Working with an MSP doesn't have to mean handing over the keys forever. Here's how to structure the relationship so you keep optionality.
The lock-in patterns
Three patterns: data lock-in (your data is in their system), credentials lock-in (your domain admin password is on their laptop only), and configuration lock-in (nobody but them knows how it's set up). All three are avoidable.
You own the tenants
Your Microsoft 365 tenant. Your domain registrar. Your DNS host. Your accounting platform. Your cloud accounts. All registered to you, in your name, with your billing. The MSP is added as a delegated admin. They don't own anything.
Credential transparency
Every admin credential exists in a password manager you also have access to, or in a vault that supports break-glass export. If the MSP disappears tomorrow, you can get into everything.
Documentation discipline
Network diagrams, configurations, runbooks, and as-built docs delivered to you on a quarterly cadence. Stored in a system you control. Not just in their internal wiki.
Exit clause in the contract
Standard professional services contracts include a transition period clause: 30 to 90 days of cooperation if you decide to leave, at agreed rates, with documented handoff. If the proposal doesn't include this, ask for it.
Pick tools that travel
MSPs use their own RMM, PSA, and security tools. That's fine. The tools they use to manage your environment shouldn't bind your data into their tools. Your data lives in M365, your firewall, your accounting platform. Their tools watch and act on that data.
The one exception worth thinking about
Backup data. Some MSPs use proprietary backup formats. If the relationship ends, can you restore from the backups they took without their tools? Ask the question early.
How to test annually
Once a year, do the table top: pretend the MSP is gone. Can you log into Microsoft 365 as Global Admin? Can you get into the firewall? Can you restore a backup? Can you find the network diagram? If any answer is no, fix it.