6 Steps to Fulfill a Successful Office Move

An office move is a major IT project. It requires extensive planning and approval. Thanks to our experience with these kinds of projects, we are now able to share with you our “6 Steps to a Successful Office Move”.

1. Auditing the new building

First, you need to study the new offices. Check the Internet’s connection capacities (optical fiber, DSL, cables). The servers room must be identified in advance to know its exact capacity and make sure air conditioning is functional. Of course, you must also analyze:

• Practical details for furniture arrangement
• Wi-Fi coverage to order the right number of Wi-Fi terminal to cover all offices

2. Needs assessment

An office move must be carefully planned so the new offices fit future needs. This step is the right time to indicate the number of stations, servers, and types of networks. It is also the right time to review the IT security level.

3. Servers hosting strategies

Several options are offered to companies for hosting issues:

• Full data center hosting
• Hybrid hosting with part of the data within the company and the other part hosted by a supplier
• Locally hosted within the company

Of course, a virtualization strategy must be considered.

4. Telephony system

A move is an opportunity to think about an IP telephony system. IP telephony consists in connecting phones directly to the company’s high-speed Internet access rather than to a slower, more expensive land-based line. This option has many benefits in terms of savings and flexibility. IP telephony offers great features compared to conventional telephony systems.

5. Logistical Organization

Office moves require a logistical rigor to make sure that everything is under control. The IT manager should be the true leader of all these changes. Forethought is the secret to succeed in an office move! Here is an anticipation check list:

• IP telephony connections
• Internet connection
• Consequences of a Public IP addresses change
• VPN connection
• Security rules
• Firewall
• Proxies

To benefit from the best offers, you must also anticipate hardware purchase.

6. Backup issues

The last but not the least step is back up issues. The company’s data are an essential asset. Ensuring data backup and transfer is very important. The disconnection and the reconnection of the workstations requires special follow-up to avoid time loss and frustration during the big move. Now you are fully aware of what an office move involves!