It is an old adage that moving house is the most stressful thing that life can throw at an individual but that’s only the case because most people never have to undertake an IT office move. Relocating an entire office after all combines all of the usual stresses and issues of a house move and then throws in plenty more besides. Luckily, Westfiled Networks offer a bespoke and highly professional IT relocation service and you can get in touch today to discuss your needs further with our friendly advisers.
Alongside the practical difficulties of arranging the physical transmission of furniture, equipment and other items from one locale to another, a business relocation must also involve a vast array of other considerations. Not least amongst those is how to ensure that the day to day operation of the business is interrupted and disrupted as little as possible during the move. That means considering and coping with a whole host of IT and technology concerns on top of everything else, to ensure that your company’s efficiency does not suffer.
All of that is why we’re going to offer you some useful hints and tips to assist in the planning of a successful IT office move that will see you slide seamlessly into operation at your new location.
Setting Timelines and Defining Responsibilities
Setting pre-determined timelines and understanding the different responsibilities which must be undertaken and by when is the most crucial place to start when planning any relocation. The most sensible thing to do is to set a deadline date for when you wish to complete your move and then to work backwards in mapping out when that means all the other steps towards the move need to be completed by.
That ‘roadmap’ to your successful transition to a new location should become like a bible to you during the relocation process and as such it is vital that it is accurate. In order to achieve that you must do your due diligence in researching and finding out how long different processes of the move will realistically take but first of all must know what those practical processes actually are.
The Practical Processes
A successful IT office move is not a simple undertaking, it involves a huge number of different processes and tasks well beyond simply moving the contents of your office from one locale to another.
It is crucial that the physical infrastructure of your new office is optimised for the quick relocation and ongoing efficiency of your IT systems. That means ensuring that power sockets are most efficiently located, that cabling of both power and phone line varieties is sufficient and tailored to your office’s needs and that vital things like a server room have been planned and correctly located.
Alongside those most important practical considerations, any relocating company must also think about how to most effectively move IT and telecommunications equipment like PCs, phones and servers. Simply disconnecting everything at your old location all at once and moving en masse after all, is often a recipe for cutting your company off from its customers and clients for far longer than is ever advisable. A staged and rigidly planned transfer of such equipment on the other hand, could allow you to stay operational throughout the move itself.
Connectivity
Once the physical infrastructure of a new office has been optimised to make it ideal for your company and your systems, it is then time to broach the equally critical issue of connectivity. A beautifully designed and arrange office without active phone lines or internet connection after all, is no use at all to any business.
Depending on the choices you make regarding the type of phone and internet service you need and also the provider you use, timelines for installation at a new location or the switching of your service somewhere new can differ greatly. It is crucial as such, for you to find out at the outset what these exact timelines are and for you to build your aforementioned relocation ‘roadmap’ around them.
All of these considerations regarding connectivity – and the others upon which a successful IT office move depend – are unquestionably crucial and also time consuming. That’s why relocation is such a stressful process and also why trusting such a process to experts in the field can often be the most sensible course of action.
