Four steps to consider when changing telecom circuit provider

In the world of TEM, it’s natural to approach an impending vendor change with a sense of dread. From benchmarking and inventory checks to shortlisting and procurement paperwork, it can be a long and somewhat tedious process.

But while this may be true for major network changes, it doesn’t have to be the case when you are making a small update, such as changing telecom circuit provider.

Stay focused on this objective and don’t be tempted to sign up for a bigger package just because it is being offered

As long as you are aware of your reasons for making the change, know what you need from your new vendor and focus on completing the changeover quickly and thoroughly, changing providers of a telecom circuit should be a relatively painless process.

Step one: Why are you changing?

When you are getting rid of an existing supplier, you will probably have a good reason for it. Maybe their prices are no longer competitive, or they are underperforming in some way. Maybe you are trying to drive competition across your suppliers by making a series of small but significant changes. Or maybe you just want to take advantage of a particularly good deal elsewhere that your current vendor can’t match.

Be clear on your reasoning, as this will help you to make a more informed decision when it comes to choosing your new service.

Any network changes will cost your company a certain amount of time and money. Make sure that you benchmark both your existing and new providers for what they offer – if you don’t, you might end up swapping a deficit in one area with your existing provider for a deficit in a different aspect with the new supplier. If you can’t think of a good reason for making this update, it may be worth waiting until a better opportunity arises.

Step two: What do you need from your new provider?

Once you fully understand the current gaps with your existing telecom circuit, you will be able to go to market in a much smarter way. You should know what you want – and more importantly, what you don’t want – from your new circuit provider.

Stay focused on this objective and don’t be tempted to sign up for a bigger package just because it is being offered – you could very easily turn a simple switch-over into a costly and unnecessary mass migration of services.

Step three: How will you complete the changeover?

Before signing up for your new service, make sure that your existing contract is coming to an end, or features a break clause. You may find that there is a cancellation process which needs to be followed, or a fee to end the service early.

Alternatively, you may be able to argue that your existing provider is in breach of contract because they are no longer able to provide you with a reliable or effective service. temforce’s contract dashboard quickly summarises this information for our users right at their fingertips, but if needs be, ask your legal team to take a detailed look over your contract before you complete the changeover, so that you are fully prepared for any cancellation fees or aftershocks.

Once you’ve identified your new vendor, it is important to carry out proper due diligence. This is an extremely important part of any changeover process, regardless of the size of your contract.

Tips to consider before adding any new vendor onto your books:

Make sure that they are in good financial health
Make sure that they offer a full range of support services
Check network coverage
If they have an existing relationship with your organisation, make sure that you both understand how this new contract will impact on any other business, and address any concerns ahead of time.

Step four: What next?

Now that you’ve made the decision to change circuit providers, you have: identified your existing weaknesses, chosen a new vendor and done your due diligence. Job done, right? Not quite.

The final step is to put the contract in place and ensure that the switchover goes off smoothly and without disruption.

Make sure that you’ve shut off all the services with your old provider and confirm that all billing has ceased. Track all of your old inventory and don’t forget smaller items such as routers and cables – your old supplier may be well within their rights to ask for everything back.

In order to avoid outages, budget for a brief period of overlap while your new supplier gets set up on your system.

Ahead of the changeover, make sure that you have sufficient engineering resources to manage the migration. If you are dealing with a large telecom network, you may need to coordinate the changeover with another department, so give them plenty of notice.

Conclusion

When all this is in place, there is nothing stopping you! Just take some time to do a little research and preparation and your circuit changeover should be a quick and easy process from start to finish.

Temforce is a provider of Telecom Category Management SaaS enabling teams to boost their Telecom Management!