Expanding your business is exciting. Bigger office space for your team to grow into, better location, perhaps even a snazzy new coffee machine. It’s easy to get lost in the confetti of paint swatches and furniture catalogues amid all the hubbubs.
However, moving to a larger office has its pain points. If only it was just about unplugging your computers from one place and plugging them in at another. It’s a significant IT undertaking that can cause downtime, unexpected costs, and more than the occasional migraine. With that in mind, we have put together this crucial checklist of considerations that you cannot ignore.
The Great IT audit
You cannot plan your expansion at the last minute. In fact, your IT needs to be considered at least two or three months ahead of time. In that time, you need Note down every printer, monitor, server, and phone. Take down their serial numbers and who uses them. This also might give you the opportunity to offload any ancient dead weight technology that you don’t need.to draft a comprehensive plan that details every IT task, who’s responsible, and give those people clear deadlines, a budget, and of course a risk assessment with backup plans for when things don’t follow script.
You also need to audit everything. What cables do you have, what hardware are you taking.
Vendors and Compliances
It’s safe to say, a new location might cause a few issues. Your software licenses might not be adequate for a larger team or your new location. These need checking so that you don’t get caught out by any compliance problems.
Similarly, are your vendors going to suitable for the new premises? Check whether you need to change internet, VoIP, and IT Support providers before making your move. Coordinate your disconnections and new installations. Lead times for fibre might be longer than you think.
Is your new space tech ready?
Your IT Team needs to do a detailed survey of your new office space. This is non-negotiable. There is certain information you need to know about ahead of time:
1. Cabling: Does the new office have enough network points for every desk or meeting room? If not, new cabling needs to be installed before the team moves in.
2. Power Outlets: Do you have sufficient power outlets at your new office? This is important, not just for your laptops and phone chargers, but for your server rooms and coffee machines.
3. Talking of server rooms: If you’re keeping any onsite servers, you need to think about dedicated cooling, ventilation, and physical security.
4. WiFi Blackspots: A bigger office means there might be places your WiFi doesn’t quite reach. Plan for strategic placement of access points to get the best coverage across the office. Consider a mesh system.
Internet and VoIP Providers
More staff means more bandwidth. Will your current package cover that, or will you need a significant upgrade? Check with your current providers that they can service your new office. If not, a simple postcode search would be able to help. You will also be able to get lead times for installation.
Also, ensure that your new internet connection can handle the demands of your VoIP system. The last thing you need is to lose the ability to communicate with your suppliers and customers.
Do you need to rethink your data strategy?
Are you using onsite servers? Do you have a cloud solution? Will this solution translate well to your new offices? If you are using onsite servers, it is important to have backed up every last crumb of data before shifting the hardware.
Plan your data migration carefully, this might be the golden opportunity to push more services to the cloud. Saas solutions can simplify maintenance and offer greater scalability going forward.
Don’t drop your guard
It doesn’t matter what you do or where you go, cybersecurity is your top priority. Your new network needs a fresh security assessment. Firewalls need configuring, your entire infrastructure needs looking at. Even consider the physical side of your cybersecurity – which door can be locked, do your network cabinets need to be secured?
Remember, if you’re discarding any old hardware, everything that isn’t going with you needs to be completely wiped and all data needs to be securely disposed of.
Minimal disruption and user experience
A move is exciting, but it can also be disruptive to your team. Your business needs to be able to continue with as little kerfuffle as possible. Make sure you have your IT Support on hand during the move. It’s over the first few days that issues can occur, you don’t want them to snowball.
Also, don’t underestimate the time it can take to get all of your networked hardware working seamlessly. It might seem an easy task, but sometimes this can get a little finicky.
And invite us along for the office warming party
Expanding is a fantastic thing. It’s a milestone. And yes, there are things to do. There will be bumps on the road, and little sticking points. But when all is said and done, you want to celebrate this cracking win. We cordially accept your invitation to the office warming party.
Good luck with your expansion.
For more information about helping you expand, contact us on 01327 300 311
or email [email protected] with any enquiries.
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