Gather This Info Before Firing Your IT Company

They say that change is inevitable.  For whatever reason, you may one day wish to change IT service companies.  It’s a change that, in our experience, can make many business owners and managers pretty anxious.  Information gathering is a key part of this process.  Whether your IT service company knows you intend to fire them or not, here is a partial list of items that you should request from them to make the eventual transition to the new IT services company easier.

• A list of all servers, their roles (Domain Controller, File Server, etc.) along with all administrative usernames and passwords (including Active Directory Domain Administrator account credentials) and vendor Maintenance Support Contract details, if applicable.
• A list of all critical network devices (Modems, Routers, switches, etc.) along with all administrative usernames and passwords and vendor Support Contract details, if applicable.
• Details on all LAN, WAN (e.g., MPLS, Frame Relay, direct private line or site-to-site VPN connections between offices), and Wireless LAN configurations, including SSIDs and encryption keys.
• Description of any custom Firewall settings, including a declaration of all methods of Remote Access (including IP information and any credentials/keys).
• Description of Email configuration, including any usage of Smart Hosts, Anti-Spam Software, details regarding Mobile Email (Blackberry or ActiveSync), and URLs for Webmail, as applicable.
• Name of, and login credentials to, your Registrar and DNS provider for all of your domain names.
• Name of, login credentials to, and any other relevant data regarding any web hosting or email you may be receiving.
• Name of, and login credentials to, any SSL Certificate provider, if applicable.
• Name of, and any other related info for, the ISP at each of your locations (e.g. account number, login credentials for a support portal, et cetera).
• Details regarding Backup and Disaster Recovery systems in place, including failover configurations.
• Account numbers/serial numbers, Support Contract details, and the location of all media for all software (e.g. line of business applications, MS Windows 7, 2003/2008 server software, etc.).
• Details regarding applications that users are highly dependent upon, possible PC setup documentation, and overall breakdown of what department(s) use what application.
• Contact information, account numbers/serial numbers, and any other relevant data for any other technology vendors that the new IT provider may need to interact with (e.g. scanner/copier vendors, wiring vendors, telecom vendors, hosted software vendors, et cetera).
• Details regarding any regular scheduled preventative maintenance tasks (patch installations, AV scans, etc.).
• A copy of any internal Information Technology documentation.

Daniel Haurey

Daniel Haurey Jr. is the president and founder of managed IT services provider Exigent Technologies, which he founded in 1997. Under his leadership, the MSP has earned accolades ranging from Channel Futures MSP 501 to being named SonicWall’s 2024 MSP Growth Partner of the Year. Dan is a true entrepreneur, dedicated to growing, investing in, and mentoring small businesses. You can find him on LinkedIn, where he regularly posts about technology, business, leadership, and community.