How Hard Can Switching IT Companies Be?
Most parts of the country are lifting their lockdown restrictions. As a result, businesses are slowly starting to open up. The lockdown presented IT support providers with an opportunity to outdo themselves in terms of service delivery. However, most of them didn’t uphold their end of the bargain. As a result, a lot of business operations were disrupted.
Most companies have made known their intention of switching IT companies due to the following reasons:
- Their current IT support provider was unable to switch the company to a remote working environment. This was vital during the lockdown period.
- Although their IT company transitioned them to work remotely, they did not provide adequate IT support to their employees.
- The IT company takes too long to respond to technical hitches and downtime.
- You have been continually experiencing network outages and security breaches.
- The IT support provider is not meeting the IT needs of your business.
Switching IT companies seems like a long and tedious process. As a business executive looking to hire a new IT company, you’ve probably asked yourself one of these questions:
- Will I find a new IT company that will accommodate me?
- How do I ensure that my new IT company adequately meets the needs of the company?
- What if my current IT support provider is hostile?
- How long will the transition take?
How hard is it to switch IT companies? The truth is it doesn’t have to be such a hassle. The more effort you put in your transition, the easier it will be.
Finding A New IT Company
Before terminating your contract with your current IT company, it’s vital to ensure that you find a new IT partner who will accommodate you and help you during the transition process. Some IT companies may be open to signing up new companies while some won’t.
Having a new IT company will also allow your new IT company to commence working on your systems and ease the transition process. This will help minimize downtime during the transition process.
How To Smoothly Transition To Your New IT Company
If your new support provider has experience in transitioning companies, you’re in luck. Once you’ve found a reliable IT support provider, transitioning is the next big step. The following critical steps should be followed as you transition:
Get Full Control Of Your Network
By outsourcing IT services, you give your IT company high levels of jurisdiction over your networks. With most of your data stored on their computers, you become highly dependent on them.
As you transition, the first thing you should do is gain full control of all your networks and files. Although many IT support providers make transitioning easy, some may try to hold your data ransom by changing your passwords or locking you out of your systems.
Once you have transitioned to a different IT supplier, change your passwords to lock out your previous IT support from having access to your networks.
Ensure That You Have Full IT Documentation Of Your Networks
Request for your company’s full IT documentation from your current IT company. This information should include all the data, accounts, usernames, passwords, network maps, hardware and software inventories, original software disks, and applications. Hand over this documentation over to your new IT support provider. This information will help them identify your system issues and leverage technology to come up with long-lasting solutions.
The successful transfer of information will determine how smoothly your transition will be.
Get Access To All Copies Of Your File Backups
Having a duplicate copy of your files is essential as you move your files from your current IT company to the new one. This data backup system gives you peace of mind as you’re assured that your data will not be lost. When you decide to outsource IT services from a company, you give access to all your data and systems. Assuming that your IT company backs up everything, you will need to get all backup copies. This will help prevent a scenario where your previous IT support provider still has access to your data.
Have Your New IT Company Conduct An Extensive Security Analysis On Your Systems
Your new IT company should carry out an extensive cybersecurity assessment of your systems, especially if you have frequently experienced security breaches. This assessment will enable them to identify areas of risk and system vulnerabilities. This assessment will allow them to come up with better security measures that will be integrated into your IT infrastructure and resolve these back doors.
Give Your Current IT Company Notice
Once you have successfully transitioned and your new IT support company is in place, inform your current IT company that you are planning to terminate your contract with them.
Inform Your Employees Of The Change In IT Service Providers
Once you’ve fully transitioned into your new IT company, ensure that you inform your staff about the change in IT support providers, and how they make use of the new service. Also, share the IT company’s contact information for support, procedures, structures, and policies.
Switching companies may seem challenging at first, but with the right IT support, the transition process will be seamless. The effort you put into the transition process eventually pays out when you find the right IT partner. The right IT company will offer you reliable, efficient, and hands-on services to ensure a smooth transition and minimize downtime to ensure that your business remains productive.
Gen IX has been offering exceptional IT support services to businesses in Los Angeles. With years of IT expertise and experience, we are your trusted partner in IT solutions. We aim to customize a transition roadmap by taking the needs of your business into account and minimize downtime. We also ensure that your new IT environment and support services are optimized from the get-go.
Ready To Switch To A Trusted Los Angeles IT Team?
Get in touch with us today and let us offer you IT solutions that will take your business to new heights.
Click here to get started or call us at {phone}.
