Moving office: the IT checklist

Moving office means rebuilding the IT from scratch. Planned well it goes unnoticed; planned badly it drags on for weeks. Order matters.

8 weeks out: the internet line

This is the most critical item and the one that most often slips. Getting a business line to a new address can take weeks if the building has no infrastructure.

• Have the available infrastructure at the new address checked
• Apply early — well before the move date
• Request static IP addresses at the outset if you need them
• Do not cancel the old line until after the move

If you are considering a second line for resilience, make sure it uses different infrastructure.

6 weeks out: the cabling plan

On the floor plan of the new office, establish:

• How many desks and how many outlets at each
• Printer, camera and door system points
• Meeting room requirements
• Access point positions
• Location of the comms room or cabinet

Install more outlets than you need today. Adding cable later costs several times what it costs during the fit-out. It must be done before decorating and furniture.

4 weeks out: the comms room

Requirements for the cabinet location:

• Adequate ventilation — a closed cupboard will not do
• A dedicated power circuit and earthing
• Able to be locked
• Not underneath plumbing

These four are the hardest things to correct afterwards. We have seen plenty of offices with the cabinet inside a kitchen unit, running hot for years.

2 weeks out: preparation

• Take a full backup of every system and verify it
• Produce a device inventory — what goes where
• Label the cables (photograph before disconnecting)
• Decide the new network structure: IP ranges, VLANs
• Identify who will work on moving day
• Plan an interim arrangement for critical staff

Moving day order

1. Network infrastructure first: cabinet, switching and access points installed and tested
2. Then the servers: installed, powered on, services verified
3. User machines last

The reverse order is the common mistake. Computers are placed on desks, then it emerges the network is not ready and everyone waits.

When moving servers, take care: disks are sensitive to shock. Rack servers should travel upright and secured, not flat.

First week after the move

• Test every outlet individually — the dead ones always surface later
• Measure Wi-Fi coverage and look for dead spots
• Verify backup jobs run in the new setup
• Test printers and scanners
• Test remote access (VPN)
• Update the network diagram and port map

The last item gets skipped, and six months later nobody knows which cable goes where.