Changing IT providers? Start with these questions.

Who owns and can access the essentials?

Ask for a list of business-owned tenants, domains, subscriptions, administrator accounts and supplier relationships. Confirm who is authorised to transfer access. Never put passwords in a general enquiry form.

Microsoft tenant and domain ownershipAuthorised administrator access and recovery contactsSubscription, licence and supplier records

What would need to be recovered?

List the systems and information the business depends on. Ask what is backed up, how a restore would be checked and who would coordinate it.

Backup scope and accessEvidence of an agreed recovery testKnown gaps and dependencies

What exactly is changing?

Ask for the transition scope in writing. Separate a provider handover from migrations, new security products and changes to business applications.

Included and excluded workService coverage and escalationChange windows, testing and fallback steps

What will staff experience?

A technically complete handover can still confuse staff. Agree on the support contact, what changes on their devices and how updates will be communicated.

Staff communicationsNew support contact and processNamed owners for unresolved issues

What does the first review look like?

Plan a review after the transition to check unresolved issues, responsibilities and the next priorities. The handover should create a starting point for improvement.

Open issue registerConfirmed scope and responsibilitiesAn agreed list of next improvements

A planning worksheet, not an assessment of your environment. Avoid entering passwords or confidential information in general website tools.