Considering a new IT provider? Not without doing these 4 steps.

Things go wrong and that can’t be stopped. That’s the world we live in. When they do, if you don’t take stock, acknowledge why things went astray, and create a plan of action – your business ends up getting screwed (for lack of a better word). 

If you’re unhappy with your current IT provider – let’s face it many businesses are. Or maybe your contract is finishing up and you want someone new to work with… you might want to start thinking about the transition process. Yikes. 

In today’s digital world, every business relies on IT to execute critical operations. Downtime is disastrous. Earlier this year, a prominent bank experienced a two-day outage, causing its stock price to drop a significant 2.3 percent.

The question, then, is: how can you have a successful IT transition without being miserable? Let’s take a look and find out.

 Can you find an IT provider that is good enough?

The most painful step is selecting the right IT provider that you want to work with. Of course, you’ll need to consider their capabilities and what you need– some businesses need cloud support, while others are more interested in managed network security or unified communication solutions. 

 Ask yourself this: does this IT provider align with what my company needs? Or is my time being wasted because they won’t provide the value my business needs to grow.  Will the relationship increase, or can they only provide a short-term solution and make things worse?

Make the right decision, and you will be rewarded with happier staff and more profit. 

“Your IT department is exactly where outsourcing can give rise to the win-win scenario of saving time and money, not to mention improving team productivity.” – Forbes

Watch out. These things are killer.

Transitioning IT providers sucks. You better watch out for these things:

• Not good enough information: your new service provider may not take the time to understand your current knowledge of your systems, which creates disruptions for your business.
• Not good enough planning: if a switchover takes place with very little planning, your new service provider is setting you up for failure.
• Time pressures: you need to get your new IT systems up and running ASAP. Disgruntled teams may not be willing to cooperate.

Transition doesn’t need to be a hassle.

Want to achieve a smooth transition? Follow these steps:

Step 1: Identify the scope of services

First, ensure both your team and your new IT providers are on the same page in terms of the scope of services your business needs. The services provided should not only meet your current needs but also offer new opportunities for change and growth.

You should conduct a business-wide audit at this point to determine what different departments want from their IT.

Step 2: Allocate a team to manage the transition

Your new provider should put a team in place to manage the hand-over from start to finish. You might also like to establish a hierarchy so decisions can be made effectively. If possible, this team should strive to keep your business’s relationship with your old provider amicable.

Step 3: Ensure all staff are aware of any changes

Changing IT providers can have far-reaching effects. You should make everyone aware of new services, as well as how these could impact interdependent service providers and outsourcers.  

Step 4: Monitor the transition

Switching to a new IT provider shouldn’t be a set-and-forget activity. Instead, build a regular review process into your agreement. That way, you can monitor the performance of your new provider against historic KPIs, ensuring your business gets the most out of the transition.