I.T. Relocation Checklist for Office Moves

I.T. relocation plan can mean hours or days spent with part of your office down because equipment isn’t working properly. You can also end up with data loss if a mishap occurs and you don’t have a recent backup of a device. Many companies will be planning office moves this year due to the circumstances of the pandemic. Employers that had to move to remote teams are seeing that keeping them in place part or full-time is a big advantage for productivity as well as cost savings. 70% of surveyed CEOs say they plan to downsize offices in the wake of the pandemic and due to the benefits of using remote teams. Before you plan your next office move, you’ll want to take a look at our I.T. relocation checklist to help you plan a successful move with as little downtime as possible.

“To Do” List for Technology During Office Moves

Create a Technology Roadmap for the New Space Before you even think about packing your first box, you should know exactly where every server, workstation, and printer are going to be placed in the new office space. It’s important to do a “technology planning visit” to the new space with your I.T. professional and map out exactly where your I.T. is going to go. You may need additional power outlets or wiring done to accommodate where you’d like to place things, so knowing this well in advance of the move is best to give you plenty of time. Create a clear map of where each piece of tech should be placed and make several copies. You’ll want one for your movers, your I.T. team, your office manager, and others.

Inventory Your Technology & Get Rid of Outdated Equipment If you have any outdated equipment that you’ve been meaning to properly dispose of, pre-office move is the perfect time to do it. You can do two things at once by taking an inventory of your equipment, which you’ll need for the move, and at the same time identifying any outdated tech that you no longer need. The inventory list will be used to match up with your equipment post-move to ensure nothing has been lost between the old and new office.

Set Up Your Turn Off / Turn On Dates for Internet & Phone Service You don’t want to get to the new office and find out that no one activated your internet service. At least four weeks in advance of your move, contact your internet service provider(s) to schedule the service to be discontinued at the old office and activated at the new one, so you’ll be connected and ready to go on day one. If you are still using a legacy phone system, you should do the same for that service. But really, VoIP phone systems are becoming a real necessity, especially if you have some employees working from home. A bonus is there is no service you need to worry about moving.

Decide Who Is In Charge of Moving Your Technology If you have a smaller business, then you may have employees moving their computers themselves. For most companies through, they’ll either have a moving service do it or an I.T. professional (like Texas I.T. Pros). It’s best to have someone that is familiar with how technology should be packed and handled during a move taking care of this to reduce the risk of any equipment damage during the move.

Backup Everything Before You Disconnect for the Move Before you disconnect everything for the move make sure to back up all your data from all devices. This will give you a safety net should a server or computer be dropped and damaged.

Label All Cords and Equipment Before you begin disconnecting all those cords and wires from your technology, you need to label everything. All cords can look the same when you’re pulling them out a box, but the wrong power cord connected to the wrong device (even if it fits) can cause system problems like overheating or battery issues. Clearly label each cord and the device that it belongs to. A handy trick is to get a large zip lock storage bag for all cords associated with a specific device and tape that to the outside of the equipment it belongs to.

Give Several Hours of Non-Work Time for Setup You want to set your technology back up during a non-work time, so everyone won’t be rushed and distracted. If you try to set up post-move during a normal workday, everyone is going to get frustrated, and mistakes are bound to happen. Go through your inventory list post-move to double check that everything made it over and is reconnected.

Take the Stress Out of Office Moves With Help From Texas I.T. Pros Texas I.T. Pros provides professional and stress-free technology relocation and setup services for Denton and Wise County businesses. Contact us today to learn more! Call 940-239-6500 or reach out online.