Everyone knows how stressful moving house can be. The months of planning lead into frenzied hours of packing, moving and unpacking, ending with you collapsed on the floor of a disheveled kitchen surrounded by empty coffee cups and pizza boxes.
If you thought that was bad, wait until you have to move all the IT equipment for an entire office space. With IT being an integral part of most businesses these days, getting your clients packed, moved and up and running as soon as possible is going to be your biggest priority. Just like any move, planning is critical, so here are our tips for getting your IT department ready for a big office move.
Keep IT Simple. Get your FREE IT Readiness Score!
Map Out Timeframes
Moving office can take way more time than you expect, so you’ve got to plan ahead if you want to get everything done on time. Get blueprints of your new space to work out where equipment and furniture will go, and where you will need network cables. You may need to give 30-45 days’ notice before installing a new phone or T1 lines, so work out what you need as soon as possible to be prepared.
Every day your office is out of business equals dollars lost. How much downtime do you plan to have while moving office? If you need to have a network set up and running the day after moving, planning your move ahead of time and hiring a professional early in the process is essential.
Analyze the New Office
Conducting a thorough inspection of your new space helps you to work out layouts, electrical connections, and current IT infrastructure. Assess the network capability and connections of your new office, and if this will be different to your current office.
If you need to re-cable your office, look at how easy it will be to access the wall, floor and ceiling space to run cables, and whether installations like heating and cooling ducts will get in the way.
Are You Planning to Upgrade?
If you’re making a big office move, chances are you also want to upgrade your systems. That means you need to look at the type and amount of cabling you’ll need in your new space to achieve the results you want.
Document Everything
An office move is not something to be taken lightly. Take an inventory of all office equipment before and after the move. Plan meticulously. Budget carefully. Develop a network plan to help guide your IT infrastructure and cabling requirements. Ensure you have enough server racks and cable organization to prevent cables hanging down and producing clutter and interference.
Every little detail not only helps you to set up your new office correctly but can also give an IT consultant or cabling professional all the information they need to help you out.
Bring in a Pro to Guide you Through it
The full details of an office’s IT infrastructure can be complicated. Seriously. If you don’t know what you’re doing, at best you will waste time, and at worst you could create some severe problems for your business. It’s important to keep in mind that time is money, so trying to save by doing it yourself just doesn’t work when it comes to relocating IT equipment and cabling an office IT network.
That’s why it makes sense to call in an office relocation pro from the start. They can guide you through the entire process of IT relocation, as well as provide expert cabling. An experienced re-cabling professional like 1+1 TECHNOLOGY, knows what needs to be done, and what you want to achieve, helping you to not only move your IT network but to get even better results than before for your new space.
