Executive Summary: Transitioning Right for Long-Term Success

A well-executed transition is more than just a technical handover—it’s a strategic initiative that sets the foundation for future growth and operational excellence. By establishing clear goals, engaging stakeholders, enabling effective knowledge transfer, and managing change thoughtfully, organizations can turn transitions into opportunities for long-term value creation.

As transition landscapes continue to evolve—driven by digital innovation, sustainability demands and shifting sourcing models—organizations that plan proactively and act decisively will be best positioned to thrive in this dynamic environment.

This article draws from Opticos’ extensive experience supporting transition programs across industries. It outlines the challenges we’ve encountered, the proven best practices we apply, and the emerging trends that are shaping transition strategies.

 

Common Challenges in Transition Projects

1. People and Communication Gaps

Transitioning IT systems is often easier than transitioning people’s mindsets. Resistance to change, uncertainty, and lack of clarity can hinder progress. To overcome this, organizations should prioritize clear communication about the purpose of the transition (Why), timeline (When), and responsibilities (By whom). Additionally, leaders should ensure transparency on how the transition will affect people and systems in both the near-term and long-term.

2. Unclear Service Delivery Expectations

A recurring challenge in transitions is that services agreed upon during procurement may not always be delivered as expected. Misalignment in understanding capabilities, responsibilities, and expectations often causes disputes and can lead to re-negotiations during the transition phase. Clear communication on deliverables and expectations is crucial from the outset.

3. Internal Team Overload and Operational Impact

Internal teams assigned to manage transition work often become overwhelmed with day-to-day operational tasks, reducing their focus on supporting the transition effectively. Additionally, organizations often expect “business as usual” during transitions, but the added focus on transition work can impact service delivery. A dedicated transition team with defined roles, clear time allocation, and appropriate backfill support ensures teams can balance operational and transition priorities.

4. Knowledge Transfer (KT) Gaps

Expectations around documentation are often higher than the actual situation, with critical knowledge residing in individuals’ heads rather than structured records. Identifying the right people, capturing their knowledge, and transferring it effectively to the incoming supplier requires significant logistical effort, strong organizational support, and close collaboration with the incumbent supplier.

5. Friction Between Incumbent and Incoming Supplier

Conflicts between suppliers often create delays and complications in the transition timeline. Without clear cooperation frameworks and management involvement, this friction can derail timelines and deliverables. Involving executive leadership early is crucial to maintain focus on the shared goal of achieving a smooth transition.

6. Non-Comprehensive or Missed Scope Coverage

One common pitfall is missing critical elements that should have been part of the service or project scope. Overlooking key support activities required to meet the project timeline can also create delays. For example, identifying who owns software licenses today versus in the future, and how they will be managed, is critical to ensuring no gaps in service. Defining project scope and critical dependencies clearly in the transition plan is crucial to mitigate this.

 

Best Practices for a Successful Transition

1. Define Clear Goals and Governance Structures

• Establish and communicate a clear vision and set goals early to align teams, gain organizational support, and reduce resistance to change.
• Assign a dedicated Transition Lead with clearly defined responsibilities to oversee collaboration, set expectations, track progress, manage risks, and ensure ownership of key activities and decisions.
• Define KPIs early to track performance, measure success, and align teams on expected outcomes.

2. Effective Communication, Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration

• Develop a structured communication plan to ensure continuous, transparent dialogue between internal teams, the incumbent supplier, and the new supplier.
• Appoint a Project Manager to manage information flow, align stakeholders, and drive active participation through clear task ownership.
• Integrate change management to build buy-in, reduce resistance, and encourage teams to engage meaningfully with the transition process.

3. Focus on Robust Knowledge Transfer

• Start knowledge transfer efforts early, ideally during the RFP stage, to avoid delays.
• Document processes clearly and ensure detailed handover materials are shared and accepted by the incoming supplier before go-live.
• Implement Transition Service Agreements (TSAs) to secure the incumbent supplier’s commitment during the transition period.

4. Plan for Flexibility and Contingencies

• While a structured waterfall plan is useful to establish milestones, ensure flexibility is built into the process to accommodate changes.
• Include buffer periods and escalation pathways to mitigate delays.
• Maintain visibility of all changes and their impact on delivery timelines.

5. Transition to Transformation with Care

• Avoid running Transition and Transformation in parallel. Ensure stakeholders clearly understand the distinction between the two phases by defining deliverables, ownership, and timing. In some cases—such as to avoid high license costs—overlap may be necessary but should be carefully assessed and managed.
• Before moving into transformation, ensure the “rest list” (unresolved items from transition) is minimal.
• Allocate sufficient time for internal teams to stabilize before initiating transformation efforts

 

Key Emerging Trends to watch in Transition Management

1. Value Driven Transitions

• According to PwC’s 2024 Global Digital Trust Insights Survey, 49% of technology leaders reported that AI is now fully integrated into their core business strategy—an indication that companies increasingly prioritize AI-enabled value delivery over legacy service transfers.

2. Sustainable and Ethical Considerations: 

• The H&M Group, for example, uses its Sustainable Impact Partnership Program (SIPP) to track and evaluate suppliers on sustainability metrics—an initiative that helps them maintain transparency and accountability across the supply chain.

3. Supplier Diversification Strategies:

Unilever has adopted a global sourcing strategy that prioritizes supplier diversification to reduce dependencies and manage procurement risks effectively, demonstrating how leading companies build flexibility into their transition roadmaps.

 

Conclusion: Turning Transitions into a Strategic Advantage

Transitions are no longer just operational exercises—they are critical enablers of strategic growth. Whether shifting IT services, outsourcing contracts, or entire business processes, transitions carry inherent complexity, but also unmatched opportunity. Poorly managed, they can disrupt operations, erode stakeholder trust, and delay value realization. But when executed with structure, clarity, and intent, they create lasting impact—enabling greater agility, cost efficiency, and service excellence.

At Opticos, we’ve seen firsthand how the right approach to transition can set the foundation for long-term success. We support our clients with end-to-end transition management—combining proven frameworks, robust governance, and tailored change enablement to ensure every handover is seamless and value-driven.

What sets our approach apart is our ability to adapt to each client’s unique context—whether that means navigating complex supplier landscapes, aligning internal teams, or managing sensitive knowledge transfers. We don’t just guide the process—we partner with you to make transitions smoother, smarter, and strategically aligned.

If your organization is preparing for a transition—or in the midst of one—let’s connect. We’ll help you not only manage the change but unlock the opportunity within it.

For further insights on managing change effectively, read our article on The Four Pillars to Succeed in Change Management.
If your transition involves global teams or cross-border collaboration, don’t miss our guide on Tools for Managing Cultural Differences in Global Teams.

Authors

Jonas Täng, Toni Johansson, and Jasmeen Kaur