How to Move Offices Without Disrupting Your IT
An office move already comes with a long list of things to organise. You have lease dates, furniture, movers, access cards, insurance, and staff schedules to think about.
Somewhere on that list, “move the IT” may appear as a single task. It sounds simple enough. Pack the computers, take them to the new office, connect everything, and carry on working.
But those computers depend on internet service, network equipment, cabling, Wi-Fi, phones, printers, cloud applications, and several other systems that may not be ready at the new address. If any one of them is missed, employees can arrive on the first morning and find that they can’t sign in, make calls, print documents, process payments, or access the files they need.
Most of these problems can be avoided when the IT work starts early enough.
Involve your IT provider before the move date is set
Tell your IT provider about the move as soon as the new location becomes a serious option.
Get them to inspect the premises before you sign the lease or confirm renovation plans. They can check whether the building has suitable internet services, enough network cabling, space for equipment, and the power needed for your setup. A modern-looking office doesn’t guarantee that the cabling is usable. The previous tenant may have removed equipment, left cables without labels, or installed network points that don’t reach the places where your staff will work. Building management may also control when providers can enter the site, where equipment can be installed, and which contractors are allowed to work in shared areas. Finding that out early gives you time to arrange access rather than discovering the restriction when an engineer arrives.
Give one person responsibility for the IT move
Office moves involve property managers, internet providers, electricians, cabling contractors, movers, software vendors, and your own employees.
Choose one person inside the business who can coordinate decisions and keep track of dates. That person doesn’t need to understand every technical detail, but they should know who is responsible for each part of the move and who can approve changes.
Your IT provider should prepare a timeline covering the work that must happen before, during, and after the move. It should include internet installation, cabling, equipment setup, testing, staff communication, and the date when services at the old office can be cancelled.
List what your business needs in order to operate
Before deciding how to move the technology, write down what the business needs to do each day.
That may include answering calls, taking card payments, accessing customer records, joining video meetings, sending invoices, printing labels, receiving online orders, or connecting to a specialist industry system.
Then identify the technology behind each activity.
For example, a cloud accounting system needs working internet, user accounts, MFA, and access to any connected scanners or printers. A reception phone may depend on the internet and a correctly configured handset. A payment terminal could use Wi-Fi, a mobile connection, or an older phone line.
This exercise often finds equipment that nobody thought of as IT. Door access systems, security cameras, intercoms, alarms, meeting-room screens, postage machines, and building controls may all depend on the network or a communications service.
Check the new office properly
Your IT provider should inspect the new location and compare it with how your team will use the space.
They need to know where employees will sit, which rooms will host video calls, where printers and phones will go, and whether any equipment needs a wired connection. A floor plan helps, but an on-site visit can reveal issues that don’t appear on the drawing.
The inspection should cover network outlets, cable routes, Wi-Fi coverage, power sockets, and the room or cabinet that will hold the main network equipment.
That equipment needs a secure location with suitable power and ventilation. It shouldn’t be left under a desk, in an unlocked public area, or inside a cupboard that overheats when the door is closed.
If the office requires new cabling, complete and test it before furniture blocks access to walls, ceilings, or floors.
Arrange the internet connection early
Internet installation can involve surveys, building approval, cabling work, equipment delivery, and an engineer visit. The time required depends on the provider, location, service type, and work already completed in the building.
Order the new connection as soon as you know what the office needs. Ask the provider to confirm the installation date, expected activation date, and any work that must be completed by the landlord or your contractors. Choose the service based on how your business works. A company that depends on cloud applications, video meetings, internet phones, and large file transfers may need more capacity than a team that mainly uses email and web applications. Microsoft advises businesses using Microsoft 365 to assess internet capacity and network performance at each office location, particularly when services such as Teams calls and meetings depend on that connection.
If losing internet access would stop the business from operating, discuss a backup connection with your IT provider.
Protect equipment and data during transport
Computers and network equipment should be packed and transported by people who know how to handle them.
Small items such as backup drives, security keys, and network devices are easy to lose among general office boxes. Keep them in labelled, tracked containers and make sure someone is responsible for handing them over at the new location.
Test the new office before employees arrive
Once the new network is running, test it from the same places and devices your staff will use.
Sign in to business applications, make internal and external calls, join a video meeting, send a test print job, scan a document, and confirm that payment or booking systems can connect.
Test remote access and site-to-site connections as well. Check security cameras, door access, alarms, meeting-room equipment, and any device that sends alerts over the network.
Choose a clear cutover period
Decide when staff will stop working at the old office and when systems will become available at the new one.
During the cutover, avoid making software, network, or account changes that aren’t required for the move. Keeping unrelated changes out of the same period makes any problem easier to identify.
Tell employees when systems may be unavailable and what they should do if they need to work during that time.
Update records and monitoring
The move changes more than the physical location of your equipment.
Updates
Update network diagrams, asset records, support documents, and monitoring tools with the new address and setup. Make sure alerts still reach the right people and that your IT provider can remotely manage the equipment.
Suppliers/ Providers
Tell relevant suppliers and service providers about the change. This may include software companies, phone providers, alarm companies, payment processors, insurers, and any vendor that restricts access based on your location or internet address.
Publication
Check your public website, email signatures, customer documents, and online business listings as part of the wider office move. Those aren’t all IT tasks, but they’re often easier to update when one person is coordinating the address change.
Plan support for the first working day after the move
Even after testing, some employees will need help connecting to Wi-Fi, finding printers, signing into phones, or using meeting-room equipment.
Arrange for your IT provider or internal support person to be available when staff first arrive. Fixing a small issue for one employee is much easier before ten other people report the same problem.
Let us take care of the technical heavy lifting.
Article adapted with permission from The Technology Press.