Moving office is a daunting task in itself. Moving sensitive electronic equipment while keeping the phones and emails running, and your overall operations, can be very difficult.

Early consultation with IT is essential to forming a relocation plan which is cost effective, trouble free, and minimal impact to your business.

Safeguarding your biggest investment – your data – is paramount during any relocation. activIT systems have risk management policies in place to ensure that your data is exposed to the least risk possible.

You may be able to take advantage of cloud technologies while you move, to keep your business running during the relocation process.

Relocation tips

• If you are planning to relocate to an office which needs new partitioning, this is absolutely the best time to call IT and get them involved with the design and location of your IT / server room. This is often done as an afterthought, leaving your servers with inadequate ventilation, room size, and accessibility.
• The quality of network cabling in offices varies greatly, in both the capacity and workmanship. New cabling can be very expensive, so have IT inspect the potential property before signing anything – and perform any changes before you move in.
• The availability of internet access is often a deciding factor. Engage IT to investigate what is available in the area you are looking to move to.
• When negotiating and signing the Offer to Lease paperwork, add in clauses such as “Offer subject to acceptable phone line capacities / internet access from property“, and test these before signing the final lease contract.
• Check the availability of phone lines with Telstra, and the landlord / management company before you sign the lease.
• Overhead sprinkler systems and server rooms are a bad idea. You may need to check with the local council, building owner, or fire authority, to determine if you can disable the sprinkler system in the area where your servers are going to live.
• Similarly, air conditioning units situated above servers are also a bad idea. Refrigerated air conditioners condensate moisture from the air, and the drainage pipe which allows this condensation to escape can become blocked, causing water to leak on to your servers. This is especially true in buildings with older air conditioning units.

More information

If you are planning to relocate your office in the Perth metro or regional areas, contact us for consultation and advice. A half hour meeting to discuss the relocation is a better option than waiting a week for internet access after you’ve moved in (because the ADSL application wasn’t submitted early enough), or worse.