The business side of IT
What to expect in your first month with a new IT provider
Switching IT providers can feel like a leap. Knowing what a good start looks like makes it easier to judge whether it is going well.
1 min readExplainer
The short version
A good start involves discovery, documentation, security fixes and one simple way for staff to get help. Here is what usually happens.
Before day one
- Discovery: the new provider learns how your business works, what you use and what is frustrating today.
- Handover from the old provider: administrator access, passwords, documentation and vendor contacts. This goes best when the outgoing provider is told early and asked politely.
The first weeks
- Monitoring and management tools are installed on computers and servers.
- Documentation is created: what you have, how it is connected, who has access, which vendors are involved.
- Security gaps are closed in priority order: multi-factor authentication, backups, updates and endpoint protection usually come first.
- Staff learn one way to get help, such as a phone number, an email address or a portal.
What a good start feels like
- Staff know how to ask for help and get answers.
- You receive a clear summary of what was found and what is being fixed.
- Surprises are explained, not hidden.
- There is a plan for the next few months.
Warning signs
- Nobody can say what was found.
- Changes are made without explanation.
- Security fixes are presented only as optional extras.
Talk to us about your technology
Tell us what you run today and what is getting in the way. We will get back to you about how we can help.