When moving your business premises there’s a lot to think about. Most people feel stressed at the thought of transporting furniture and organising the financial side of things, but few people stop to consider what transferring their communications systems involves. In this handy guide, we walk you through the whole process, meaning you’ll have one less thing to figure out on your own.
Before the move
If you leave making plans for moving your telecoms over to your new premises until you’re standing in them, it’s too late. Your business will experience some serious delays while you figure out how to get everything set up, so it’s best to start early. When you’re scoping out your new office, it’s likely you’re looking for upgrades on what you have now. However, don’t stop at space and floor to ceiling windows, you need to investigate the telecommunications facilities too. What’s the internet connectivity like? Are there ISDN lines? Does your current provider cover this new area?
Another top tip is to have a good idea of your new floorplan. If your new office space is much bigger than your current one or spans several floors, you may need to rethink your WiFi plan. Make sure you have coverage for the whole premises to avoid inconvenient dead spots or poor connectivity. You’ll also need to have an idea of storage space for your equipment and how you can avoid having wires trailing across the floor. Is there already a raised floor or is this something you should consider installing?
Relocating your telecommunications
Now that the planning stages are out of the way, it’s time to think more carefully about the telecommunications technology itself.
Phone numbers
Think about whether you want to keep the same phone number and whether that will be possible. Changing your phone number can cause problems if not all clients get the memo, so you’ll have to decide if this is a risk you want to take. You’ll also have some extra costs to consider, as any advertising material along with letterheads and business cards will need to be amended too. On the other hand, a new number can work well if you’re overhauling your brand and looking for a fresh start.
Always back up
Although relocation tends to go smoothly for most businesses, you should always be prepared for the unexpected. Anything could happen during the relocation stages and you wouldn’t want an unfortunate accident to mean the loss of your data. Backing up is something you need to do before the move takes place and maintain once you’re at your new premises but having a special disaster recovery plan in place is essential. Although it’s possible to protect fragile objects with bubble wrap, the same can’t be said for your servers, which are much trickier to move.
Be flexible
If your current system isn’t very flexible, you might need to consider making some changes. Consider how scalable your telecommunications are and whether this is going to work with the way your company is changing. Although your current system might work well for the moment, this might not be the case in a bigger or smaller office. Relocation is a great time to make upgrades, so if anything is out of date, review and refresh your communications before you move rather than undergoing another upheaval a few months down the line.
Length of time
If you’ve started planning early, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but you should note that sometimes installation can be a process that spans several weeks. If your new office doesn’t have leased or ISDN lines, it’s going to take time to set them up. Consider at what point you’ll have access to your new premises and whether you’ll be able to begin work before your company and staff take residence.
Always use a professional service
Although you’ve now got plenty of insight into moving your telecommunications systems safely and effectively to your new premises, you should still contact a professional service to do the heavy lifting. You’re probably calling a removal company to take care of your furniture, so why not your communications too? Technicalities can really slow you down, and the last thing you need is an improperly configured system packing up a few weeks after the move. Here’s how the professionals can give you a hand:
Testing and setting up
A professional relocation service won’t just set up your communications systems but test them as well. This means you can be sure that everything is in working order and your connectivity is as you expect, saving you both time and money in the long run. If something isn’t going quite as planned, professionals will be able to advise you on how to proceed. Maybe you need to upgrade some of your services to suit your new premises, but this won’t be a problem and takes away a lot of the guesswork you’d have to do when going about it alone.
Lower risk and minimise downtime
Using an experienced team means you benefit from their expertise and are less likely to experience data loss. They’ll also be much more efficient, meaning your communications will be ready and raring to go in no time at all, while your own efforts may take days as you scramble for the instruction manual. It’s well worth the additional cost for the peace of mind that your system is optimised for your workplace and won’t be giving you any trouble in the near future.
Get in touch with our team here at Immervox for all the help you need when it comes to relocation. We’re more than happy to offer you any advice when it comes to transferring your systems to a new workplace, as well as doing the tricky installations for you.