Switching IT providers without the disruption
Unhappy with your IT company but worried about the move? A clean handover is a checklist, not a leap of faith. Here's how it works.
How do you switch IT providers safely?
Check your contract's notice terms, make sure your business owns its admin accounts, domain, and backups, then let the new provider set up monitoring and security alongside the old one. Remove the old provider's access only after everything is confirmed working on the new side.
What your business should own before you switch
- Your domain name
- The registrar account for your website address should be in your company's name, with your email on it.
- Microsoft 365 or Google admin
- At least one global admin account should belong to the business, not to the IT company.
- Firewall and network logins
- Admin access to the firewall, switches, and Wi-Fi, plus any cloud management portals.
- Backups
- Where your backups live, who pays for that storage, and whether a restore has been tested recently.
- Licenses and vendors
- Software licenses, security tools, and phone or internet contracts, and whose name they're under.
- Documentation
- Passwords, network diagrams, and notes on how things are set up. You paid for it; it should come with you.
How we take over from your current provider
- 1Read your current contractCheck the notice period, any termination fees, and what the provider must hand over when you leave.
- 2Free assessmentWe review your systems so we know what we're taking on, and you know what's at risk, before anything changes.
- 3Handover planWe list every account, tool, and license to move, and agree on dates with you, so nothing is switched off by surprise.
- 4Credentials and access moveAdmin access moves to accounts the business owns. Old provider access is removed once ours is confirmed working.
- 5Tools and monitoringMonitoring, patching, endpoint protection, and backups go on every device, and backups get a test restore.
- 6Your team meets usStaff learn how to reach us. From then on, a person in LA answers in under 15 minutes.
Common questions about switching
Will switching IT providers cause downtime?
It shouldn't. A good handover runs alongside your current provider until access, monitoring, and backups are confirmed on the new side. Most of the work happens in the background without your team noticing.
What if our current provider won't hand over passwords?
Your accounts and data belong to your business. Start by asking in writing and checking what your contract says about handover. We can help you list exactly what to request and recover access where we have to.
Can we switch before our contract ends?
Often, yes, depending on your notice period and any early termination terms. Reading the contract first tells you the real cost and the earliest clean date to move.
Do we have to replace our hardware or software?
No. We start with what you have. If something is unsafe or near end of support, we tell you and help you plan its replacement on a budget you agree to.