Your Pain-Free Guide To Switching IT Companies
So you’ve decided it’s time to switch IT companies? After all, you wouldn’t be reading an article about it if you weren’t ready to make a change. Look, I know it’s a scary process. They basically hold the “keys to the kingdom” so to speak – your documentation, logins, and everything else you need. Your technology is the foundation of your business, and in turn, your IT company holds a lot of power.
But here’s the thing… There’s a right way and a wrong way to switch IT companies. Basically, it’s all about being strategic. If you’re in a situation where you’ve signed an agreement but they’re not living up to their end of the bargain, it’s time to make the change – but there are some considerations to keep in mind:
- Do you have access to your documentation?
- Do you have administrative access to everything you need?
- Do you have a list of login credentials on hand?
- Do you have copies of all of your backups?
If the answer to any of the above is “no,” that’s okay. In fact, you’re absolutely making the right choice if that’s the case. A good IT company will make sure you have access to everything you need at all times. But it does make the process a bit more sensitive. Before we look at HOW to switch IT companies strategically, let’s look at a few reasons why you might be considering it.
What Are The Top Reasons For Switching IT Companies?
We’ve had quite a few of our clients come to us because they’re ready to switch IT companies. Here are the reasons we’ve heard over the years:
- “They’re not responsive whenever we need help! Sometimes it takes hours, or worse, days to get a response from them.”
- “We keep having virus infections, despite them claiming to be doing everything possible to prevent them!”
- “They charge us for every little thing. There are always surprises on our bill and it seems like nothing is covered under our agreement!”
- “We keep having unexpected downtime. Something always seems to be wrong and they’re always putting out fires!”
Does any of the above sound familiar? If so, you’re making the right choice. A lot of IT companies make a lot of promises, then all of the sudden, a few months go by and they’re not getting back to you on time or keeping up their end of the agreement.
How Do You Strategically Switch IT Companies?
Regardless of why you’re looking to switch IT companies, you’re likely worried about how disruptive the change will be. It’s a scary process because they’re responsible for a lot of your environment:
- Data
- Active directories
- Networks
- Cloud services
- Computers
- And much more
You don’t want to end up in a situation where something valuable is held hostage. Here are our recommendations for ensuring a strategic, smooth, and painless process:
- Find a new IT company that’s already familiar with the process of transitioning in terms of managing the entire process for you – from taking over documentation to communicating with your existing provider.
- Hold off on canceling with your current IT company until you’ve found a new IT company that’s ready to help you out throughout the process. They will make sure everything goes smoothly.
- Make sure all administrative access, login credentials, documentation, and anything else you need is transferred over to your new IT company (and while you’re at it, get copies of everything yourself).
- Ask your new IT company to perform an in-depth security assessment to uncover any vulnerabilities and/or backdoors that should be resolved right away. If your existing IT company is lacking in terms of service, it’s important to double-check.
- Give notice to your current IT company after you’ve gained access to everything you need. You can have your new IT company help you through this and make sure things don’t turn hostile.
It’s Time To Make A Change
Let’s make it together. We have extensive experience helping businesses like yours transition from bad technology support to our fully managed, responsive team of experts.
Click here to get started or call us at (860) 410-0670 to schedule a consultation.
