Switching IT providers is a massive decision for any firm, but often there’s an anxiety about the potential of delay and disruption. Nowadays, a few minutes of IT downtime can mean a lot of lost revenue and productivity. And a survey by the Ponemon Institute found that 54% of organizations have encountered at least one unscheduled downtime event in the past year, showing just how frequest – and disruptive - these incidents are. The trick is to accomplish the change without such costly disruptions.
Whether, for example, you
outsource your IT to PC LAN Services or you use the experience of an outside consultant, if you know how to do it, you can make an informed decision and keep your business going.
This ZandaX article gives a strategy for moving to an IT provider with no downtime and contains critical best practices and imposrtant issues you need to be consider.
Know Your IT Environment Today
Before you begin, you shoul do a complete assessment of your IT infrastructure and services. This includes hardware, software, networks, security and – don’t forget – any third party integrations. Documenting this information helps ensure the new supplier has a full awareness of your setup to be able to adapt their services. A complete inventory will also prevent missing important parts and unforeseen delays.
And knowing what systems are critical and when they are used most can help in setting up a transition plan that minimizes problems. An obvious fact is that scheduling the transition during off-peak hours or weekends minimizes disruption. You also need to understand the dependencies between apps and infrastructure to avoid damaging failures during migration.
Establish Clear Goals & Expectations
Clarity is essential when you’re changing IT suppliers. Know precisely what you want from your new partner - improved security, faster reaction times, financial savings, better scalability … it’s your choice, but make sure you know! The new supplier should be given clear and quantifiable targets, and well-defined service level agreements (SLAs) will also measure – and help to manage – performance.
By getting
T3 MSP’s IT specialists involved early on, you can ensure that your goals fit with their skills and a smooth transition can take place. Having your new IT supplier involved early in the planning process means you’ll get the benefit of their knowledge to recognize potential problems and solutions ahead of time.
Also, communicate the goals internally, up and down the chain, to all stakeholders, from department heads to end users, so that everyone understands why the change is happening and what they can do to assist make it a smooth transition.
Create a Comprehensive Transition Strategy
A structured transition strategy guides you through each point of the shift from initial contact with your previous provider through to final cutover and post transition assistance. The plan must be comprehensive and contain:
- Data Backup and Recovery – Backup all your essential data before you start the switch, so you avoid data loss should something unexpected happen.
- Parallel Running – If possible, run both IT suppliers in parallel for a short period; This approach mitigates risk by allowing new technologies to be evaluated and validated without harm to existing services.
- Communication Plan – Inform everyone – and don’t forget employees and customers! – of the upcoming changes and expected timelines. Clear speech sets people’s expectations, eliminating a whole lot of confusion.
- Contingency Planning - Create rollback procedures to quickly go back to the previous state if the new systems don’t work as expected.
- Resource Allocation - Assign one person to be responsible for the relocation, to be the point of contact between teams and to promptly resolve difficulties.
Work with IT Experts
Working with skilled specialists lowers the risk of errors during the change. Experienced IT consultants can give you the kind of knowledge that avoids problems (avoiding the is always preferable to fixing them, don’t you agree?) They use their experience to anticipate concerns with compatibility, security and performance that internal teams may not be aware of.
And of course their knowledge of cybersecurity best practices is especially key to preventing risks during the handover. Did you know that there’s a tendency for cyber attacks to go up during IT transitions? Well, there is, and it’s because any temporary holes in defenses need to be monitored by people that know how to maintain strong defenses throughout the process.
Test, Test, Test!
Test the new IT environment
rigorously prior to cutover. This includes the network connection, application functionality, security measures, and user control of access. Testing can detect and fix problems before they affect your organization, minimizing the chance of downtime.
Test different scenarios including peak load, failover and disaster recovery simulations. Involve end users in acceptance testing to verify that systems meet operational requirements.
Support and Monitoring After the Change
Post transition, it’s important to continue monitoring to detect and resolve problems in a timely manner. Keep the channels of contact open with your new provider to enable a fast reaction to issues. Monitor system performance, network health and security alerts with real time monitoring tools.
You can also train your people so they actually understand new systems and protocols, thereby increasing the total efficiency. Yes, it’s stating the obvious, but trained workers are much less prone to make mistakes that could lead to downtime or breaches.
Schedule regular review meetings (in the first few weeks after the migration) with your new provider to monitor performance against the SLAs we mentioned above, and clear up any outstanding issues. This will continue to drive ongoing success.
Switch Risks (SR)
Risk management should be
embedded in the whole transition. Risks include data loss, security breaches, compatibility difficulties and prolonged outage. Make sure you do the following:
- Deploy good backup systems that have tested recovery systems.
- Perform rigorous security tests during and after migration such as vulnerability testing, penetration testing etc.
- Test hardware and software compatibility in a pilot phase before deployment.
- Have contingency preparations to revert to the old provider if needed without long term service disruption.
- Establish a risk management team to monitor and react to emerging issues.
Other Things To Consider For A Successful Switch
It’s easy to get caught up in technical considerations, but you really should bear in mind that things like cultural and contractual factors can also contribute to a successful outcome. Teamwork is built on trust, so open up channels of communication between your organization and the new provider.
Search for hidden constraints in contract language that could impact service levels or pricing. Negotiate penalties for downtime or missed SLA’s.
Assess the scalability and flexibility of the new solutions so you’re sure they can accommodate future growth and technology upgrades. A forward-looking collaboration means fewer switches are needed in the future.
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Pulling This Together
If you get the right people to work together in the right way, you can change IT providers with pretty well no downtime. And working with reliable partners who have the right level of experience can make the changeover process so much smoother.
The trick is to manage the process with clear goals, thorough testing and access to ongoing support. This approach minimizes disturbances, and sets up the environment for long-term success.
With a sensible upfront investment of time and money, you’ll avoid costly downtime and operational issues now, and in the future.  With the right implementation, your company will achieve the smooth and successful changeover that other companies, who don’t put in the necessary work beforehand, can only envy. And if they are your competitors, you have an advantage you probably never really considered!
