One of the most common questions we get asked here at Leap IT by clients looking to join us is “What do you need from us to change IT provider?”
A completely fair question, especially when it’s your IT provider, whose job it is to know the answer to that question.
To try and make your life a little easier we’ve put together a list of 9 of the most commonly asked questions that we get here at Leap IT to try and put your mind at ease.
Where do I start? What do I need to give to you to get the ball rolling?
First things first. We need administrator access to any technology products or services that you use as part of your business. That can include anything from your emails, Wi-Fi passwords, to the server you access your files from. Don’t worry if you don’t know any of these details – all you need to do is put us in touch with your current IT provider or in-house IT manager and we’ll take it from there.
How long will this take? What kind of disruption should I expect?
This will vary quite significantly, depending on what services you use. A typical transfer of IT services takes anywhere from one or two weeks to around a month depending on the services being taken over. Simply providing admin access to a server or mail service only takes a few days providing you’re using a Microsoft platform, which you probably are, whereas migrating hosted services between providers can take a bit more time. This will always be stipulated once we’ve discovered who your IT services are with before any migration or onboarding process is started.
How do I bring my emails over to you without disruption? This is really important!
Thanks to tools provided by Microsoft 365 who we partner with, this step is much more straight forward than you think – especially if you’re already using Microsoft 365 for your emails. Once we’ve been given the go-ahead to contact your current IT or hosting provider, leave this with us. The next step will be to arrange a cutover date when we take over your emails and the current IT provider remove their licenses. There is no downtime and you won’t lose a single email.
What happens to my website?
There are two main parts to your website. Your domain name i.e. ‘leapit.co.uk’, and your website hosting, or where all the files are kept that make your website visible on the internet. Again, it’s likely that these two will be looked after by the same hosting company, GoDaddy for example, and a quick call to their business support team on your behalf, will allow us to move these services to our own hosting provider.
Do you need to do anything to our PCs/Laptops?
Part of the Leap IT support package is access to RMM (remote monitoring and management) software that we use to support and monitor the health of your devices. Prior to completing your move to us we will need access, whether in person or remotely, to each device that you would like us to support. A simple 2 minute install on each device and you’re covered – we can also install our anti-virus software at the same time and incorporate both programs so there’s no need to worry about who’s providing your cyber security either.
Are my backups safe?
Absolutely. Whether these backups are on-site or in the cloud, most backup files nowadays can be converted into a format that can be easily migrated over to our own cloud backup solution. A quick call from us to your IT provider for the login details to your current backup solution is all we need to start the migration.
Am I covered by support during this period?
Of course. We appreciate that in this period of limbo, it can be unclear which party is responsible for providing you with the IT support you need to run your business with minimal disruption or loss of productivity. Our team of experts will be working alongside you to ensure that during this period, we do everything in our power to make the transition from your old provider as smooth as we possibly can.
What should I do if I have a firewall with my current provider?
Like many of the IT solutions you currently use, the admin accounts associated with these products are all we need to take control of your devices. A conversation with your current IT providers about the handover of admin credentials or creation of a new admin account in our name, can easily be carried out during the on-boarding process and more importantly, no down-time is required.
Can I move over my broadband provider?
We currently partner with Zen internet as our broadband provider who offer new and also adopt the vast majority of existing broadband connections, from ADSL to Fibre. Don’t worry if you’re not sure of your provider – a test of your line can give us all the information we need, like existing provider and line speed, to be able to begin the necessary steps to manage this service for you.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss any topics mentioned in this article, please email hello@leapit.co.uk.
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Leap IT is here to take your businesses IT to where it needs to be. We have been delivering IT Managed services throughout Birmingham, The West Midlands and across the UK for over 20 years and on behalf of more than 250 businesses. We work closely with you to really understand what your business needs so that we can make sure you always receive the best advice and achieve the best value.
With a breadth of solutions spanning IT Support, Communications, Cloud Computing and Print we see that you IT is completely covered from end to end.