IT is the part of an office move with the longest lead times and the least room for error on the day. Most moves that go badly were started too late.
Order the internet first
A new business internet service can take weeks or months to install, depending on the building. Check what is available at the address before signing the lease, and order as soon as you have the keys date. Plan a backup connection, such as a mobile service, for the first weeks.
Check the building
Find out where the communications room is, whether there is enough power and cooling, how cabling reaches each floor and who the building's nominated cabler is. Confirm mobile reception inside the office.
Plan cabling and wifi from the floor plan
Mark every desk, meeting room, printer and screen on the floor plan. Have the wifi designed for the layout and the walls, not guessed. Cabling is far cheaper before the furniture arrives.
Review what you are moving
A move is the natural time to retire the old server, replace ageing network equipment and move the phone system to the cloud. Don't pay to relocate something you would replace within a year.
Phones and numbers
If your phones still depend on lines at the old address, arrange to move or port the numbers early. Cloud phone systems make this far simpler.
The week before
Back up everything and confirm the backup. Label every device and cable by desk. Test the internet, wifi and printing at the new site with a few real laptops.
Moving day
Shut down in order, move, and bring up the network first, then servers, then desks. Have IT on site on the first morning to deal with the inevitable small issues.
Afterwards
Update your address with vendors and licence providers, cancel services at the old site, wipe and dispose of retired equipment, and update the documentation.
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