What should a company do if it suspects its IT provider, or any crucial vendor, isn’t working out? Look for warning signs—missed dates, misunderstood expectations -- and if a switch to another vendor is unavoidable:

• Start by getting a copy of the all project code and build information. Also obtain the project plan, functional specifications, design documents and models, and all documentation.
• Select a replacement using referrals. When interviewing potential providers, ask questions that could have eliminated your previous provider.
• Ask the prospective provider about projects that didn't go as planned.
• When you make the switch, be directly involved. In working with your new provider, be upfront about what occurred with the previous provider.
• Don't wait until the first milestone to find out that key pieces of information, components or tools don't exist. Eliminate excuses.
• Keep the new vendor delivery-focused and watch out for the dreaded "not invented here" syndrome. That can occur when the new group wants to go back and change work completed by the previous provider -- not because the work was defective but because it wasn't built the way the new group would have preferred. If the new provider is insisting on rework, ask why and be sure to separate aesthetic squabbling from real performance issues.

Tom's Takeaway: In the end, changing your IT vendor, or any vendor, midstream isn't fun. But, with preparation and foresight, changing vendors won’t cause your project to sink.