Change IT providers.
Without the downtime.
Unhappy with your IT but worried about the move? Here is how the handover works, what the first 30 days look like, and the little we need from you.
The short answer
A planned handover, not a leap.
Most businesses stay with an IT provider they are unhappy with because switching feels risky. Who has the passwords? What if email stops? What if the old provider is difficult on the way out? Those risks are real, and they are all manageable with a plan.
Switching takes about two weeks for most businesses. If you have no IT provider now, or you already hold all the passwords and admin access, it takes about three days. We investigate first: admin access, documentation and anything that could cause trouble. Then we plan a takeover date, usually after hours, and change passwords and remote access that day.
The changeover is planned so your team has no planned downtime. If our investigation finds a risk to that, we tell you before anything moves.
What we take over
Everything your business runs on. Handed over properly.
We make the list, chase it and check every item works before your old provider steps away.
Admin access
Global admin for Microsoft 365, plus domain and DNS logins, firewall and Wi-Fi credentials.
Documentation
Whatever your old provider holds about your network, devices and setup, then written up in our own records.
Licensing
Microsoft 365 and software licences checked, so you know what you own, what you rent and who it is billed through.
Backups
Where your backups live and whose account they sit in, confirmed early and moved if they are tied to the old provider.
Remote access
The old provider's remote tools and accounts removed, and passwords rotated, on handover day.
Equipment
We ask you early about anything rented from the old provider, so it is sorted before you give notice.
The first 30 days
What happens after you sign.
An outline, not a promise of dates: the order is set in your changeover plan.
- Week 1
Review and prepare
Kick-off call, a review of your setup, the handover list sent to your old provider, and a takeover date set.
- Week 2
Takeover
Usually after hours: their tools out, ours in, passwords rotated. Your team keeps working.
- Weeks 3 and 4
Settling in
Our monitoring and security tools report anything missed or found, and we fix it. Support is with us from day one.
- Day 30
Check-in
Documentation complete, the review fixes scheduled, and a check-in on how it is going.
What we need from you
A few things only you can do. We handle the rest.
Your main job is to take part in the first discovery and answer our questions.
Give notice
Tell your current provider you are leaving, in line with your agreement with them. Check its notice period first.
Authorise the handover
A short note to your old provider asking them to hand access and documentation to us.
Name one contact
One person on your side who can answer questions and approve changes.
Tell your team
A heads-up that a new support number is coming, and when. We give you the wording.
What to watch for
The two things that most often go wrong.
Problem: A domain or DNS account nobody can log into, so email and the website cannot be moved.
How we help: We check domain and DNS access first, before anything else changes.
Problem: Backups that turn out to be tied to the old provider's account.
How we help: We confirm where backups live early, and make sure there is a working backup in your name before handover day.
Emergency takeover
No time for a planned handover? We can step in now.
Sometimes a calm, planned switch is not an option. Your provider has stopped answering, closed down or locked you out, or something has gone wrong and you need someone in today.
In an emergency takeover we get control back first: Microsoft 365, email and your domain, working with you to prove ownership where the old provider will not help. We shut out access we do not recognise, keep the systems your business needs running, and then work through the normal handover at a steadier pace.
It starts with a short discovery at no charge, so we can see what we are dealing with. We then quote the takeover at a fixed price, separate from any managed IT plan, and agree it with you in writing before any work starts. Urgency and any after-hours work are priced into the quote, with no separate fee.
We are often going in with little documentation and using recovery tools to detach your systems from the old provider, so some downtime is possible.
- Provider unresponsive, closed or refusing to hand over
- Locked out of email, Microsoft 365 or your domain
- Access you cannot account for, or a suspected breach
Questions
Straight answers.
Something else? Call 1800 468 379.
Will we lose email or files during the switch?
The changeover is planned so your team keeps working, and backups are confirmed before anything moves.
What if our old provider is difficult on the way out?
In most cases your systems and data belong to you, unless an agreement says otherwise (some franchise arrangements do). With your written authority we ask for access and documentation directly, and we tell you early if anything is held back.
Why a 12-month agreement?
Onboarding takes real work up front: documenting your environment and deploying our management, security and backup tools to every managed device. We include it in every Managed IT agreement instead of charging an onboarding fee, and the 12-month term is what makes that work. Anything we find that needs fixing is quoted separately. The agreement is reviewed and renews each year. If it isn't working for you, give us 30 days' notice. Leaving in the first six months carries an early-exit fee, set out in your agreement before you sign.