How to switch IT provider without your staff noticing
Most businesses stay with an IT provider they've stopped trusting because they think switching means a fortnight of chaos. It doesn't, if it's done in the right order. Here's the order.
The most common reason a business stays with an IT provider it no longer trusts is fear of the switch. People picture a fortnight of nobody being able to log in, files going missing, and the old provider being difficult. We've done a lot of these handovers since 2005, and the honest answer is that a well-run switch is invisible to most staff. A badly run one is exactly the nightmare people imagine. The difference is the order you do things in.
Before you say anything to your current provider
Check your contract. Notice periods of 30 to 90 days are normal, and some contracts auto-renew for a full year if you miss the window. Find the date. That date decides everything else.
Then get a new provider to do an audit before you commit to anything. A proper audit lists what you have, what's documented and what isn't, and what the new provider will need from the old one. If a prospective provider offers to start without one, that tells you how they'll run your account.
What to ask the old provider for
You are entitled to your own information, and a professional provider will hand it over without fuss. Ask, in writing, for:
- Administrator passwords for every system, including the ones you didn't know you had.
- Domain registrar and DNS login details. This is the one people forget, and it's the one that can take a website and email down.
- Licence details for software and cloud subscriptions, and who they're billed to.
- Network documentation: what's plugged into what, and the passwords for it.
- Backup details: where the backups are, how far back they go, and how to restore one.
- A list of any equipment they own that's on your site, and any they'll want back.
If any of this is refused or delayed, that's not a reason to panic. Most of it can be recovered or rebuilt by the new provider, it just takes longer. It is a reason to be glad you're leaving.
The handover itself
Done properly, the new provider works in parallel with the old one for a short period. They take over the monitoring, set up their own access, move the backups, and check that everything they'll be responsible for actually works, all while the old provider is still contractually on the hook. Then, on an agreed date, the old provider's access is removed and the switch is complete.
Staff should notice two things: a new phone number to call, and that problems get fixed faster. If they notice anything else, something has been rushed.
Three things to check before you sign with anyone
- Response time in writing. Not "fast", a number. And ask who answers: an engineer or a call handler who logs a ticket.
- What's included in the monthly price. Site visits, security, monitoring and starters and leavers should all be in. If they're extras, the headline price is fiction.
- How they'll leave. A provider confident in their service will tell you exactly what you'd get back if you ever moved on.
What we do
Every new client starts with a free audit, so you know what you're dealing with before anything changes. We handle the handover with your previous provider, run in parallel until we're satisfied, and switch on an agreed date. New clients also get a free 30-day trial, which is our way of saying we'd rather you saw how we work than took our word for it.