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Technology Handover

Technology handover transfers ownership and operational responsibility for IT systems, data, and infrastructure from your organisation to a designated recipient. This task covers planned transitions at project end, partnership conclusion, or organisational restructuring where systems continue operating under different stewardship. The recipient assumes full accountability for ongoing operations, security, and maintenance once handover completes.

Successful handover requires more than credential exchange. The recipient must possess sufficient technical capability to operate systems independently, understand the full scope of what they are receiving, and have documented resources to resolve issues without your involvement. Incomplete handovers create ongoing support burdens, security risks from unclear ownership, and potential data protection violations when accountability becomes ambiguous.

Prerequisites

Confirm these conditions before beginning the handover process:

Requirement	Verification method	Detail
Handover agreement	Signed document	Written agreement specifying what transfers, timeline, and acceptance criteria
Recipient identified	Named contacts	Technical lead and management sponsor at recipient organisation
Recipient assessment	Capability review	Recipient has technical capacity to operate transferred systems
Asset inventory	System documentation	Complete list of systems, accounts, hardware, and data in scope
Data agreements	Legal review	Data processing responsibilities clarified, especially for personal data
Timeline confirmed	Project schedule	Minimum 4 weeks for simple handovers, 12+ weeks for complex systems
Budget allocated	Finance approval	Staff time for knowledge transfer, documentation, and support period

The handover agreement establishes legal and operational boundaries for the transfer. This document specifies which assets transfer, what support you provide during transition, when responsibility formally shifts, and how disputes are resolved. Without this agreement, ambiguity about ownership creates liability exposure and operational confusion.

Assess recipient capability before committing to handover. A recipient lacking Linux administration skills cannot maintain a self-hosted application regardless of documentation quality. Identify capability gaps early to determine whether handover is viable, whether additional training is required, or whether a managed service alternative better serves the recipient’s needs.

Data protection accountability

Under GDPR and similar regulations, data controller responsibilities transfer with the data. The handover agreement must clearly establish when the recipient becomes data controller for any personal data in transferred systems. Document this transfer for accountability purposes.

Roles

Role	Responsibility	Typical assignee
Handover lead	Coordinates all handover activities, maintains timeline, resolves blockers	Project manager or IT lead
Technical lead	Prepares documentation, conducts knowledge transfer, configures access	System administrator or developer
Recipient technical lead	Receives knowledge transfer, validates documentation, confirms capability	Recipient’s IT staff
Recipient sponsor	Authorises acceptance, confirms organisational readiness	Recipient’s management
Data protection officer	Reviews data transfer compliance, confirms lawful basis	DPO or legal counsel

Procedure

The handover process proceeds through five phases: planning, documentation, knowledge transfer, transition, and acceptance. Each phase has specific deliverables that must complete before advancing.

Phase 1: Handover planning

Establish the handover scope by creating a complete inventory of assets to transfer. Include all systems, applications, user accounts, service accounts, hardware, documentation, and data. For each item, record:

   Asset: grants-management-app
   Type: Web application (Django)
   Hosting: AWS eu-west-1, t3.medium instance
   Database: PostgreSQL 15 on RDS
   Dependencies: Keycloak SSO, S3 storage, SES email
   Data classification: Contains beneficiary PII
   Current owner: IT Operations team
   Monthly cost: £180 (compute) + £45 (database) + £12 (storage)

Export a complete inventory using your asset management system or compile manually from infrastructure documentation.

Assess recipient readiness through a structured capability review. Provide the recipient with a technical requirements document listing skills needed to operate each system:

   System: grants-management-app
   Required skills:
   - Linux server administration (Ubuntu 22.04)
   - PostgreSQL database management
   - Django application deployment
   - AWS console navigation (EC2, RDS, S3)
   - SSL certificate renewal (Let's Encrypt)
   - Backup restoration from S3

   Estimated monthly maintenance: 4-8 hours
   On-call requirement: Response within 4 hours for critical issues

The recipient’s technical lead confirms their team possesses these skills or identifies gaps requiring training before handover.

