For Edinburgh business owners, moving to a new location is an inescapable inevitability and often a sign of growth and success. But despite this, it is rarely welcomed, and is usually seen as more of a hassle than a cause for celebration. It’s vital that you try to minimise disruption during a move, and ideally you’d want to make it seem like nothing had even changed to your customers. Generally most aspects of the business move can be handled fairly easily by your removals team, and Edinburgh council have a great page which will provide you with more information. But businesses that rely heavily on the Internet and on IT will face far more challenges and won’t be able to rely on Edinburgh council. However, like most things in life, planning makes perfect, and there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to handle your IT easily during a move to avoid all headaches. Here are a few tips for ensuring that your IT move goes as smoothly as possible. 

• Plan your IT relocation well in advance As with any move, planning should start well in advance. In the months leading up to the move, you’ll want to visit your new location and take note of all the necessary details that you’ll require to get the computers set up. You’ll also want to contact all carriers, ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and technology vendors to inform them of your move.

• Evaluate your equipment If your equipment is outdated and lagging, the office move is a great opportunity to upgrade it. Make a list of all equipment, and decide which items could potentially be replaced or upgraded. Also take this opportunity to identify which equipment is leased and doesn’t belong to your company, as you’ll probably need to return this to the owner before you begin your move, or at least inform them of your move.

• Prepare your site visit checklist Once you’ve assessed your communications requirements, you’ll know what to keep track of during your visit to the new location. A thorough site visit is essential in planning for a successful move and should reveal to you everything that you need to make the move work. Identify which areas of the site would be best for equipment like printers, power jacks and workstations, and take measurements too to ensure that they will fit in the areas that you’ve identified properly.

• Protect your data Data is very vulnerable, and it doesn’t take much for all of your information to be completely wiped. Ensure that all data is backed up and kept in a different location during the move, otherwise you risk losing everything.

• Test your new office’s network  It’s a good idea to have your IT and telecom solution provider in the office with you on the first day in order to help staff with any questions or network connectivity issues that they may have. If this isn’t possible, then try to arrange a session with a representative who can talk to your staff in advance of the move. There will almost always be some issues that arise on the day when you try to connect your equipment, and having that support will ensure that these issues are resolved as quickly as possible.

• Listen to your staff Unless you’re the owner of an IT company, it’s probably likely that you don’t know very much about the technical requirements of your IT department. This is why you should take the time to listen to your department and hear their requirements before planning anything. Get them to write it down too in case you need to relay it to someone, as with IT equipment it is vital that every detail is exactly correct.

• Take photos This is an overlooked tip that can save you hours of trawling through instruction manuals and racking your brain. If you’ve already got equipment set up in your office, then instead of trying to memorise where everything is connected, just take a photo! It is far easier to copy a photo than it is to follow written instructions, particularly if you’re not very comfortable following  technical jargon. Connecting certain devices incorrectly could be costly, so it is well worth the effort to take a photo and ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Our easy to follow checklist should help you to handle your business move with ease. It can be stressful trying to deal with all of the different equipment and requirements, but as always planning is crucial.

If you’d like to found out how we can help your business move, get in touch with us today.