Planning for office moves involves much more than just calling a moving truck to haul out the furniture and desks. Relocating office technology includes moving computers and servers and is perhaps one of the most critical aspects of shifting locations, as your company is almost certainly dependent on technology. Minimizing downtime is the key to maintaining satisfied customers and productive employees so you’ll want to be sure you’ve planned ahead in preparation for the big moving day.
Ensure You’ll Have Services Available Before You Make the Move
Ensuring that you’ll have internet and phone services needed upon arrival is not only a smart move but one that may make a huge difference in your bottom line. Although not a complete list, determining the following aspects and calling ahead to have everything activated before your office moves will minimize headaches:
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- The ideal size and speed data pipe (bandwidth) you’ll need to support the new location of your business;
- Whether your phone system will be integrated into the data connection or enters the office as a separate cable/line;
- The condition of your old office equipment and whether it is time to upgrade;
- Whether your office is better suited to cabling each connection or if wireless is more appropriate;
- The number of outlets needed to power all the devices in your new office and whether or not a backup power source will be required.
Extra Care Will Protect Your Devices and Minimize Downtime
Throwing computers into boxes is definitely not a good idea when your office moves! Not only will this create disorder that can make the unpacking and reconnecting process extremely difficult and time consuming, you may also lose critical data and will miss out on an ideal opportunity to evaluate the overall state of your IT system and setup. By completing the following steps, the entire moving process will be streamlined while ensuring that your data will be protected and ready to go upon arrival:
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- Backup validation. Prior to moving computers, servers and any other technological equipment, a complete backup on your entire system should be executed.
- Utilize labels and organize carefully. Once all of the equipment has been powered down in the appropriate order, careful labeling of each and every item will simplify the reconnection process and minimize downtime. Every computer workstation, keyboard, mouse, etc. should be carefully packed with special protective equipment to prevent damage. By creating an identifier for each workstation along with a “move chart” displaying where each station needs to go in your new office, you’ll avoid confusion.
- Once at your new location, unpack every computer and device contained in your office according to the “move chart” specifications. At this point the systems can be powered up and reconnected to the network to get your office up and running in as little time as possible.
Take the Stress Out of Your Move
The professionals at Great Lakes Computer are available to help make your office moves stress free. We can manage all aspects of your technology moving needs and can provide you with a prompt, customized quote for our services. We’ll get your IT system and connections up and running quickly so you don’t have to lose money as a result of excessive downtime.