Define the handover timeline with specific milestones. A standard handover spans 8-12 weeks:

   Week 1-2:   Documentation preparation
   Week 3-4:   Documentation review with recipient
   Week 5-6:   Knowledge transfer sessions (4-6 sessions)
   Week 7-8:   Supervised operation (recipient operates, you observe)
   Week 9-10:  Independent operation with support available
   Week 11-12: Formal acceptance and support withdrawal

Complex systems with multiple integrations, custom development, or high data sensitivity require extended timelines. A case management system handling protection data needs 16-20 weeks minimum.

Identify integration dependencies that require coordination with third parties. Systems connected to external services need handover activities with those providers:

   Integration: Payment gateway (Stripe)
   Action required: Transfer Stripe account ownership to recipient
   Timeline: Submit transfer request week 6, completes by week 8
   Contact: Stripe support + recipient finance team

   Integration: Identity provider (Okta)
   Action required: Create recipient's own Okta tenant, reconfigure SSO
   Timeline: Recipient provisions tenant week 4, migration week 7
   Contact: Recipient IT + your identity team

Create the handover schedule with specific dates for all activities. Share this schedule with all stakeholders and obtain acknowledgment:

   Handover schedule: Grants Management System

   2025-02-03: Documentation package delivered to recipient
   2025-02-10: Documentation review session (2 hours)
   2025-02-17: Knowledge transfer 1 - Architecture overview (3 hours)
   2025-02-24: Knowledge transfer 2 - Operations procedures (3 hours)
   2025-03-03: Knowledge transfer 3 - Troubleshooting (3 hours)
   2025-03-10: Access provisioning for recipient team
   2025-03-17: Supervised operation begins
   2025-03-31: Independent operation begins
   2025-04-14: Formal acceptance review
   2025-04-21: Support period ends, handover complete

Phase 2: Documentation preparation

Compile system documentation covering architecture, configuration, and operations. Structure documentation for a reader unfamiliar with your organisation’s context:
Architecture documentation describes what the system does, how components interact, and where everything runs. Include:

   # Grants Management System - Architecture

   ## Purpose
   Tracks grant applications, manages award lifecycle, and generates
   donor reports. Used by 45 staff across 3 country offices.

   ## Components

   +------------------+     +------------------+     +------------------+
   |   Web frontend   |     |   API server     |     |   PostgreSQL     |
   |   (nginx)        +---->+   (Django)       +---->+   (RDS)          |
   |   Port 443       |     |   Port 8000      |     |   Port 5432      |
   +------------------+     +--------+---------+     +------------------+
                                     |
                   +-----------------+-------------------+
                   |                 |                   |
           +-------v-------+  +------v-------+  +--------v-------+
           | Keycloak SSO  |  | S3 storage   |  | SES email      |
           | (external)    |  | (documents)  |  | (notifications)|
           +---------------+  +--------------+  +----------------+

   ## Infrastructure

   | Component | Service | Region | Instance | Monthly cost |
   |-----------|---------|--------|----------|--------------|
   | Web/API | EC2 | eu-west-1 | t3.medium | £65 |
   | Database | RDS PostgreSQL | eu-west-1 | db.t3.small | £45 |
   | Storage | S3 | eu-west-1 | ~50GB | £12 |
   | Email | SES | eu-west-1 | ~2000/month | £2 |

Configuration documentation records every setting required to rebuild or modify the system:

   # Configuration Reference

   ## Environment variables (production)

   DATABASE_URL=postgresql://grants_app:@grants-db.xxx.eu-west-1.rds.amazonaws.com:5432/grants
   SECRET_KEY= (stored in AWS Secrets Manager: grants-app/production)
   ALLOWED_HOSTS=grants.example.org
   KEYCLOAK_URL=https://auth.example.org
   KEYCLOAK_REALM=production
   KEYCLOAK_CLIENT_ID=grants-app
   AWS_STORAGE_BUCKET=grants-documents-prod
   EMAIL_HOST=email-smtp.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com

