Moving offices: the technology checklist

Three months or more before

• Order the internet connection. New business lines often take weeks or months, especially fiber. Ask about a backup connection too.
• Visit the new space with your IT provider. Check where the network equipment will live, power, cooling and existing cabling.
• Plan cabling and Wi-Fi. Network cables to desks, printers and access points, and a Wi-Fi survey for coverage.
• Check the phone system: moving numbers, new desk phones, any lines for alarms or elevators.

One month before

• Confirm the move date with the internet provider, and that the line is live before you move.
• Plan the floor: who sits where, printer locations, meeting room screens.
• List everything that moves, and decide what is replaced instead of moved.
• Update your address with suppliers, your domain registrar and online listings.

Move week

• Make sure backups are current before anything is unplugged.
• Move and test network equipment first, then servers, then desks.
• Test every desk before staff arrive: network, phones, printing and screens.

After

• Have support on site on the first day.
• Return or cancel equipment and services at the old address.
• Update network documentation with the new layout.