Considerations When Changing Support Provider
There are many reasons a school may change IT Provider. The service quality may no longer be what it was, or maybe your demands have increased and the current provider cannot meet the demand.
Changing to a new service needn’t be a stressful transition, but there are a few things to consider and be aware of to ensure you get the best service available.
Know What’s In The SLA
Top of the list in changing provider is to be clear what your current SLA contains, and the level of service you are receiving.
A typical scenario is a new provider slashing current IT costs and offering service at a massively reduced rate. Whilst the new provider may be much better, you maybe signing up for a lesser service, losing out any potential gain you may receive.
Be clear on your current services level of coverage and response times. Some points to consider are;
- Are you limited to set number of hours? Is it x hours per week? Per month?
- What happens if you go over this limit? What’s the hourly charge?
- What happens if you need to call for additional support?
- What happens if you have an emergency?
- What happens if that emergency leads to a fix requiring several hours? E.G 6 hours for a server repair. How is that charged?
- What is response time for low, medium and high priority requests?
Once you are clear what service looks like, you are better informed as to what to look for in your replacement service. You may decide you don’t need as much, or maybe you need more, but you are better placed to make a choice – and remember that price is not always the key metric in the best service.
Provided Software
It’s also important to remember that outside of support operations, there could be software that will be removed at contract end. Ensure you know if the support company provides anti-virus, cloud backup, remote from home systems, and e-mail hosting.
If they do, make sure arrangements are in place to move these services and that your new provider can take this on – or at least advise you on bringing these items under your ownership.
If they don’t provide these items, and you own them, and they merely support it, ensure your prospective new provider can work these systems – and critically, will support it. New providers can sometimes reveal they will not support a particular software package, leaving you to purchase their ‘recommended’.
What’s Your Technology?
The final key consideration is a quick audit of what technology and systems you have on site. Similar to the above point about your software, such as backup etc, is knowing that your new provider choice will support these systems. Are you mainly Windows? Are you Office 365? Or Google Apps? Do you have Chromebooks? iPads? Do you need SIMS support? It’s important to be clear as to what technology you have and ensure the knowledge is there to properly look after them.
With these considerations in mind, you will be able to choose your new support provider with confidence, and make a choice knowing exactly what you need to cover, and what level of service you require.
