ICT Management > Strategy & Planning

Moving your IT to a new office

By Lasa Information Systems Team

Like house moving, shifting your operation to a new office requires careful planning. In addition to making sure that the carpets are down, files are crated and desks and filing cabinets can be shifted, you’ll need to pay attention to your ICT set up. This article should help your move go as smoothly as possible by pointing what needs to be done at each stage of the moving process.

Ahead of the move

Identify what equipment you can take with you

If you have a cabled network then you won’t be able to move the cables, patch panels or cabinet – but you will probably be able to take the hub/switch, ADSL router, firewall etc. PCs, printers, scanners etc. can all be moved.

Do as much as possible in the new office before you move

If you currently have a wired network, then you’ll need cabling installed. Assuming you have access to the building, get the network contractor in a couple of weeks before moving day.

Plan where everyone is going to be located

Draw up a scale plan of the office and cut out pieces of paper for desks, cabinets, etc. That way you’ll be able to identify to the cabling contractor where points should go so that you don’t end up with trailing cables. Work out where the server and network printer (if you have them) are going so that points are put in the appropriate places. Locate your Internet access close to where the network equipment is going to be.

Anticipate future needs

If you think you’ll have more staff in a year’s time, spend the money now on getting phone and data points in place – it’s much easier for a contractor to work when the office is empty and will probably be cheaper. Put a data outlet in your meeting space so you can plug a laptop in for presentations.

Check out the electrics

Make sure there are enough electrical outlets and they’re in roughly the right place. Extension leads can be used but can cause health and safety problems. Get the electrics checked over by a qualified electrician – if network cabling is being installed then they may be able to do this and add extra sockets etc.

Contact the phone company

Order phone lines for ADSL, fax and voice services as early as possible. If you are taking over an existing line which isn’t broadband enabled, make sure it can be and get your order in. Your network contractor should be able to help and in some cases will handle all this for you by liaising with the Internet Service Provider. Make sure you let them know that you expect them to do this!

If the network company can’t advise on phone systems or have their own tame phone contractor, ask around for recommendations. You might want to check out the Phone Co-op, who worked with the Women’s Resource Centre (see article in Lasa Computanews issue 124, April 2003).

Inform your ICT support provider

If your networking and general IT support company are different, make sure the support company knows that you are moving and when.

Use an appropriate removal company

If you are using a moving company, check that your equipment will be insured in transit and that they have experience of moving delicate computer equipment. Get recommendations if possible and maybe seek references if you aren’t sure about their ability.

Carefully consider upgrading systems

For example, if you can’t take your old phone system with you then look for one that has features which you’ve always wanted such as voicemail and perhaps one that integrates with the ICT systems. If new cabling is being put in then go for a structured approach so that the phones and data share the same cable systems. But this might not be the time to add a new server or replace the desktops. You’ll have enough to do just trying to get the existing stuff to work without installing new PCs, software and so on.

Moving

Check phone and Internet are working

There's nothing worse than arriving at your new office to find that you cannot communicate with the outside world. You might want to delay a move until the phones are on.

Back up everything Back up the data on each machine (if you have standalones or peer-to-peer) or the server. Having more than one copy does not hurt. Make sure that the CDRs or tapes are also copied and go separately to the new premises (don't put them together in a box which may then go missing...). Keep one copy off site at a staff member’s home.

Weekend Working?

If your services need to be up and running on the Monday morning then you may need to work over the weekend to achieve this. Check that the network company, if you are employing one, will work on Saturday and Sunday and expect to pay a premium rate for this. If finances are tight (when aren’t they!) then you might just have to shut down for a day or so in order to get things up and running.

Expect and plan for glitches

Something won’t work the way it used to and whilst most PCs will boot up OK there might be the odd one that’s had a hard drive knocked or a card come adrift. It might be worth investing in having a spare hard drive in case of this eventuality.

Inform your clients

Let your clients and users know that things might not be back to normal for a few days – they’LL bear with you if they are forewarned. Don’t forget to publicise the fact you’re moving!

Inventory equipment

Get the inventory of your equipment up to date in case anything goes missing or breaks. See the Sample ICT Inventory.

Make sure all your system CD ROMs and information are in one place

Keep them handy – you may need to set up a printer or scanner in a hurry and won’t want to be scrabbling around trying to find the manual, driver or software disk.

Box or crate up equipment

Use original boxes if you still have them, or those supplied by the removal company, and mark with the user's name. Don’t forget power leads, loose cables etc.

Note settings and passwords

Your PCs should retain all their settings and the network should work as before. It's probably worth making a note of the computer names and network settings for each machine, especially if you are using static IP addresses (each PC on the network has its own unique “address” – in some cases the server will allocate “dynamic” addresses every time the PC is logged on to the network, other networks use an unchanging “static” address).

You can find these by right-clicking on the Network Neighbourhood (Windows 98) or My Network Places (Windows 2000, XP) icon on the desktop and go to Properties, then look at the TCP/IP Properties of your Local Area Connection.

Also make sure you have router settings and passwords -- confirm them before you pull the plugs.

Once you’ve moved

 

Check everything works before the network contractor leaves the site and before your staff and volunteers arrive. Boot up all the PCs, check they can see the server if you have one, print to appropriate printers, access the Internet, send email and so on. Make sure you enter any troubleshooting or maintenance issues in your fault log. Update antivirus definitions and operating system patches.

Mark up a plan of the office showing where all the equipment is located. This is especially useful if you use static IP addresses.

Good luck!

See also the Linc Project's Tech Tip checklist based on this article.