How to change IT provider: access, handover and keeping things running

When you change IT provider, your staff need to keep working and no important access should be lost. I handle two to three such handovers a year. Here I describe which information I check first and how to prepare the takeover, even if the documentation still has gaps.

Why companies change IT provider

There is no fixed pattern, but two to three takeovers a year is about right for me. The reasons clients give me are similar: requests wait too long, expertise is missing on certain topics, or new topics such as cloud services are not tackled even though the company needs them.

I consider the last point the most important. A company that wants to stay competitive and keep its systems secure has to keep up with developments, and in security features and cloud services they move quickly. I follow these developments every day and apply what makes sense for my clients. For me this is less about certificates and more about being up to date today.

Before you change IT provider, raise these points openly. Some things can be resolved in conversation. If not, the preparation decides how smoothly the change goes.

What is usually missing in a takeover: the documentation

I rarely see a complete handover. Usually I receive a password list, as a spreadsheet or an export from a password manager. Which systems exist, how they fit together and which firewall rules apply for what reason, I then have to work out myself: scan the network, check devices one by one, read configurations. If access details or records are missing, the environment first has to be surveyed more closely. I agree this extra effort with you before the takeover.

With my own clients I do it the other way round. I document systems and changes as I go, so that I could hand an environment over to a successor or to an in-house IT team at any time. Documentation and access belong to the client, not to me.

So my most important advice is this: before you switch, ask your current provider for complete documentation of the systems they look after for you. Ideally before you give notice, and with a clear list of what it should contain:

• every device with its location and role: firewall, switches, Wi-Fi, servers, storage
• a network plan with IP ranges, separate networks (VLANs) and the firewall rules
• servers and virtual machines with their services and applications
• the backup: what is backed up, how often and where to, and when a restore was last tested
• Microsoft 365 and other cloud services: administrator accounts, licences, security settings
• contracts and licences that run through the provider, with their terms

The more complete these documents are, the sooner the new provider can get to work instead of first finding out what they have actually taken on.

Checklist: the access to secure before you switch

Regardless of the documentation, you should hold the access yourself before the working relationship ends. Check that you can actually sign in. A password on a list is not yet working access.

• Microsoft 365: an administrator account that belongs to your company and not to someone at the provider
• web hosting and domain management: customer account, customer number and access to the DNS settings
• firewall: administrator access, and for centrally managed devices the account with the manufacturer too
• network controller for switches and Wi-Fi
• servers, virtualisation and backup: the local administrator accounts
• customer accounts with manufacturers and suppliers through which licences or maintenance contracts run

For Microsoft 365, Microsoft recommends at least two emergency access accounts with the Global Administrator role anyway. One of the reasons Microsoft gives is the case where the person with the last administrator access is no longer there. When you change IT provider, that is exactly the situation you want to avoid.

Who owns the domain and the Microsoft 365 tenant?

In the environments I take over, the domain is usually registered to the client. For .de domains you can check this yourself with the DENIC whois lookup. If a company is the holder, it shows the name and address.

The Microsoft 365 tenant, your company’s own environment at Microsoft, is more often a different story. Frequently the company did not create it; it came into being with a hosting package. Whether such a tenant can come with you when you change provider depends on the contract with the hosting company and on who holds the administrator rights. In the cases I have seen, it could not. Mailboxes and data then have to move to a new tenant, which is a small project of its own. The case study in which I moved mailboxes and data into a company’s own tenant shows how such a move works.

That is why I advise a tenant of your own that belongs to your company. I receive administrative access to it for as long as we work together. When that ends, you remove the access and everything else stays where it is. Microsoft now provides partners with finely graded, time-limited administrator rights for this, which the customer has to approve explicitly. I use them when a client asks for it. Usually I work with an admin account of my own in the client’s tenant, heavily secured with MFA and a FIDO2 security key. That lets me act faster on urgent work than requesting a role through the Partner Center first.

How the takeover works when access is missing

If an account is missing, I first ask the previous provider, then you, because documents are often still somewhere in the company. If neither helps, I reset the password the intended way or contact the manufacturer. That takes more effort and on some devices means an interruption, which is why it comes last.

How long a takeover takes cannot be said in general. It makes a big difference whether I only take over email security or the whole network with servers, workstations and cloud services. As soon as I have all the access, I draw up a plan for the takeover and carry it out with you.

An agency that changed IT provider in 2026 and moved offices shortly afterwards shows what this can look like with no handover at all. I scanned the network, analysed the firewall, switches, storage and access, and documented everything. I used the move to rebuild the network for 15 workstations, on site in one day. The full story is in the case study office move without a handover.

Frequently asked questions

When should I ask my current IT provider for the documentation?

Ideally before you give notice, while the working relationship is still running. Set out what the documentation should contain: devices, network plan, servers, backup, cloud services, contracts and access. When you receive it, check that you can actually sign in with the credentials.

Can I take my Microsoft 365 tenant with me to a new provider?

If the tenant belongs to your company, yes. Then the only thing that changes is who has administrative access. If it was set up through a hosting package, the contract with the hosting company decides; in the cases I have seen, it was not possible. Mailboxes and data then move to a tenant of your own that belongs to you from then on.

How long does it take to change IT provider?

That depends on what is being taken over, from individual services to the whole network. Above all it depends on how quickly all the access is available. After that I draw up a plan for the takeover and carry it out with you.

Sources

• Emergency accounts in Microsoft 365: Microsoft Learn – Manage emergency access accounts in Microsoft Entra ID
• Time-limited administrator rights for partners: Microsoft Learn – Introduction to granular delegated admin privileges (GDAP)
• Checking the holder of a .de domain: DENIC – Domain query (whois)