Many businesses have grown incredibly familiar and comfortable with their existing managed IT service provider (MSP).
This means that, when service quality drops, or your current MSP struggles to keep up with your growth, it can be pretty difficult to make the decision to switch.
It may also feel like too much of a risk to take. If this is the case, we’ve got good news for you!
Switching MSP really doesn’t need to be disruptive, frustrating or slow. In this blog, we’ll cover exactly how the switching process works, helping you understand everything a little better.
The 4 steps to switching managed IT service providers
We have a full blog on reasons why you might choose to switch MSPs, you can find that by clicking here.
Once you’ve made the decision and know that you’re ready to switch, the process is actually quite simple. It goes a like this:
1. Comprehensive audit
Many of our customers come to us with an impression of their IT system that is, unfortunately, not particularly accurate.
In fact, 67% of business owners claim that they don’t fully understand their IT, meaning that there may well be large security gaps or disasters waiting to happen that you’ve no idea about!
As a result, it’s important that your potential new MSP carries out a complete audit of your IT system before you agree to switch. This will give you full visibility of your system, what’s working well and what needs to be improved.
This is done in your best interests. If your new MSP tries to transition without an audit, stay away! How on Earth are they able to accurately quote and provide support on hardware, software and cloud environments that they have zero idea about?
Our IT audits are free & detailed. For a chat about organising a no-obligation audit of your system, click here. We’re here to give you full visibility on your system in no time at all, helping you know whether switching is the right decision or not.
2. Introduce both MSPs
At this stage, you’ll need to inform your current MSP of your plans, identify your notice period and introduce your new MSP to your existing one.
This stage is important, as it’s a good opportunity for you to inform your team of coming changes and how they might affect them, while also allowing both MSPs to manage the handover easier.
3. Offboard your old partner
Most MSPs will handle this process with grace and will be happy to support in making your handover as seamless as possible.
However, if you haven’t had the best relationship with your MSP, there may be a little friction here.
Regardless of this, the whole point of this step is ensuring that everyone knows exactly when existing services end and new services begin. This way there’s no billing issues, confusion or awkward exchanges between MSPs.
It also means that your new MSP is provided all administrative credentials and the information that they need to take control of your IT system.
You may also need to arrange a date for both MSPs to visit you on site to remove old hardware/software and install your new tech.
This is the only point where there might be downtime, so it’s usually handled out of hours so that there’s little/no disruption to your business.
4. New MSP takes control
In the final stage, your new MSP will change any admin locks, ensuring that anyone in your old MSP can no longer access your accounts.
This is also when a full network sweep will occur, making sure that everything is 100% secure.
Depending on the MSP, you may have a member of their team on your site for a week or two as they familiarise themselves with you, your processes and your business. It’s a great time for your staff to get to know the people who will be working on your IT for the foreseeable!
And, voila!
You’re good to go! No fuss, easy switch; it’s so much easier than many businesses realise.
Bespoke advice on switching from Nebula IT
In order to make the transition easier, we recommend that you:
- Identify the contract terms for your existing MSP – Do this before you reach out to a new MSP, as it’s important to understand notice periods and severance clauses.
- Have an interest in the audit process – This is a great opportunity for you to learn a little more about your IT.
- Ask questions & expect good answers – If an MSP doesn’t have a good answer to your questions, that should set off alarm bells.
If you’ve got any questions (it’s a big decision, we expect that you do!), don’t hesitate to talk to our specialists at Nebula.
We’re on hand to offer impartial advice on when and how you should change MSPs. If we don’t think you should switch, we’ll tell you that.
Get in touch with our team by clicking here.