Switching MSP (Managed Service Provider) can feel like a daunting task. Fear of the unknown can leave people uneasy about making a change, leading to indecision or worse.
People worry that a change will lead to excessive downtime, take too much of their time/focus, or perhaps even open a can of worms that may best be left untouched.
The reality is however that whilst these fears are understandable, they are unwarranted provided the incoming MSP has thorough processes and capabilities.
When this is true, people generally find onboardings to be far less disruptive & time consuming than imagined. Switching MSP should not be stressful or time consuming on your part.
Perhaps you’ve had a bad experience in the past. In this post we’d like to talk through what’s involved (or should be involved) in switching MSP, so that you can be more informed and prepared to make a move.
Preparation
There are some things worth covering prior to hitting the ‘go button’ with your new MSP.
Firstly, you should refer to your existing terms as you may have notice periods to consider. Your agreement may also include services such as internet, phones or backup services that may need transitioning without disruption. Involving your new MSP in this process should help you avoid potential risks or disruptions.
Secondly, if you have nervousness about the move, speak with the incoming MSP. They should be able to outline a clear plan and process about how they conduct the onboarding, and importantly, how they deal with exceptions, outliers and curve balls.
If they are unable to do this, you may have cause for concern. Smooth onboarding relies on structured process, documentation & strong capability. You should feel comfortable with the approach before proceeding.
Lastly, you should consider some of the broader changes you are about to experience. For more information, check out What To Consider When Switching Managed IT Providers.
Your Involvement
Your level of involvement in switching MSP is directly related to the quality of the onboarding process of the incoming provider.
Ideally, your new MSP should be doing almost all of the work. Additionally, they can make things easier by providing items such as:
- A template letter of termination for the existing supplier, one that also provides authorisation for the new MSP to engage directly to collect required documentation, passwords and account access.
- A template letter for 3rd party vendors, granting authorisation for the MSP to act on your behalf.
- Staff training and/or communication as to what to expect and how to get support.
- An FAQ or similar outlining what you need to know and what the first steps look like.
Assuming the above items are provided, your involvement should be limited to:
- Attending kick-off and progress meetings to understand what’s going on.
- Providing initial information as to your goals, concerns & priorities.
- Feedback on recommendations & approvals for proposed changes.
- Communication to your wider company re: changes and/or notices.
Your time commitment should be measurable in hours not days. Commonly our clients commit approximately 6-8 hours in meetings over the first few months.
Additional discussions around urgent recommendations & critical risks may add to this. How much will vary depending on the state of your existing setup.
These discussions however are more akin to BAU activity. Whilst they have been triggered by the onboarding, they are in fact discussions that should have been had prior with the incumbent that you’re just now catching up on.
Common Onboarding Tasks
Every MSP will likely have a different onboarding process or task list. There are however some universal tasks that should be taking place in the switch.
Change of Tooling / Software Agents
Perhaps the most critical task at least in the MSP’s eyes will be the replacement of the old MSPs controlling software with their own. Key to this will be the Remote Monitoring & Management tool (RMM) that monitors devices and allows remote management.
Additionally many MSP’s will also roll out their recommended anti-virus, spam filtering, backup, cyber awareness, DNS filtering and other miscellaneous solutions.
All this work should be completely handled by the MSP and generally just requires admin access and some reboots. You may be required to forward some information to users, but shouldn’t have to be involved in any of the rollout tasks.
Documentation & Audits
Sometimes overlooked, the transfer & creation of documentation is critical to the onboarding process. Generally the incumbent will supply documentation to the incoming provider, ideally organised by the incoming provider on your behalf.
What should happen next is that this documentation is checked, corrected and added to. In addition to network documentation, a good MSP will then create process documents for common tasks and dealing with known issues.
Additionally the new MSP should be conducting a thorough audit of all of your technology & configurations to discover any holes or critical issues.
Ideally this audit & documentation is done in conjunction with a rotation of all device passwords (firewalls, WAPs, etc) to ensure that the incumbents documentation is now obsolete, protecting you for any potential data leak on their side.
Security Changes
It’s common in onboardings to find issues, misalignments and risks in existing configurations. Ideally your new MSP should have a raft of changes they wish to make immediately to protect your business.
These changes could include password policies, changes to authentication, access levels, etc. You may need to stagger these changes or handle the communication surrounding them, but otherwise this is a task for the MSP.
Initial Consulting, Reporting & Roadmaps
Depending on the scope of your new agreement, the onboarding may include various meetings & discussions to report progress, discuss roadblocks, and plan for the future.
These meetings will ideally be structured and spread over the initial months. Initial focus will be on critical risks and recommendations, with later meetings being focused on goals and strategy.
Downtime & Expectations
“You’ve got to crack some eggs to make an omelette”. Likewise, switching IT provider is not always without some friction. All in all however, you shouldn’t anticipate much disruption.
The rollout of software agents and policy changes will likely require reboots of servers (if applicable) and individuals devices. This can normally be done out of hours and is largely a background operation – actual downtime can usually be avoided.
It’s worth noting however that you should expect an increase in issues in the first month or two. Commonly this occurs as the new MSP ‘flushes out’ overdue tasks & software updates. These are issues that were lying in waiting but trigger as things get actioned.
Another thing to keep in mind is that as the new MSP uncovers issues and provides recommendations, it may feel as if you’re being bombarded with additional expense. Ideally these items would be presented via a Technology Roadmap or Risk Register. This will help you assess the full picture, but your experience may vary.
If excessive spending is a concern, you should ensure that your new MSP utilises tools like a roadmap prior to engaging them. This will help you control the costs and ensure you’re focusing on the most important items. Otherwise, be sure to have a contingency and expect to use it.
Summary
Overall, switching MSP shouldn’t be stressful or time consuming on your part. The incoming MSP should have a robust process to handle the complexities of onboarding.
Issues may surface during onboarding, but these issues are typically things that have been a problem for some time, just not known about.
The important thing to understand is that whilst your involvement may be minimal, this is a very time intensive & complex process. Onboarding does take time and requires good planning to pull off smoothly. Be cautious of providers that do not charge for onboarding projects, and ensure they have methods to handle exceptions and roadblocks.
If you haven’t yet started the process, or perhaps are considering a change, feel free to book in a chat. We’d be happy to talk through your concerns and get you on the right path.