Common Mistakes made during an IT Relocation
Find out what the most common mistakes are during an IT Relocation and get practical tips to make sure nothing gets forgotten.
Relocating your IT equipment and business phone systems is a complex business; and it's easy to underestimate the amount of planning required and the lead times required by telecom companies that are often beyond your control.
Your main goal when planning an IT Relocation is to have all your IT equipment working as it should and your business phones (ringing!) when you get to your new office. This will ensure your staff can get back to work quickly and your company can resume business activity as usual without interruption. Yet for many companies moving office, this is often not the case; caused by a total lack of IT Relocation planning and leaving too many things "to chance".
Here's some of the common mistakes made during an IT Relocation and practicals tips to help you avoid them:
- Insufficient Network Cabling
Your new office is highly unlikely to meet your network cabling requirements, as the previous tenant's requirements will differ from your own. Consideration needs to be given beforehand about where you are going to place workstations and IT equipment so that the network cabling can be configured and established prior to you moving in.
- Not enough Phone Lines
Many companies fail to assess whether the number of phone lines in the new office is adequate for their telecom requirements, and indeed whether there are enough of them. They may not be in the right place to accommodate your new Office Space Plan. Work with your Office Fit-Out Company to draw up a suitable office space plan, clearly indicating your phone line requirements.
- Not allowing for Long Lead Times
Never under estimate the long lead times dictated by many telecom providers. Typically, a leased phone line can take up to 90 days to install so remember to order and plan early!
- Not upgrading to more efficient technology
There's no better time to upgrade to more modern, efficient and money-saving technology than when you move office. Changing IT systems and business phone systems after the office move will only cause more disruption and cost further down the line.
- Not allowing for Future Growth
If you don't accommodate for future company growth and additional employees in the future, you could grow out of your office space too quickly. This issue is not just about the size of office you choose, but also about installing the correct number of phone lines, in the right place, for when your business grows.
- No IT Test Plan
If you don't have a suitable IT Relocation Test Plan established, then your business is likely to suffer considerable downtime. All functionality of every piece of IT equipment and business phones need to be user-tested before staff arrive on the first morning in the new office.
To help plan your IT Relocation and avoid these mistakes, use the IT Relocation Checklist.
