Six agencies, three quotes, one careful migration

The problem

My audit found we had no access to the repository, the files or the code base. A simple update took over a month, the agency had quietly subcontracted another agency, and nobody covered our time zones.

What I did

• Reported it to my line manager, who asked me to run the search. I called six agencies, compared them and shortlisted three for detailed quotes.
• Split the judging: she assessed cost, I assessed communication, workflow and architecture. We chose a global agency on reputation, accessibility expertise (WCAG, W3C) and support across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
• Wrote the migration plan, briefed every regional content manager and agreed contingencies, including a full backup without code access. The old agency kept the repository keys, so this was a careful, basic migration.
• Picked a low-traffic window and watched it with the agency until everything was confirmed. About 50 to 60 image and document URLs had moved wrongly; a bulk correction fixed them with no visible impact.
• Afterwards, set up a GitHub repository and a Jira and Confluence board, so the company finally owns its own code and documentation.

The result

The global site and 17 regional sites (10 in Europe, 3 in the Americas, 4 in Asia Pacific) moved with no impact on search visibility.