Closing down a service or transitioning to a new supplier

Transferring digital tools and software to a new provider can be complicated; ensuring you have a plan agreed for transition is really important.  Speak to your outgoing supplier, and your new supplier and ensure you have a realistic and achievable timeline which everyone agrees to.

Agree a plan of action which includes clear responsibilities for each party; again ensure this is agreed to by all parties in advance.

There may be some disruption for users of the service whilst the transition takes place. This can be managed by releasing updates out of core service hours (you may have a good idea of peak use times from your analytics).  If the service is critical to users you might want to send out a service update warning to users so that expectations are managed.

The above also applies where you are closing down a service - clear communication based on an agreed plan will help ensure the closure runs smoothly.