How To Go About Changing IT Support Providers
Whatever the reason you’ve decided to change providers for your external IT support, you need to make sure that the transition is smooth and seamless to avoid any gaps in cover. Whether you’ve decided to move because you’ve been offered a better deal by a competitor or because the needs of your company can no longer be fulfilled by your existing supplier, the steps you need to take in order to ensure you maximise the capabilities of your new IT support team will be the same.

The first step comes in choosing a provider which is used to taking over from other companies and that can assure you of their ability to build on, and improve, the systems and support you already have in place. If you choose the right provider, they will be entirely focused on making the transition as smooth and efficient as possible. There are, however, still a few things that you can do to make things easier.
1. Know your passwords
If your IT support company handles all of your systems and all of your password resets, make sure that you ask for a list of all the passwords they use before their contract is finished. It’ll be much easier for the new company if you are able to provide them with the passwords directly, rather than them having to apply to reset each and every one at the start of their contract. It goes without saying that you should keep these passwords extremely safe in the interim, and it would be sensible to have the new supplier change them all once they get started.
If you’d given a builder or contractor a key to your house, would you let them keep it once the work was finished? No matter how good a job they have done or how trustworthy they proved to be, chances are you wouldn’t risk the security of your house by leaving the key in their possession. The exact same principle applies to IT support companies. They’d have to be extremely unethical in order to exploit the data you have given them access to, but it’s much simpler to take the key away than it would be to repair any damage afterwards.
It’s best practice to back up all data and systems which your outgoing IT support supplier has had any involvement with. Once you’ve switched suppliers, change all of the passwords and access keys just to be on the safe side. This will prevent employees of the old IT support company being able to have access to your systems, website and information going forward.
2. Know how you want to work
Even if you’ve left your current supplier on good terms, there will undoubtedly be things that you think they could have improved on. Use your experience of having an external IT support team to help you work better with the next supplier. Collect feedback from members of staff about their experiences of the previous company and declare this feedback at the very beginning of the contract with the new supplier.
3. Know who’s in charge
If you don’t already have one, appoint a person within the company who handles the contract with the IT supplier. This person will be their point of contact within your organisation and will also be able to pass feedback on to the supplier from your colleagues and employees. Ask them to monitor the change closely, making sure that they report back any teething issues so that any potential problems can be resolved before they snowball. This consistency will really help you to make the most of your relationship with your IT supplier.
4. Know what you’ve got
Try and have the information that your new supplier will need ready before they ask for it. This will include a full list of usernames and email addresses, a network diagram, lists of software you use, the type of license you hold and an inventory of all your technological equipment. If you can provide all of this at the start of the new supplier’s contract then you’ll prevent delays and give them a head start in getting to know your needs.
5. Know your own needs
It’s a good plan to have an idea of how much of the IT supplier’s time you use on a weekly or monthly basis. If you don’t know, ask the outgoing supplier for a recent bill or record of their work for you. If possible, ask if they can summarise some of the systems they have put in place for you, and highlight the difficulties they may have had in working with your IT equipment and processes. Analyse these reports and their feedback to work out what changes you could make in order to make your relationship with your next IT support supplier even better than the last.
Once the transition period is over, make sure that you keep an eye on all of the above so that you maintain a strong relationship with your supplier. Being willing and able to help with their queries will ensure that you are able to make the most of the services that they have on offer, beyond the basic requirements.
