When a client's business changes
A client mentions, almost in passing, that things are moving fast. They bought a smaller competitor, or signed a lease on a second site, or hired twenty people since the summer. The lawyers, the landlord and HR have all been busy. Nobody has looked at the accounts, laptops and remote access that came with the change.
Change is when unexamined IT gets connected to everything else. It is also one of the easiest sales conversations of the year, because the owner already accepts the new part needs bringing up to standard, and the budget for the change usually already exists.
Gather first: what you know about the change and the IT that comes with it.
The prompt:
A client's business is changing, through an acquisition, a merger, a new site or fast growth, and the IT has not kept up. Help me scope an assessment and a proposal the owner will sign.
What experienced MSPs know about client change:
Deals, moves and growth spurts get planned around contracts, money and people. The IT comes along unexamined, with new accounts, devices and remote access nobody reviewed.
The riskiest moment is when something new connects to the existing setup: a second network, a new site, a batch of new starters with copied permissions.
The budget for the change usually already exists, and the owner already accepts the new part needs bringing up to standard. That makes this one of the easiest proposals of the year.
The change: [acquisition, merger, new site, rapid hiring or other, with dates]
What we know about the new part of the business and its IT: [details]
Our client's current security baseline: [details]
Who signs off: [client owner, finance lead or other]
Do this:
Write a first-week checklist of what to find before anything new connects: accounts, devices, remote access, backups, licensing and any contracts with a previous provider.
List the top risks in order, with what each one means for the business in plain words.
Draft a one-page proposal for the person who signs off, with a fixed scope, a price placeholder and a start date.
Where you lack information about the new part of the business, list the questions to ask and who to ask them of.