   ## AWS resources

   EC2 instance: i-0abc123def456
   Security group: sg-grants-app (allows 443 from CloudFront, 22 from VPN)
   RDS instance: grants-db
   S3 bucket: grants-documents-prod
   CloudFront distribution: E1ABC234
   Route53 hosted zone: Z1ABC234 (example.org)

Operations documentation covers routine maintenance tasks:

   # Operations Runbook

   ## Daily checks
   - Verify application responds: curl -I https://grants.example.org/health
   - Check error logs: aws logs tail /aws/ec2/grants-app --since 24h | grep ERROR
   - Confirm backup completed: check S3 grants-backups-prod for today's date

   ## Weekly maintenance
   - Review and apply security updates: apt update && apt upgrade
   - Check disk usage: df -h (alert if /var exceeds 80%)
   - Review application logs for warnings

   ## Monthly tasks
   - Test backup restoration (see Backup Restoration procedure)
   - Review and rotate service account credentials
   - Check SSL certificate expiry: echo | openssl s_client -servername grants.example.org -connect grants.example.org:443 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -dates

Document all credentials and access methods. Create a secure credential inventory listing every account, key, and certificate:

   # Credential Inventory

   ## Service accounts

   | Account | Purpose | Location | Rotation schedule |
   |---------|---------|----------|-------------------|
   | grants_app (PostgreSQL) | Database access | AWS Secrets Manager | 90 days |
   | grants-api-key | External API access | AWS Secrets Manager | 90 days |
   | grants-smtp | SES sending | IAM user credentials | Annual |

   ## SSH access

   | Host | Key location | Authorised users |
   |------|--------------|------------------|
   | grants-prod | grants-prod.pem in 1Password | ops-team vault |

   ## Third-party accounts

   | Service | Account | Owner | MFA |
   |---------|---------|-------|-----|
   | AWS (root) | grants-aws@example.org | IT Director | Hardware key |
   | AWS (admin) | grants-admin@example.org | IT Operations | Authenticator |
   | Stripe | grants-finance@example.org | Finance team | SMS |

Prepare data documentation describing all data stores, their contents, and retention requirements:

   # Data Documentation

   ## PostgreSQL database: grants

   | Table | Records | Contains PII | Retention |
   |-------|---------|--------------|-----------|
   | applications | 12,450 | Yes (applicant details) | 7 years |
   | organisations | 890 | No | Permanent |
   | users | 156 | Yes (staff details) | Account lifetime + 1 year |
   | audit_log | 245,000 | Yes (user actions) | 3 years |
   | documents | metadata only | No | Linked to application |

   ## S3 bucket: grants-documents-prod

   Contents: Application attachments, award letters, reports
   Size: 48GB across 23,000 objects
   Contains PII: Yes (some documents contain beneficiary information)
   Retention: Matches parent application record

   ## Data subject rights

   Subject access requests: Export via admin panel > Users > Export data
   Erasure requests: Soft delete via admin panel, hard delete requires DB access

Create troubleshooting documentation covering common issues and their resolutions:

   # Troubleshooting Guide

   ## Application not responding

   Symptoms: HTTPS requests timeout, health check fails

   Diagnostic steps:
   1. Check EC2 instance status in AWS console
   2. SSH to instance: ssh -i grants-prod.pem ubuntu@<instance-ip>
   3. Check application process: systemctl status grants-app
   4. Check application logs: journalctl -u grants-app -n 100
   5. Check disk space: df -h
   6. Check memory: free -m

   Common causes and fixes:
   - Process crashed: systemctl restart grants-app
   - Disk full: Clear /var/log/grants-app/*.log.* files older than 7 days
   - Memory exhausted: Restart instance or upgrade instance type
   - Database connection failed: Check RDS status, verify security groups

   ## Database connection errors

   Symptoms: "could not connect to server" in application logs

   Diagnostic steps:
   1. Verify RDS instance status in AWS console
   2. Test connectivity: psql -h grants-db.xxx.rds.amazonaws.com -U grants_app -d grants
   3. Check security group allows connection from EC2 instance
   4. Verify credentials in Secrets Manager match database user

