Moving to a new office is a big undertaking whether you’re moving across the state or across the street. And with computers, phones, and cables, if you don’t plan well, your business could be “offline” for longer that you anticipated.
Office moves offer the opportunity to take advantage of new space and plan your whole technology floor plan in advance. For instance, that printer that is in the most inconvenient place at the moment could be moved to a central location at the new space.
The key is to plan well ahead of time, so you aren’t left looking for plugs or connectors when you’re trying to settle in. Our Technology Visionaries Smooth Move Team helps businesses in New Jersey take the stress out of IT office moves by handling all the planning, logistics, and installation for them.
Downtime costs small businesses up to $427 per minute. (Carbonite)
Each minute your business is down during an office move is costing you money. Carbonite estimates that small businesses lose between $137 to $427 each minute their IT is down. If you’re having trouble getting all your cables run and computers and phones reconnected after a move, an extra 4 hours figuring it out could cost you $32,880 to $102,480.
Making your office move as fluid and time efficient as possible not only reduces your stress level but can also save you a lot of money. Here are our Technology Visionary planning tips for a smooth technology transition when you move offices.
What Should I Plan for When I Move My Office?
Phones, printers, servers, cables, computers… all of these are part of the IT you need to disconnect, transport, and reconnect when you move to a new office space. Here are some critical planning tips to help it go as smoothly as possible.
Make a Technology Floor Map
Don’t just assume a new space is going to have power outlets where you need them or be able to handle your cabling requirements. Just as you’re mapping out where each chair or bookcase is going to go, do the same for all your technology (and not just the computers).
Map out where each cable is going to need to run to ensure you’re connected property to all your tech, including routers and modems. Add where you need outlets (and how many). That way you’ll not only have a roadmap to getting everything set up quickly once moved, but you can also have any need additional outlets or other connections installed ahead of time.
Designate an “Away Team”
The easiest way to keep from having any downtime during an office move is to use cloud-based solutions for VoIP phones and customer support. This allows you to designate an “Away Team” that will work from home or another location while your office equipment is being moved, keeping your business going. Cloud solutions allow connection from anywhere on any internet connected device.
Assign Tasks and Make a Contact List
Just saying, “Everyone grab their own stuff and move it!” is not the best way to handle your IT during a move. You’ll want to have assigned responsibilities for each part of the move and someone who is going to double check everything.
Some of the potential tasks related to IT may be:
- Person A: Check to ensure all plugs and cables are boxed with each device
- Person B: Schedule disconnection and reconnection with IT provider
- Person C: Check in each piece of equipment as it arrives at the new office
- Person D: Make a group text of all staff/vendors involved for easy communication during the move
Label Everything
You might think it won’t be difficult to remember that ‘this’ power cord goes to ‘that’ computer, until you’re at the new office with 25 different power cords all in a box together.
Label everything, from each computer and scanner to each power cord or ethernet cable. Connecting everything back together will be a lot faster and there won’t be any guesswork that the right pieces have been paired correctly.
Back Up All Your Data
If a computer is accidentally damaged during the move, you don’t want to be left with a data emergency because it had all your customer records on it. Back up your data and ensure it’s been backed up correctly before you begin the move.
A cloud-based solution can be the easiest way to do this and ensure data from everyone’s devices is safely backed up and easily recoverable.
Get Help with Vendor Management
When you are planning a move is when you really begin to notice how many different vendors you work with because you’ve got to coordinate with them all to switch from the old location to the new one.
Technology Visionaries offers vendor management services that allow you to focus on running your business. We’ll handle all the coordination with vendors such as your internet service provider, phone company, cable, and others, giving them all a single point of contact and making your life a whole lot easier.
Do You Have an Office Move Coming Up?
We can take a big part of the burden off your shoulders by handling the move of all your technology smoothly and efficiently. We also offer office cabling if you’re planning an addition or renovation.
Give us a call today at 732-587-5960 and let’s get your move handled so you can relax!