Relocating offices can be a difficult and daunting task. To move your office, one should be well prepared. When moving to a new office location, there are a lot of things to think about, which is why it’s a good idea to make a complete office relocation checklist before the shifting.
Your office departments may have different amounts of people. Your IT Provider can do the majority of the work for you, but it is critical that you meticulously plan every detail of your office move well in advance. You should keep in mind that many carriers require lengthy lead times for installation, so organizing your IT transfer until the last minute is a bad idea.
This article will discuss things that will help you in planning and supervising your office move in a secure and efficient manner. These strategies will also save you time and money
Tips to Follow Before Moving
Regardless of the size of your company, relocating your office is a major undertaking. Here are some things to do before moving to make the procedure smooth and productive.
1. Hire a Move Manager
While shifting, you can divide the labor between employees, but hiring a move manager can assist you at each step and ensure that everything goes smoothly. An administrative assistant is usually the best individual for this, but you may also hire someone with commercial relocations experience.
2. Start Planning Early
It is beneficial to start the planning process as soon as possible. The planning process will include dividing up the tasks, planning them, and resource allocation. Otherwise, you can find yourself scrambling at the last minute, stuck in the office and packing boxes while figuring out how to get them ready for shipment.
Planning in advance will let you have a strategy for executing the whole procedure. You can also use a blueprint to plan out the layout of your new office and mark common areas, as well as other additional requirements.
Take a note that it will take at least a few months to plan and execute your office relocation, as well as a few months to get everything set up and ready to go. Also, it is crucial to set a budget for your move. This will let you know how much you have to spend on the whole process.
3. Do Your Research
Before planning, you must research and receive quotes from various experienced moving firms, but because an office move may get extremely expensive. If you have the funds, consider hiring a full-service moving company, which will handle all of your packing, loading, and other processes involved in relocation.
Moving the IT Stuff
Disconnecting and reconnecting all of your technology from the old office to the new office is one of the most difficult aspects of relocation. Your IT department should prepare a strategy for relocating all of your office’s technological equipment as soon as all other things are planned.
This technology includes your data and internet plans, as well as laptops, servers, and phones used in the office. This part of moving cannot be done by movers, so it’s vital that you and your team get started as soon as possible. You can also set up a plan for recycling or donating any equipment you’ll be getting rid of.
Here are some procedures you can follow to make the process more efficient:
1. Equipment Evaluation
If your network infrastructure is outdated, moving offices is an excellent time to replace it. If you prepare beforehand, you might be able to get your network upgraded to the new location before moving day.
Before moving, you should make a list of all of your equipment and compare it with the latest requirements to see if it still fulfills your demands and will fit in the new space. Listing any equipment that needs to be upgraded or replaced and other IT requirements is a crucial task.
2. Consider Your Telecommunication Options
New telecommunications services are always being introduced, so look around for the best phone system and service contract for your new office. Consider how much development or expansion you anticipate in the next couple of years. This will help you decide whether you need a new business phone system for your new office or not.
Ensure you get the wires and connectors for all your needs from reliable sources.
3. Protect Your Data
While moving an office, consider what might happen to your data if something goes wrong during the transfer. So, it is recommended to make several backup copies of all firm data systems, including firewalls and servers, and store them somewhere that won’t be affected by the relocation.
Ensure that full recovery is possible so that you can access all of your company’s critical data even if something goes wrong.
Moving an office to a large distance can also cause physical damage to the IT hardware of the office due to tough environmental conditions. It will not only delay the process but will also increase the cost of relocation. Hence, one should prefer a stainless steel artex enclosure to transport hardware and deal with harsh conditions.
Server and Network Concerns
The network servers of a corporation are considered the backbone of an IT organization. They store information about clients, workers, projects, and other critical information related to the company.
After shifting, your servers must be transported and installed safely and securely in order for your essential data to remain intact and security measures to remain in place.
While dealing with servers, keep the following things in mind:
- Co-locating your server with a reliable corporation is a cost-effective means of maintaining your data if you have a smaller company that does not require on-site hosting.
- If you require on-site server hosting, be certain that the relocation and installation are completed correctly. Transferring a server is a critical procedure. The employees you entrust with transporting the actual servers should be familiar with handling sensitive office equipment.
- The high functionality of your company’s wireless network is necessary for the work to be done swiftly and efficiently. Security of the network is necessary to protect your business, employee data, and other assets from digital threats.
Conclusion
Moving is not as difficult as it appears. Right from planning the process to communicating with vendors, and staff to store your data, a lot of important procedures are associated with relocation.
Following office relocation tips discussed in this article will help you to easily move into your new workplace. And don’t forget to install hand sanitizers to have a safe environment!