   Common causes:
   - RDS instance stopped (check console, start if needed)
   - Security group modified (verify sg-grants-db allows 5432 from sg-grants-app)
   - Credentials rotated but application not restarted

Package all documentation in a format the recipient can access and maintain. Provide documentation in editable formats (Markdown, Word) rather than PDF alone. Create a documentation index:

   # Documentation Package Index

   /architecture/
     overview.md          - System architecture and components
     infrastructure.md    - AWS resources and configuration
     integrations.md      - Third-party service connections

   /operations/
     runbook.md           - Daily, weekly, monthly procedures
     troubleshooting.md   - Common issues and resolutions
     backup-restore.md    - Backup and recovery procedures
     deployment.md        - Application deployment process

   /security/
     credentials.md       - Account and credential inventory
     access-control.md    - User roles and permissions
     data-handling.md     - Data classification and retention

   /handover/
     acceptance-criteria.md - What recipient must verify
     support-contacts.md    - Who to contact during transition
     timeline.md            - Handover schedule and milestones

Phase 3: Knowledge transfer

Conduct the architecture overview session covering system purpose, components, and design decisions. This session gives the recipient’s team mental models for understanding the system:
Session structure (3 hours):
- System purpose and user base (30 minutes)
- Architecture walkthrough using diagrams (45 minutes)
- Infrastructure tour in AWS console (45 minutes)
- Design decisions and trade-offs (30 minutes)
- Questions and discussion (30 minutes)
Record the session for future reference. Provide the recording and any whiteboard diagrams to the recipient within 24 hours.
Conduct the operations session covering routine maintenance and monitoring:
Session structure (3 hours):
- Daily operational checks demonstration (30 minutes)
- Hands-on: recipient performs daily checks (30 minutes)
- Weekly maintenance walkthrough (30 minutes)
- Hands-on: recipient performs maintenance task (30 minutes)
- Monitoring and alerting review (30 minutes)
- Backup and recovery overview (30 minutes)
The recipient’s technical lead performs each procedure with guidance. Correct errors immediately and note documentation gaps.
Conduct the troubleshooting session using realistic scenarios:
Session structure (3 hours):
- Troubleshooting methodology overview (20 minutes)
- Scenario 1: Application not responding (40 minutes)
- Scenario 2: Database performance issue (40 minutes)
- Scenario 3: Authentication failure (40 minutes)
- Scenario 4: Storage issue (20 minutes)
- Q&A on historical issues (20 minutes)
For each scenario, present symptoms, guide the recipient through diagnosis, and have them execute the fix. Use a test environment where possible to avoid production impact.
Conduct additional sessions for complex systems. Case management systems, custom applications, or systems with multiple integrations require extended knowledge transfer:
System complexity Recommended sessions Total hours
Simple (single application, standard stack) 3 9
Moderate (multiple components, some integrations) 5 15
Complex (custom development, many integrations) 8+ 24+
Document questions raised during knowledge transfer and update documentation to address gaps:

System complexity	Recommended sessions	Total hours
Simple (single application, standard stack)	3	9
Moderate (multiple components, some integrations)	5	15
Complex (custom development, many integrations)	8+	24+

   Knowledge transfer log - Session 2 (Operations)
   Date: 2025-02-24
   Attendees: [Names]

   Questions raised:
   Q: What happens if the backup job fails?
   A: SES sends alert to ops-alerts@example.org. If not resolved within 4 hours,
      manually trigger backup via: aws s3 sync /var/backups s3://grants-backups-prod/
   Action: Added to runbook section 3.2

   Q: How do we know if disk space is getting low?
   A: CloudWatch alarm triggers at 80% - currently sends to old team.
   Action: Need to update alarm notification to recipient's email

   Documentation updates made:
   - Added backup failure procedure to runbook.md
   - Added CloudWatch alarm reconfiguration to handover checklist

Phase 4: Transition

Provision access for the recipient’s team. Create accounts with appropriate permissions in all systems:

   # AWS IAM - create recipient admin user
   aws iam create-user --user-name recipient-admin
   aws iam add-user-to-group --user-name recipient-admin --group-name grants-admins
   aws iam create-login-profile --user-name recipient-admin --password <temp-password> --password-reset-required

   # Verify permissions
   aws iam list-groups-for-user --user-name recipient-admin
   aws iam list-attached-group-policies --group-name grants-admins

Provide recipient with secure credential delivery. Use a password manager share, encrypted email, or secure messaging rather than unencrypted email.

