Changing Your IT Support Vendor? A Handover Checklist Before You Sign

Many offices stay with an IT support vendor they are unhappy with because switching feels risky. Who knows the passwords? Which server does what? What happens to the open tickets? A planned handover removes most of that risk.

Before the new vendor starts

  • Ask for an audit of your current setup: desktops, laptops, printers, network, servers and business software.
  • Get the findings documented so nothing lives only in one person's head.
  • Agree how monitoring will be switched on and who gets alerts.
  • Fix a single helpdesk route for all IT issues from day one.

What to check in the AMC contract

  • Scope: which hardware, networking, servers and software are covered for the fixed yearly fee.
  • Response times: written into the contract, not promised on a call.
  • Spare parts: whether replacements are included or quoted separately.
  • Preventive visits: how often they happen and what they check.
  • Escalation: how an incident is logged, prioritised and escalated, and how you see the resolution timeline.

Also ask how support works outside your main office. For example, a vendor may give on-site support in one city and remote support elsewhere, with visits arranged when needed. Know this before you sign.

See how a structured handover and AMC can work: managed IT support and AMC from Affix Center

Published by Affix Center, a Mumbai-based IT services company in Lower Parel.

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