Before you retire the old tool, ask three simple questions
A Forbes piece by an IT leader offers three questions to answer before you shut off the software or service your new tool was meant to replace.
What happened
Paul A. Mohabir, head of IT at Transervice Logistics, writes in Forbes that getting a new platform live is a real milestone, but it doesn't automatically mean the business is ready to let the old one go.
In the same Forbes piece, he says three questions have become especially useful: Can people still do their work? Who supports them after the change? What are we still paying for? He argues these belong in the original business case, not on a list of loose ends after launch.
The Forbes article also suggests treating "go live" (the new tool works) and "business completion" (the old one can safely go) as two separate approval points. He recommends a one-page decision record to capture the answers, who owns them, and when to look again.
Why it matters
The article is written for CIOs, but the idea scales down. If you don't have an IT department, a review like this is easy to skip, and in our view that can go wrong in two ways. You keep paying for the old tool because nobody is sure it's safe to cancel. Or you cancel too early and discover that a client's history, or a step in your routine, lived there.
Mohabir notes in Forbes that moving information is a technical result, while making sure people can actually use it is a business result. Both matter.
The money side deserves the same care. The Forbes article cautions that a smaller supplier invoice doesn't necessarily mean the work disappeared, since some responsibilities may have moved to internal employees or another provider. Forecast savings, it says, "should remain forecasts until the changes are implemented and the results can be checked."
The article doesn't mention AI tools, so this part is our own advice. If a new AI assistant drafts your emails or summarizes calls, it's worth knowing what it replaced and whether you're still paying for both.
What it means for your business
- Accounting and law firms: Before you cancel an old document or practice-management tool, list which records someone might need later, and check any retention rules with the right person. Then have a staff member find one old file and use it.
- Clinics: If a new scheduling or notes tool takes over, confirm who can still open past patient records and that access limits still work.
- Agencies: When an AI assistant takes over drafting or reporting, decide who fixes it when it breaks, and who handles a problem that touches both the old and new tools.
- Retail: Check every subscription tied to the old system, such as inventory or loyalty, and write down which charges should stop and when.
One thing to try this week
Pick one tool you've replaced, or are about to. On a single page, answer three things.
First, who still needs the old information, and can they retrieve it? Have them try.
Second, who do staff call when something goes wrong?
Third, what are you still paying for, and on what date will someone review it?
If the old tool needs to stay a while, that's fine. Just write down why and what will let you turn it off.