it differ from their previous approach?
The "product model" involved shifting the focus from sales-driven decisions to customer-centric solutions, with technology playing a leading role. This meant empowered product teams focused on understanding customer needs and solving problems, rather than simply fulfilling sales requests. It also involved moving away from project-based funding to funding dedicated teams and initiatives. Technology became integral to the business, rather than an afterthought.
Q. How did Datasite empower its product teams to become more innovative and responsive?
Datasite empowered product teams by: giving them problems to solve instead of features to build, creating a safe environment for decision-making, staffing teams with problem solvers, funding people and teams instead of projects, enabling product and tech teams to talk with customers. They introduced roles like product managers and designers, built an internal engineering group, and adopted a “troika” model with product, design, and engineering collaboration.
Q. What was the significance of the security bug incident for Datasite's transformation?
The rapid and effective resolution of a security bug reported by a major client served as a pivotal moment, demonstrating the tangible benefits of the technological and process changes that had been implemented. It highlighted the company's newfound agility in identifying, diagnosing, and fixing problems, and it gave tangible evidence of progress to key stakeholders like the CEO.
Q. How did Datasite improve its technology platform during the transformation, and what benefits did this bring?
Datasite moved from legacy on-premises systems to a modern, cloud-based platform with a microservices architecture. They transitioned from a waterfall to an Agile delivery model and implemented continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD). This improved stability, increased availability, reduced operational costs, and enabled faster experimentation and deployment of new capabilities.
Q. Can you explain how Datasite's redaction tool innovation illustrates their transformation and the importance of privacy in the M&A process?
The development of the redaction tool showcases Datasite's move to a product-focused approach. Recognising the critical need for secure document handling during M&A, Datasite built a patented tool that completely removes data and metadata, preventing forensic reconstruction of redacted information. This provided clients with peace of mind and became a significant market differentiator. It was driven by understanding customer needs and using technology to solve a real problem.
Q. How did Datasite approach the challenge of deciding which problems to solve and opportunities to pursue, and what was the outcome of this process?
Datasite focused on decisions informed by context and insight, not by reactionary business requests. This meant having a clear product vision and a well-articulated product strategy, defining target customers and the problems they wanted to solve, and focusing on core business areas. As a result, the company divested several businesses, rebranded as Datasite in 2020, and experienced significant revenue growth. They became known for their culture of innovation and industry leadership.
This is a summary of Datasite’s real transformation case study in “Transformed: Moving to the Operating Model”
I’m Irene Liakos. A product management and growth expert with over 2 decades of experience growing product profitably across Telco, Banking, Fintech, AI, Data, Travel, Ecommerce and more. I teach, coach and advise product managers and business leaders. Reach out to me if your products aren’t delivering the value you need for your business to grow. Let’s transform your organisation and get your teams working within the product model. You can contact me at irene@phronesisadvisory.com
Start Your Product Transformation Today
Ready to transform your organisation like Datasite did?
Give your team the foundation they need with the ICAgile Certified Product Management 2 Day Training course . As the author and facilitator of this course, I've helped teams in government, banking, telecommunications and more build the essential product thinking skills needed for successful transformation.
But training is just the beginning.
Contextual product coaching tailored to your organisation's specific challenges is what turns knowledge into results. I've guided numerous teams through the journey to the product model, helping them navigate their unique environments while implementing proven product practices.
To discuss how your organisation can achieve similar results through targeted product training and coaching, contact me at irene@phronesisadvisory.com