Who holds the keys? Ownership in a managed IT contract

Multi-site organisations rarely fail on technology. They fail on ownership — nobody can say who holds the keys to the network, and so nothing can be changed without asking someone outside the building.

What we see most often

A managed service should hand back control, not take more of it. The pattern repeats across health, council and professional services: a vendor holds the credentials, the documentation is thin, and every change becomes a negotiation. A managed service should hand back control, not take more of it. The pattern repeats across health, council and professional services: a vendor holds the credentials, the documentation is thin, and every change becomes a negotiation. A managed service should hand back control, not take more of it. The pattern repeats across health, council and professional services: a vendor holds the credentials, the documentation is thin, and every change becomes a negotiation. A managed service should hand back control, not take more of it. The pattern repeats across health, council and professional services: a vendor holds the credentials, the documentation is thin, and every change becomes a negotiation. A managed service should hand back control, not take more of it. The pattern repeats across health, council and professional services: a vendor holds the credentials, the documentation is thin, and every change becomes a negotiation. A managed service should hand back control, not take more of it. The pattern repeats across health, council and professional services: a vendor holds the credentials, the documentation is thin, and every change becomes a negotiation.

What to ask before you sign

Ask who owns the tenancy, who holds domain administrator rights, and what happens to your documentation on the day the contract ends. Ask who owns the tenancy, who holds domain administrator rights, and what happens to your documentation on the day the contract ends. Ask who owns the tenancy, who holds domain administrator rights, and what happens to your documentation on the day the contract ends. Ask who owns the tenancy, who holds domain administrator rights, and what happens to your documentation on the day the contract ends. Ask who owns the tenancy, who holds domain administrator rights, and what happens to your documentation on the day the contract ends.