Moving is stressful—especially when it comes to an office move. It requires careful planning and preparation, otherwise it can result in major work disruptions, sometimes halt productivity entirely for your business, resulting in income losses. Taking the time to specifically focus on, think through and plan out your company’s technology move can help avoid catastrophe.
Proper Planning
Before the big day, you’ll need to consider how your equipment will be disassembled and moved, estimating which components will be unavailable for use and for how long. Considerations for remote work during that time can help keep the flow of work moving forward. But you’ll need to consider the order of how things will be set up in the new space, and who will be available to assemble all your equipment and get it up and running once you arrive.
To begin, it helps if you select a moving company that will move your technology safely and securely, but also if you have a managed IT services team in place who can disconnect your tech properly, make sure it’s packaged carefully to survive the move, and then reconnect it correctly in your new space.
Speaking of your new space, as you plan out each employee’s area, make sure to think through where every computer will go, confirming that the proper power options will be available in each space. You’ll also want to put thought into where printers, scanners and faxes will be placed so they are easily accessible by all.
Making Virtual Decisions
There are also a number of virtual decisions to be made. The phone lines and internet connection should be priority number one—you’ll need to have that set up and running before you arrive if you want your employees to be back up and operating quickly. You’ll also need to make sure they all know the new internet access passwords right away.
You’ll also want to consider back-up and data security options. Will you continue to use the same methods you used before, or do you want to get a fresh start when you arrive? There are pros and cons to this. You could argue that with the move itself you have enough going on, that it may not be the time to change up the methods of back-up and security. However, you could also argue what’s one more change? Start off on a fresh page all together. It’s a personal decision—but one we can help you think through so that you select options that will work best with your business model.
Technology Set-Up
Once you’ve arrived in your new location, if only it were as simple as plugging your computer in and then work could resume. A lot is involved in getting all your business’ technology set-up again and running properly. You need to think through proper connectivity and computer set up, connecting to printers and scanners, cables, phone lines, and passwords. Again, having a team in charge of this will ensure a smoother move and for work to resume faster. Managed IT services can handle tear down, set up, and connectivity issues that often come with setting up an office in a new space, and Great Lakes Computer Corporation is here to help alleviate some of that stress! Give us a call—we can talk through your upcoming move and how we can take some of the weight off your shoulders!
