Changing IT providers is less risky than staying with one that is not working, but only if the handover is planned. The goal is simple: on the day the old provider leaves, your business still has full control of its accounts, data, systems and documentation.

Use this checklist whether you are moving to ZARS or anyone else.

Before you give notice

  • Read your current agreement. Note the notice period, any termination fees and what the provider is obliged to hand over.
  • Confirm who owns what. Domain names, Microsoft 365 or Google tenants, firewalls, software licences and backup data should be in your company's name, not the provider's.
  • List every system the provider touches. Email, files, line-of-business applications, phones, printers, network equipment, backups, security tools.
  • Identify your own administrator access. Make sure someone at your business holds global or owner-level access to critical systems before anything changes.

What to request from the outgoing provider

  • Administrative credentials for every system, delivered securely, not by plain email.
  • Network documentation: diagrams, firewall configuration, IP addressing, Wi-Fi settings and internet circuit details.
  • An asset inventory: computers, servers, network devices, ages and warranty status.
  • Vendor and licence information: account numbers, renewal dates and support contacts.
  • Backup details: what is backed up, where, retention, and how to restore.
  • A list of tools that will be removed, such as monitoring or security agents, and a date for their removal.

During the transition

  • Overlap security coverage. The new provider's endpoint protection and backup should be in place before the old ones are removed.
  • Change shared and administrative passwords once the handover is complete.
  • Tell your staff how to get support from the new provider and from what date.
  • Verify backups under the new provider by restoring something.

Questions to ask any new provider

  1. What exactly is included in the monthly fee, and what is billed separately?
  2. How will you document our environment, and do we own that documentation?
  3. What does your onboarding process look like, step by step?
  4. Who will we work with day to day, and who do we escalate to?
  5. How will you report on security and on the health of our systems?
  6. Do you provide strategic planning, or only support?

A good provider will answer these directly and in writing. ZARS answers them as part of every IT Assessment, and the Managed IT Services page explains how a ZARS relationship begins.