Transfer ownership of third-party accounts. Each external service has different transfer procedures:
AWS account transfer:
- Update root account email to recipient’s designated email
- Update billing contact and payment method
- Transfer or re-register domain (if applicable)
- Update support plan ownership
Stripe account transfer:
- Contact Stripe support with transfer request
- Both parties confirm transfer
- Update banking details to recipient’s account
- Verify payout settings after transfer
Domain registrar:
- Initiate transfer to recipient’s registrar account
- Recipient accepts transfer
- Update DNS records if nameservers change
Begin supervised operation where the recipient’s team handles all operational tasks while you observe and advise:

   Supervised operation log
   Week of: 2025-03-17

   Mon: Recipient performed daily checks. Identified memory alert, correctly
        diagnosed as temporary spike, no action needed. ✓
   Tue: Security update available. Recipient applied update following runbook,
        tested application after restart. ✓
   Wed: User reported login issue. Recipient diagnosed as browser cache,
        guided user to clear cookies. ✓
   Thu: Backup verification. Recipient confirmed backup presence and tested
        restore to dev environment. ✓
   Fri: Recipient handled disk space warning. Cleared old logs per runbook.
        Note: Log rotation config should be reviewed to prevent recurrence.

   Issues requiring intervention: None
   Documentation gaps identified: Log rotation procedure needs detail

Transition to independent operation with support available. The recipient handles all operations without observation, but can contact you for assistance:

   Support during independent operation:

   Contact: [Your technical lead name and email]
   Response time: Within 4 business hours
   Scope: Technical questions, clarification of documentation, guidance on
          unusual situations
   Not in scope: Performing operations on behalf of recipient

   Support log:
   2025-04-02: Recipient asked about SSL certificate renewal process.
               Pointed to runbook section 4.3, offered to observe first renewal.
   2025-04-08: Recipient encountered new error message not in troubleshooting
               guide. Diagnosed together, added to documentation.

Update all external references to reflect new ownership:

Item	Current state	Action	Deadline
DNS records	Managed in your Route53	Transfer zone or update NS	Week 10
SSL certificate	Let’s Encrypt via your certbot	Recipient sets up certbot	Week 9
Monitoring alerts	Send to your team	Reconfigure to recipient	Week 8
Vendor contacts	Reference your organisation	Update vendor records	Week 10
Support contracts	Your organisation named	Transfer or recipient purchases	Week 11

Phase 5: Formal acceptance

Conduct the acceptance review meeting with both technical and management stakeholders:
Agenda (2 hours):
- Review of handover activities completed (15 minutes)
- Demonstration by recipient: daily operations (20 minutes)
- Demonstration by recipient: troubleshooting scenario (20 minutes)
- Documentation completeness review (15 minutes)
- Open issues and resolutions (20 minutes)
- Formal acceptance discussion (15 minutes)
- Post-handover support terms (15 minutes)
Complete the acceptance criteria checklist. Both parties must confirm each item:

   Handover Acceptance Checklist
   System: Grants Management Application
   Date: 2025-04-14

   RECIPIENT CONFIRMS:
   [ ] Received and reviewed all documentation
   [ ] Technical team completed knowledge transfer sessions
   [ ] Successfully performed all routine operations during supervised period
   [ ] Successfully resolved issues during independent operation period
   [ ] All credentials and access transferred
   [ ] Third-party account transfers completed
   [ ] Understands support terms and contacts for post-handover period
   [ ] Accepts operational responsibility effective [date]

   TRANSFERRING ORGANISATION CONFIRMS:
   [ ] All documented systems and data transferred
   [ ] All credentials provided to recipient
   [ ] All third-party transfers initiated and completed
   [ ] Documentation current and complete
   [ ] Knowledge transfer sessions delivered
   [ ] Supervised and independent operation periods completed
   [ ] No outstanding issues blocking handover

