Switching IT Providers Without Losing Control
The accounts, data and documentation your business should own before you give notice — and how the handover is done properly.
Signs it is time
- Nobody can tell you what you have, or show you where it is written down
- You do not hold the administrator accounts for your own Microsoft 365 tenant, domain or firewall
- Tickets get closed, but the same problems come back and no one owns the cause
- Security questions from an insurer, auditor or client get vague answers
- Nobody has ever restored a backup to prove it works
What your business should own before you switch
These belong to the business, not to the provider. Confirm you hold them — or can get them — before giving notice.
- Domain & DNSThe registrar account for your domain and the DNS hosting, in the company’s name
- Microsoft 365Global administrator access to your tenant, and a clear picture of who bills your licenses
- NetworkAdministrator access to the firewall, switches and wireless, and the internet circuit account
- BackupsWhere they are, who pays for them, how long they are kept, and whether you can restore without the old provider
- CredentialsThe business’s passwords in a vault the business controls, not only in the provider’s system
- Vendors & licensesContracts and license keys for line-of-business software, in the company’s name
- DocumentationNetwork diagrams, system inventory and configuration notes — whatever exists
How we handle the handover
- 1. InventoryWe establish what exists and what the business already controls, usually as part of the assessment
- 2. TransferAdministrator access, registrar and vendor accounts move into the business’s name
- 3. RotateShared and administrator credentials are changed once the transfer is complete
- 4. Remove old accessDelegated admin relationships, remote-management agents and old accounts are removed, not left dormant
- 5. Prove the backupsA restore is tested before anything depends on it
- 6. Write it downThe environment is documented well enough that you are never in this position again
We coordinate with the outgoing provider where they cooperate. Where they do not, the work is the same; it takes longer.
What changes after the switch
Defined responsibilities: an agreed scope that states what we own and what stays with you. Controlled, recorded changes. Direct access to the senior engineering accountable for your environment.
That is the work described in Managed IT & Infrastructure and Cybersecurity & Recovery. More on how the practice works is on the About page.
By sector
Thinking about a change?
Start with a conversation about your environment and your current arrangement. Scope and fee for an assessment are agreed before any work begins.
Discuss your IT