Who’s Flying the Plane?
How IT Provider Transitions Can Go Wrong, and How to Make Yours Work
IT is interwoven throughout your company’s operations, starting with email, website, and PCs, all the way to your core systems like ERP or CRM. With that dependency, changing IT providers is not like switching mobile phone providers. Moving to a new IT provider is more like asking someone else to fly the plane after it’s up in the air, with the same level of risk. If that transition does not go well, your business operations could be severely impacted.
Many IT transitions go well, where one or both firms continue to deliver their services in a professional manner. Unfortunately, there are times when the transition does not go smoothly, and your business has to weather the difficulties. There are a variety of reasons why there may be difficulties, yet there are common steps you can take to minimize disruption to your business.
This guide serves two purposes: one, to help you if you are already in a transition; and two, to help plan a transition to a new provider where you understand the complexity involved in a transition and things you should know ahead of time.
Who is in charge?
Ultimately, you are. That does not mean that you must know all the things related to technology. You need to see that your new provider is asking the right questions and getting all the information. You will need to step in if you are not seeing progress during the transition period.
Ideally, much like an experienced pilot, your new IT provider is able to take the lead to make the transition happen smoothly. You should see things like processes, checklists, and communications, leaving you in a position to simply monitor the status. If this isn’t happening, it is your first indication of problems. If you are not receiving updates, or your previous provider is reaching out with issues, you will need to take a more active role in the transition.
What should you look for to do that? This guide was put together to help you understand the important items of a transition and make sure these things are collected and tracked.
This guide is set up in two sections: discussions, and checklists. In the first part of the guide, we discuss the overall purpose of the sections of the checklist, their importance, and things to note. In the second part of the guide, we provide a checklist of bullet items you can use to verify what is being collected.
Conclusion
The most important factor for a transition is that someone is engaged and involved in making the transition a success. This is a tool to help evaluate the people involved in the transition, and make sure the questions are asked and answered. Your new provider should offer an experienced pilot but in the event they don’t, this document should be enough for you to sit in the captain’s chair and keep the plane aloft. Safe flight!
Don’t Forget…
Do not notify your current provider of termination until your new IT partner is fully selected and prepared to take control. In rare but serious cases, uncooperative vendors have disrupted systems in retaliation. Secure access first. Transition second.