Moving to new premises? These are the IT challenges to overcome.
For many small to medium businesses, moving to new premises is the mark of exciting times. It’s a sign that a company has outgrown their current space and thus are in need a bigger one. This often means an improved location and more opportunities to excel in their field. Excitement aside, one thing that tends to accompany relocations are IT challenges. Although this presents an opportunity to improve the IT infrastructure, IT relocations need to be handled efficiently by your IT services provider.
Business owners will state that relocations are a stressful time. This needn’t always be the case. With a reliable and effective IT services partner on your side, you can rise to meet the IT challenges that come with moving. Here’s what you can expect to encounter and how you could deal with it.
The logistics conundrum
When you consider the number of elements involved in an IT system, it’s no surprise that relocating it can be difficult. There are also tasks that need to be completed prior to the start of the move. This often results in time being of the essence. Matching the right combinations, configurations, and tasks in a timeous manner is a must. Although, this is always easier said than done.
Step one: Understand your IT needs.
Without doing this, you’ll never know whether or not your new IT set up will meet your business’ and premises’ needs. In this regard, you’ll need to formulate an IT plan that will determine what kind of space you require to meet your goals. This will drive equipment configurations and layout.
Step two: Call in back up.
We suggest calling in professionals before you embark on your move. That way, they can advise on which placements will work best before all of your IT equipment arrives. You could even go one step further and bring your IT consultant with you when you’re looking for new spaces. They can then help determine where your servers can go, whether or not you have enough phone lines and other aspects that you may not consider yourself.
Money matters
Any IT relocation is restricted by budgetary constraints. Although this might make your move a little more difficult, if you can’t afford the move and the costs of relocating your IT, you probably shouldn’t make the move at all.
Step three: Investigate your new premises
This involves floor space and layouts as well as the lease agreement. That way, you’ll know what you are in for before it’s too late or costly. This will also let you budget more effectively for the move, which brings us to our next point…
Step four: Get enough quotes
The fastest way for any budget to spiral out of control is not getting enough quotes. This often results in more expenses than initially anticipated. It also means you could encounter hidden costs that all add up. It’s also worth noting that IT costs aren’t the only ones you’ll experience in your relocation. Hidden lease clauses, moving office furniture and even contractors can escalate these extra amounts.
There’s going to be downtime
Sadly, this is unavoidable. With moving, comes downtime that could create a backlog of work and decreased productivity. By relocating all of your IT systems, equipment and furniture, there will be a period of transition where staff can’t work as efficiently. The key is for your IT provider to minimise this time where they can.
Step five: Make provisions for this
Plan and arrange installations ahead of your move so that you aren’t left without connectivity for too long. This will get communications up and running. In this regard, at least your staff will be able to work and customers will be able to reach you.
Step six: Weekends are ideal
Whilst you might need the weekend to recharge your own battery, we think you should use this time to move. Use Saturday and Sunday to do the majority of your relocation. You’ll actually be much closer to operational status in a shorter amount of time. This will also lessen potential downtime.
Call the experts, we’d be happy to help
Knowing what to expect is only the start, you need a trusted IT partner to help make the transition a smooth one. If you’d like to see what our team of passionate IT professionals can do to make your move a more efficient one, please visit our website. https://www.conosco.com/what-we-do/it-support/