I'm an IT manager at a UK school and currently handle most of the IT work, apart from first-line support, which is covered by a full-time technician. The school is considering whether to hire a replacement for me or outsource my responsibilities to a managed service provider while keeping the on-site technician.
I expected to provide enough information for a rough quote, along with hourly rates for projects and additional services. Instead, the MSP has requested detailed information covering our daily and seasonal workloads, infrastructure, systems, suppliers, contracts, licensing, documentation, access arrangements, risks, budgets, compliance, and future projects.
Some of this seems reasonable, particularly user and device counts, major systems, support requirements, and known risks. However, I'm uncomfortable handing over complete runbooks, internal documentation, detailed contracts, and extensive operational information before any agreement is in place. I'm also concerned that some of the supplier and licensing information could be used to generate additional sales opportunities.
Is this a normal level of detail for an initial estimate, or is it more appropriate for the discovery and onboarding stage after a contract is agreed? What information would be reasonable to provide at the quoting stage?
2 Answers
The request is partly justified because takeover costs can vary dramatically. An MSP needs to know whether it is inheriting a clean, documented environment or a collection of undocumented systems and technical debt. That can make a major difference to staffing, transition time, and the eventual price.
However, they should be able to produce an initial ballpark from summarized information. A detailed technical assessment can be handled as a separate discovery phase, either after selecting a provider or as a clearly defined paid engagement.
The best approach is to define the required service before handing over unlimited information. Give the decision-makers a concise, standardized summary that can be sent to several providers: staff and student numbers, device counts, sites, major systems, support expectations, current staffing, known risks, and planned changes.
Ask the MSP to separate its response into the recurring service price, transition or discovery costs, project rates, and any assumptions. If they need more detail to produce a firm proposal, they should explain exactly what is missing and why, rather than simply requesting every document you have.
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