Your IT checklist for planning an office move

Businesses have unique needs, so not everything listed below will apply to you. Generally, though, you should follow these guidelines to make sure you don’t experience problematic business interruptions during or after your move.

Create an IT roadmap

Over the last several years, your company has probably upgraded its technology or added new equipment. Assuming that your IT infrastructure works well, you need to create a roadmap that shows you how to reconstruct the configuration at the new office. Without a good IT roadmap, your team members could find themselves holding a bunch of chords in one hand while they scratch their heads with the other hand.

You can also take this opportunity to reconsider the effectiveness of your technology infrastructure. Review things like your:

• Short-term and long-term business goals.
• New technology options.
• Pain points.
• Requirements for new technology.
• Ability to generate status reports.

Organize your wires, cables, and power cords

When you organize your wires, cables, and power cords, you make it easier to build an IT infrastructure at your new office.

Start by getting rid of items that you don’t need. Then create a simple organizational system that includes labels at both ends of every cable.

Find a responsible way to dispose of old equipment

As you review your business equipment, you will probably discover that some of the items have become outdated. You probably don’t need that dot matrix printer or cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitor.

Unfortunately, throwing your old equipment away fills landfills and hurts the environment.

Look for companies in your area that specialize in recycling old technology so you can reduce the environmental harm to dispose of the equipment you don’t want.

Replace old equipment with better alternatives

If your business has a scanner, fax machine, and printer, then you’re wasting a lot of office space. Consider replacing old equipment with better alternatives that can perform several tasks. For instance, you can get a printer that also scans documents and sends faxes.

You might also want to consider trading your old equipment for newer, more compact versions. You don’t need a large scanner to copy documents. You can perform the same job with a handheld scanner or smartphone app.

Communicate with your new ISP

If moving offices means that you need to get a new ISP, you should talk to the service provider about your plan options. Make sure the new provider can give you the speed and data that you need to work efficiently.

Consider a VoIP phone system

Your business probably already uses VoIP to save money and take advantage of advanced features that traditional phone systems don’t offer. If you haven’t adopted VoIP technology, incorporating that change into your move plan can save you up to 75% on communications expenses.

Even if you use VoIP, check out the most recent systems to determine whether you want to upgrade.

Think about moving some employees to remote locations

Commercial real estate costs a lot of money. The less space you rent, the less money you spend.

Allowing some of your employees to work from remote locations will help you save money on office rentals and equipment. Instead of spending money on a large cubicle farm, you can have some of your employees work from home on their personal computers.

Today’s internet technology and collaboration apps make it relatively easy to work with remote employees. Talk to your IT team or technology adviser to help you decide whether off-site employees can help your business.

Moving to a new office may seem like a burden, but it gives you a chance to consider better approaches to how your business operates. Take advantage of this opportunity to make your business more agile and successful.