Relocating offices can be a daunting task, whether it’s moving next door or 100 miles away and probably the most complex element of it all will be in moving your company’s IT equipment. This requires careful preparation, planned out as early as possible, in order to keep any disruption and downtime to a minimum and ensure the smooth transition of your entire IT communications and network infrastructure.

Our IT support projects team has a proven track record of executing seamless IT relocations for clients and can help to move your equipment efficiently from start to finish. The earlier you get us involved, the less risk you will experience and the better your chances will be of having a smooth, well-executed move. We will help you to have your office up and running from day one so that your staff will arrive to find their equipment set up and working and your company’s communication infrastructure fully functioning.

Planning your move

The ideal time to bring us on board is right from the start - as soon as you know you are moving. We can help you to make a requirements list, advise on any changes needed to your IT equipment and assess your communication needs. As part of planning ahead and essential to your office move, we will accompany you on an early site visit to view the new offices and make a checklist of requirements which will include:

• Reviewing the configuration plan of the new office and assessing locations for your IT equipment.
• Evaluating network cabling requirements and identifying if additional points are needed.
• Confirming location of server room/area and ensuring minimum requirements are met.
• Assessing Internet connectivity and determining service requirements and availability in your area.
• Evaluating telephony requirements including ordering phone lines for voice and data in advance.
• Discussing wireless networking requirements and evaluating suitability in the new office.
• Ensuring a backup and recovery plan is in place, to avoid data loss during the move.

Before you move

Once you have made plans for your IT move, you will need to bear in mind any constraints that may affect your moving date. For example, if you require new phone lines to be installed, BT Openreach can sometimes offer lengthy lead times, so you’ll need to start thinking about this at least two months before the relocation. If you are moving to a location within the same BT telephony exchange then it should be possible to retain your numbers, however if you are moving further afield we will need to consider call diversion or migrating the numbers onto Voice over IP which ensures numbers are fully portable.

As part of our planning we will also check out the Internet connectivity in your new area and whether the available services satisfy your requirements. In extreme cases, the lack of adequate Broadband/Fibre services may even sway your choice of location. Speeds can vary dramatically between areas, so if heavy internet usage is vital to your operation or you have staff who work remotely or use VoIP, then a high bandwidth Fibre connection is the minimum requirement, however in some cases a Leased Line may be needed to guarantee bandwidth and service levels.

Not only can Net Technical help with this stage of the planning, but we can also provide all of the above connectivity solutions directly to you, from the BT lines themselves through to Broadband, Fibre and Leased Line connections, and also Voice over IP Telephony. The typical lead time for a BT analogue line is 15 working days and you will also need to allow another 5-10 working days for the Internet connection to go live. Leased Lines can take up to 65 days for BT to provide, so once again this needs to be explored as early as possible.

The move itself

Alongside managing the disconnection of services and technology equipment at the old office, we will assist with the move of your core IT infrastructure at a time and date convenient to your business, causing minimum disruption, and set them up again at your new location.

You will need to ensure that you use appropriate packaging for all IT hardware in order to transport the equipment without the risk of damage. A good tip is to make sure that everything is labelled, so that staff can easily identify what equipment belongs to which desk as the unpacking begins at the other end.

On that all-important first day in the new office our first priority will be to get the core systems up and running including routers, firewalls and Internet, switches, servers and anything else which is housed in the comms room/area. We can then work closely with you to prioritise which staff you require up and running soonest, so as to ensure that you continue to provide an appropriate level of service to your own customers.

When everything is up and running we will carry out a series of tests on your network to ensure that everything is working correctly. We will also make sure that we are available on-site to help staff with any questions or network related issues.

Trusted partners

As you may imagine, with nearly 20 years’ experience helping customers with their office relocations throughout Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and further afield, we have built some excellent relationships with other local businesses who can help with your move. We can introduce you to trusted local partners covering areas such as:

Planning

• Property Advisers
• Chartered Surveyors
• Architects
• Solicitors (conveyance)
• Financial Planning
• Insurance

Design

• Building Works
• Office Design & Fit
• Acoustics
• Flooring

Maintenance

• Property Management
• Fire & Security Systems
• Air Conditioning

Services

• Vehicle Hire
• Equipment Disposal

Marketing

• Signage
• Printers
• Marketing & PR

So if you are planning to move within the next 12 months please talk to us first.

We can help you to plan right from the start, ensure your IT systems are ready for the move, order the lines and Internet, carry out the move itself and ensure that your equipment is up and running in your new offices from the outset. We can also put you in touch with any of our trusted partners who can assist in the above areas of expertise.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with our Account Management team today on 01252 235235 and we can happily talk you through the next steps.