Switching IT Providers - Youngman Richardson's Journey
Youngman Richardson moved five branches to iT360 when switching IT providers. GM Dale Lilley on a seamless changeover and why the chasing has now reversed.
- Client
- Youngman Richardson
- Industry
- Wholesale & Distribution
- Services
- Importer and distributor of equipment for the construction and rental industries
Youngman Richardson outgrew its small IT provider and moved all five branches to iT360. Now the provider is the one doing the chasing.
Youngman Richardson doesn’t change suppliers lightly. The privately owned importer and distributor supplies equipment to the construction and rental industries, and also serves a large base of SME customers. So when general manager Dale Lilley decided it was time to switch IT providers, the move had to work across all five branches.
It did. Here’s how it went, in Dale’s words.
Great relationship, not enough grunt
For years, Youngman Richardson worked with a smaller IT provider. The relationship was strong and, as Dale puts it, IT was in good shape. But with three or four staff, that provider could only move so fast, and Youngman Richardson’s team was the one doing the following up.
When the provider changed ownership, the business started thinking about what came next.
Ethics that line up
They didn’t have to look far. Youngman Richardson was already working with iT360 on AI and automation, so they had seen the team up close.
“We thought it was time to change to a company that had a lot more grunt behind them, which is proving very, very useful.”
Dale Lilley, General Manager, Youngman Richardson
When it came to what made iT360 stand out, Dale went straight to values.
“The ethics are very well aligned to the Youngman Richardson ethics. Very, very honest. Their integrity is amazing. I think that was probably the key driver.”
Dale was still a brand-new client when he added: “It just seems to be a perfect fit between the two businesses.”
Five branches, one switch
Before the move, Youngman Richardson’s managing director asked Dale how he expected it to go.
“I said, you know what? The level of confidence I’ve got in iT360, I reckon everything’s going to be 99% okay. And it was.”
Chris Jordan, Senior Systems Engineer, led the onboarding, with Callum Galloway, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Jonathan Kelly, Operations Manager, and the wider iT360 team behind him. A few glitches came up, and the team fixed them straight away.
“Chris said to me twice during the onboarding, ‘Don’t worry about it, it’ll all be sorted.’ Just the level of confidence these guys instil in you, changing over. It’s amazing.”
Most of the issues after go-live traced back to Youngman Richardson’s ageing servers. Dale’s verdict on the switch: “It was seamless, really.”
The pressure has flipped
Asked what had changed, Dale said it was “very, very easy to answer”.
“With our previous provider, we were always following up. They’ve reversed that completely. There’s now pressure on us to give them the information they need.”
iT360’s managed IT services team can run several projects at once. Youngman Richardson is now the one being asked for answers, and those answers go straight into fixing problems. Dale’s team has gone from “always following up and putting out fires” to being pushed so things get resolved.
Key outcomes
- iT360 now follows up with Youngman Richardson, not the other way round
- A “99% okay” switchover across all five branches, with glitches fixed straight away
- A lot of legacy issues already sorted
- Several projects running at once, where the previous provider had three or four staff
What’s next
iT360 is working through the ageing servers behind most of the post-go-live issues. It has also recommended changes to strengthen the wider setup, and the first of those, a move to Microsoft 365, is rolling out now.
Dale’s advice for anyone switching IT providers
His summary of working with iT360 was short:
“Seamless. Everybody you talk to is helpful, wants to help, and just gets on and does the job. It’s really that simple.”
And for any business owner or GM weighing up a change:
“Most definitely, change over. They’re an amazing organisation with a fantastic culture and a good work ethic. I have no hesitation in referring them.”
On the timing, he has no doubts: “It was definitely the right time and the right thing to do.”
Spending more time chasing your IT than running your business?
If Dale’s “before” sounds familiar, it might be time for a change. See how Traffix found switching IT providers as easy as 1-2-3 and how AR & Associates moved on from a solo IT provider, or talk to iT360 about what a move could look like for your business.
