IT Considerations and Checklist for a New Office

While office furniture, signs, stationery, and other products will influence how an organization portrays itself to the public, IT Considerations and Checklist for a New Office can decide how well the company runs and how the consumer experience is impacted.

Moving into a new office space is an exciting time for company owners, but it can also be stressful when preparing for the transition. To ensure a seamless transfer, IT factors should be treated with meticulous forethought and preparation.

When preparing for your impending company relocation, make sure to take into account any of the above factors that are important to your case so that your new place has the greatest chance for success.

 

IT Considerations and Checklist for a New Office

Examine The Situation

 

It’s important to remember that the considerations for your IT move-in schedule can differ based on your case. A new enterprise opening its first commercial site, for example, would have different IT conditions than a company relocating.

A new business will need to make decisions about a long list of equipment requirements, while a mature business will need to make decisions about the current inventory of equipment. Focus on the IT considerations that are important to your needs when you move down the list.

 

Select Your Destination

 

You must first find a room that either fits your IT needs as-is or can be customized to suit your ideal IT infrastructure before you can start working on your move-in timetable.

This means you can assess those requirements before looking for a new venue. Do you intend to communicate through wired or wireless means? Can you set up a computer room on your premises or can you rely on cloud services? How many workstations will be linked, and will extra cables, sockets, or phone lines be needed to handle those numbers?

If you see a room that comes close to your goal, knowing these conditions ahead of time will save you money on needless remodels.

 

Select the Service Providers

The next step is to decide which providers you’ll deal with. The phone and internet service provider you select will provide useful insight into your transition by discussing best practices for equipment relocation and update advice, as well as highlighting possible problems your new location can cause.

Check with local companies in the city to see if they have any tips if you decide where the new workplace will be. Other business owners should share their personal relationships with vendors, as well as the intangibles required for a successful working partnership.

When you’re considering your options, look at how each provider tackles problems.

 

Identify Your Equipment Requirements 

It’s time to stockpile your appliances now that you’ve decided on a venue and chosen your service providers.

If your company is new and this is your first spot, your suppliers will be a valuable resource in getting you up and running. Many service providers provide workshops to decide what you want from their facilities and may make suggestions for the right equipment to meet your needs.

The equipment can be delivered directly from the provider or purchased separately. In any case, provider members will lead you to the resources you’ll need to get up and running.

Businesses that are relocating should bring equipment from their previous location with them. If you’re changing providers at a new location, you might discover that you need different equipment.

This is an excellent time to take stock and get rid of old technologies or replace aging facilities. Remember to take in extra bandwidth needs and new phone lines if the switch is part of an extension.

This is also an excellent opportunity to look at software license options. The new software will need to be licensed before it can be used, and existing software may require additional licensing if the number of users increases.

 

Considerations of Checklist

Extra preparation now will aid in a smooth transition into your new room. Remember to plan ahead for possible delays and give yourself enough time to mitigate their effect on your overall transfer. Renovations, installations, and infrastructure links are all examples of places where delays are typical.

When making your plan, use the IT considerations checklist to ensure you don’t forget anything important. Determine your IT objectives and make a list of the hardware and software needed to achieve them.

When you’re relocating, look at the existing equipment and see what needs to be upgraded, what new technologies you want to add, and what you can get rid of. Check the software for any extra license requirements. If you’re a startup, make a list of your IT objectives to share with potential vendors.

Get referrals for Datacom/Telecom companies from other local companies. Choose service providers who can meet the IT requirements that you have in your checklist and have adequate assistance as problems arise. Consider the bandwidth requirements as well as the number of lines you’ll need while shopping for a phone device.

Enable for any delays in your day when arranging your connections. Take the time to back up all of your files before you travel to ensure that nothing is missed in the process. This can be done using physical servers or by uploading everything into the cloud. Back up the data in more than one place for additional security.

Much of the setup in your new location will most likely be handled by your service providers. However, you’ll need to figure out what equipment isn’t covered so you can get it ready for opening day. If you decide to do the configuration yourself, make sure anything you install is compliant with your current network by checking with your service providers.

Check the new network before you go live and make sure it is running correctly. Examine the phone lines, new phone system capabilities, network connections, email, and other IT services. It’s best to test this as soon as possible in case there are any questions to be resolved. This gives you the time you need to fix the issues without having to postpone your delivery.

 

Always remember to be adaptable.

Since you’ve built the overall strategy, what you have to do now is go over and object one by one. The package would ensure that you’ve covered all of your bases and will provide you with a timetable to keep your IT installation on track.

It’s important to note, though, that delays will occur for reasons beyond your control. Although you can’t plan for any possible crisis, being agile and giving yourself some flexibility to cushion the blow as problems happen can help. When things don’t go as planned, rushing the grand opening will just add to the tension. Instead, make sure the schedule is realistic and allows for any problems that might arise.