Implementing Effective Change Management in Your Managed Services Practice

Introduction

In the world of managed services, one crucial aspect is change management. Whether you are managing internal IT (Information Technology) processes or catering to the unique needs of your customers, maintaining a well-structured change tracking system is paramount. Not only is change management important for scalability of your managed service, but it is also becoming increasingly vital to cybersecurity. Particularly, considering recent high profile cyberattacks involving exploitations of change management processes, MSPs need to make sure their internal and external change management process is setup up properly and being followed consistently.

This article delves into two key components of change tracking: Internal Change Tracking and Customer Change Tracking.

04.03 Internal Change Tracking

Effective internal change tracking is essential for any managed service provider to ensure that modifications to internal object configurations are Policy driven, well-documented and follow a consistent process. This process typically involves a series of steps:

Policy-driven Compliance: A mature Change control system should follow a formalized change management policy. The policy does not have to be completely exhaustive but should outline the Change Procedures which are request, review, approval, and documentation.

Request: The change process begins with a formal request. This request can come from various sources within the organization, including IT staff, managers, or stakeholders. Each request must be detailed, explaining the nature of the change, the rationale behind it, and potential impacts.

Review: Once a change request is made, it is subjected to a thorough review. This review process includes assessing the impact of the change on current operations, security implications, and resource allocation. The review ensures that changes align with organizational goals and standards.