   Recipient signature: _______________ Date: ___________
   Recipient name and title: _______________

   Transferring organisation signature: _______________ Date: ___________
   Name and title: _______________

Execute final access transitions. After acceptance, remove your organisation’s access:

   # Remove your team's access from AWS
   aws iam remove-user-from-group --user-name your-admin --group-name grants-admins
   aws iam delete-login-profile --user-name your-admin
   aws iam delete-user --user-name your-admin

   # Verify only recipient accounts remain
   aws iam get-group --group-name grants-admins

   # Remove your SSH keys from servers
   ssh recipient-admin@grants-server "sudo vim /home/ubuntu/.ssh/authorized_keys"
   # Remove your public key, save

   # Update any hardcoded references
   # Search codebase for your organisation's email addresses, URLs, etc.

Archive handover records for your organisation’s files:

   Handover archive contents:

   /grants-handover-2025-04/
     handover-agreement-signed.pdf
     acceptance-checklist-signed.pdf
     asset-inventory-final.xlsx
     knowledge-transfer-recordings/
       session-1-architecture.mp4
       session-2-operations.mp4
       session-3-troubleshooting.mp4
     documentation-package-delivered.zip
     support-log.md
     final-credential-inventory.md (redacted - no actual credentials)

Begin post-handover support period. Provide limited support for an agreed period after formal handover:

   Post-handover support terms

   Period: 4 weeks from acceptance date (2025-04-14 to 2025-05-12)
   Contact: [technical lead email]
   Response: Within 2 business days
   Scope: Clarification of documentation, guidance on unusual situations
   Exclusions: Performing operations, developing new features, issues caused
               by recipient modifications

   After support period: No obligation to respond, but good faith assistance
   for reasonable queries may be provided at discretion.

Verification

Confirm successful handover completion:

Recipient operational capability:

# Verify recipient can access all systems
# Recipient executes these commands from their own environment

# AWS access
aws sts get-caller-identity
# Should return recipient's account, not yours

# Application access
curl -I https://grants.example.org/health
# Should return 200 OK

# Database access
psql -h grants-db.xxx.rds.amazonaws.com -U grants_app -d grants -c "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM applications;"
# Should return row count

# SSH access
ssh -i recipient-key.pem ubuntu@grants-server "whoami"
# Should return ubuntu

Your organisation’s access removed:

# Verify your credentials no longer work
aws sts get-caller-identity
# Should return access denied or different account

ssh -i your-old-key.pem ubuntu@grants-server
# Should return permission denied

Documentation delivered:

Document	Delivered	Recipient confirmed
Architecture documentation	✓	✓
Operations runbook	✓	✓
Troubleshooting guide	✓	✓
Credential inventory	✓	✓
Data documentation	✓	✓

Acceptance criteria signed:

Recipient signature on acceptance checklist
Your organisation’s signature on acceptance checklist
Both signatures dated

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Resolution
Recipient cannot access AWS console	IAM user not created or wrong permissions	Verify user exists: `aws iam get-user --user-name recipient-admin`. Check group membership and policies.
Knowledge transfer sessions not progressing	Recipient team unavailable or underprepared	Escalate to recipient sponsor. Delay handover if capability gap too large.
Third-party account transfer rejected	Account holder mismatch or missing documentation	Contact vendor support with both organisations on call. Provide authorisation letters.
Recipient discovers undocumented dependency	Asset inventory incomplete	Document the dependency, update inventory, extend timeline if critical.
Credentials don’t work after transfer	Password expired or MFA not configured	Reset credentials, guide recipient through MFA setup.
Application behaves differently for recipient	Environment-specific configuration	Compare recipient’s access path with yours. Check DNS, certificates, network routing.
Recipient requests extended support	Knowledge transfer insufficient	Assess gap: documentation fix, additional session, or engagement extension.
Data transfer blocked by classification	Recipient not authorised for data sensitivity level	Review with data protection officer. May need to exclude certain data or obtain additional agreements.
Post-acceptance issues discovered	Latent problems not visible during handover	If within support period, provide guidance. If outside, assess good faith assistance vs paid engagement.
Recipient modifies system, breaks it	Changes outside their capability	Support does not cover recipient-caused issues. May offer paid assistance for recovery.

