Moving on…
This weekend I thought it would be a good idea to help my brother move into his new house..boy was I wrong! It was the most stressful day I’ve had in years.
There was stuff everywhere. He thought it would be a good idea to leave all the packing until the night before the actual move. We were all running around like headless chickens trying to get everything boxed up and shipped out. It was a very long and tiring weekend. By Sunday evening I was looking forward to going back to work just to get a break! Next time anyone asks me to help them relocate I think I’ll politely decline.
Have you ever thought about moving offices? If it was anything like this weekend it would be a complete disaster. As we’re in the New Year I know everyone likes a fresh start. Is your company outgrowing it’s current office or it’s just time to move on? If this sounds like something you are considering then you should follow the nuggets below to help your office relocation run smoothly…
Get Organised
Don’t end up like my brother and leave it all to the last minute. To make your move as painless as possible plan ahead and call in the professionals where required.
- Put a team in place to help with your relocation
- Break down each section of your IT setup
- Think about getting rid of equipment you don’t need anymore
- Check the access to your new office
Know What You Have
The earlier you plan for the move the easier it becomes. Find out exactly what you have and what you need.
- Do you have a hardware and software inventory?
- Is all your equipment clearly labeled?
- Make sure you review your disaster recovery plan as you never know what might happen
- Find out what your performance gaps are in your current set up
Access To The New Office
Ensure you have no unexpected surprises on the day of your arrival. Make sure that all key requirements are in place.
- Power supply
- Cabling
- Cooling for business critical servers
Who Needs To Know You’re Moving?
Make a list all your current suppliers, don’t forget to tell them you are moving offices.
- Hardware suppliers and hardware maintenance contracts, make sure the right people know you’re moving, give them your new contact details.
- Software suppliers—you may need to update the address and contact details of your licenses for operating systems and applications.
- Disaster recovery plans normally include off-site backup, hardware etc. Are there any implications from your move?
Review Your Equipment
Have a look at what you already have in your business and decide whether it’s worth taking to the new building. Leave all the junk behind.
- Servers – You may be able to reduce your hardware overhead by creating virtual servers within existing machines
- Backup devices – Have a think about your current backup situation. Is it time to move into the cloud?
- Printers – Instead of having random printers around the office think about having a printer station.
- Workstations – Are there any implications in the new offices? Will it all fit in well?
Your New Office
The key thing when moving office is what awaits you at the new place. If you have any servers then you need to ensure their new location is best for them.
- Servers should ideally be in their own room that is secure.
- You need to make sure your servers are not going to get too hot so a nice cool area would be ideal.
- Do you have too many servers? Could you think about virtual servers?
Any move can be stressful whether your moving house or office. The secret is to planning ahead and being prepared. If you’re like my brother and decide to leave it all to the last minute why not thinking about having a reliable team in place to help you move? Here at Barton Technology we’ve done many office moves. If you are looking to relocate in the future then contact us today on sales@barttech.co.uk
Top Tip – Lack of notice to IT companies is a major cause of disruption & disappointment. Ensure you book the move date as early as possible with the IT & Telecoms Company (especially if you want to move over the weekend).
