Transitioning Outsourced Managed Service Contracts

It’s not at all surprising that organisations would be apprehensive about Transitioning Outsourced Managed Service Contracts from their existing IT support supplier to another, even when their current supplier is not able to provide them with the service levels they expect or require.

It is easy for a business to become complacent with their IT support, not realising that there may be much better options out there, and if they do they may have many concerns about downtime and major issues arising as a result.

It makes sense, and can be good business practice, for managers to be protective of their business and systems, but when it means the difference between working with an IT service that fails to fully cover the needs of the organisation and an IT service that provides beyond what is required, managers should look at transitions as more of a necessity than a disruption or annoyance.

Not all IT support suppliers are created equal, and some just don’t provide the kind of support that many organisations need. In order to make sure they are adequately covered for all situations, business managers must find an IT support provider which offers the right options for them. If they already have a less-than-adequate supplier in place, this will inevitably mean transitioning between the two. But while not all IT support suppliers provide the same operational service, the same goes for the transition process – there will be some who don’t cover the whole transition period, and some who make the entire process as simple as possible. Again, it is up to the business manager to find the right IT support provider for their specific needs and for the job at hand.

In early 2011, Barron McCann transitioned support for all store-based EPoS hardware for speciality airport retailer World Duty Free. Within the first month of the transition, Barron McCann surpassed their Service Level Agreement target of 90%, instead delivering 95% SLA. This was a significant improvement on previous suppliers for World Duty Free, with Barron McCann consistently over-delivering against the contracted target over the ensuing months. Consistently high standards and properly maintained procedures mean that Barron McCann are able to provide customers with services which outperform their expectations, and not just as a one off.

Barron McCann have been able to continually offer a very high quality transition service, essential for maintaining long-term client relationships – something which is highly important within the organisation. By helping everything get off to a great start, Barron McCann are able to build strong foundations and let their clients know they are in safe, reliable hands, right from the beginning.