Handover stalls: recipient not ready

When a recipient lacks capability to accept handover, you have three options:

Extend timeline with training: Add 4-8 weeks for recipient skill development. Provide additional training sessions or recommend external training resources. This works when gaps are specific and addressable.
Modify scope: Transfer only components the recipient can manage. Retain complex components for decommissioning or identify a different recipient.
Cancel handover: If recipient fundamentally cannot operate the system, handover is not viable. Document the situation, decommission the system, or identify alternative arrangements.

Handover blocked: third-party won’t transfer

Some vendors do not support account transfers. Options:

Recipient creates new account: Recipient sets up their own account with the vendor. Migrate configuration and data to new account. More work but cleanly separates ownership.
Update credentials only: Change account email and payment details to recipient’s. Update passwords and MFA. Account technically remains under original registration but recipient controls it.
Accept vendor lock: If neither option works, document the limitation. Recipient takes operational control through shared credentials (not ideal but sometimes necessary).

Handover document template

Use this template to create the formal handover document:

TECHNOLOGY HANDOVER DOCUMENT

System name: [Name of system being transferred]

Handover reference: [Unique identifier, e.g., HO-2025-042]

Date: [Handover completion date]

PARTIES

Transferring organisation:

Organisation name: [Your organisation]
Address: [Address]
Representative: [Name, title]
Contact: [Email, phone]

Recipient organisation:

Organisation name: [Recipient organisation]
Address: [Address]
Representative: [Name, title]
Contact: [Email, phone]

SCOPE OF TRANSFER

The following assets transfer from the transferring organisation to the recipient organisation:

Systems and applications:

System	Description	Hosting	Transfer type
[Name]	[Brief description]	[Location]	[Full/Partial]

Infrastructure:

Resource	Provider	Account/ID	Transfer type
[Resource]	[AWS/Azure/etc.]	[Account ID]	[Account transfer/Resource transfer]

Data:

Data store	Volume	Contains PII	Classification
[Database/storage]	[GB/records]	[Yes/No]	[Classification level]

Documentation:

Document	Version	Delivered
Architecture overview	[Version]	[Date]
Operations runbook	[Version]	[Date]
Troubleshooting guide	[Version]	[Date]

Excluded from transfer:

Item	Reason
[Item]	[Why excluded]

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Session	Date	Duration	Attendees
[Session name]	[Date]	[Hours]	[Names]

CREDENTIALS TRANSFERRED

Account/Credential	Purpose	Transfer method	Transfer date
[Account]	[Purpose]	[Secure method used]	[Date]

DATA PROTECTION

Personal data included: [Yes/No]

Categories of personal data: [List categories]

Data subjects: [Staff/Beneficiaries/Partners/etc.]

Data controller transfer: The recipient organisation becomes data controller for the personal data described above effective [date]. The transferring organisation’s controller responsibilities cease on this date.

Lawful basis for transfer: [Legitimate interest/Contract/Consent/etc.]

ACCEPTANCE

The recipient organisation confirms:

All documentation received and reviewed
Knowledge transfer sessions completed satisfactorily
All credentials and access received
Technical team capable of operating transferred systems
Acceptance of operational responsibility from [effective date]
Understanding of post-handover support terms

The transferring organisation confirms:

All assets listed above have been transferred
Documentation is current and complete
No material issues remain unresolved
Access will be removed following acceptance

POST-HANDOVER SUPPORT

Support period: [Duration from acceptance]

Contact: [Name, email]

Response time: [Timeframe]

Scope: [What support covers]

Exclusions: [What support does not cover]

SIGNATURES

Recipient organisation:

Signature: ___________________________

Name: ___________________________

Title: ___________________________

Date: ___________________________