IT Relocation Checklist

This IT Relocation Checklist will help you prepare &

manage your entire IT Relocation safely, efficiently and

without disruption to services.

IT Relocation Checklist

Your IT & Telecom Solution Provider


3) 3rd Parties like Telcos, ISPs, Riser Management vendors etc. will execute their portions of your move plan

as you expect.

After all, you signed an order form and sent it in you even have written confirmation! Rule of thumb the

larger the vendor, the more ways it can mangle your service delivery.

IT Relocation - the importance of getting IT right.

Your business technology equipment is the lifeblood of your company. If your systems arent working and your phones arent ringing in your new office then

you cant operate. It cannot be overstated that getting this aspect of your office move wrong (i.e. delays & downtime) can have dire operational and financial

consequences for your business. This IT Relocation Checklist will help you assess vendors and plan for a successful, low-risk move.

Before you begin ...

6 Assumptions you should NEVER make

1) Calling your carrier a month before the move is plenty of time

To avoid expedite charges and other unwelcome surprises, begin working with potential carriers at least 75

days prior to the move. The more bandwidth you need the longer the lead time. Decide if you will

consider changing providers, or simply want to move or upgrade with your current provider.

2) Installed cabling goes where you expect, and is functional to specifications

Always insist vendors test and certify their work. Even mixed up labels on patch panels or wall outlets can

cost a lot of wasted effort, and usually premium pay for move personnel.

Even if you are not at the end of

a contract term, its still

advantageous to terminate an

existing contract early - or to

use potential termination as a

negotiating tool.

TOP TIP:

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Ensure you do the following to eliminate the risk of moving into an office without connectivity:

i) Engage professional technical project management. Carriers and ISPs can tell when experienced project management is being practiced - and

are more likely to assign their best people to your project, and to have a backup plan or resource.

Order new overlapping service wherever possible - and require a functional pre-test. If your T1 line is noisy, or theres only one way audio on

your SIP trunks - you want to know BEFORE moving in.

Where possible, plan split telco provisioning so that a carriers failure to properly move your service legacy to new location will not leave you

out of touch.

iv) Voice lines - analog POTS - if you have 6 lines in hunt (A-B-C-D-E-F) provision 5 new lines at the new site (G-H-I-J-K) and order call forwarding

with remote control on line A. Why? If the carrier fails to move main # A as promised, you can always forward A to line G and youre still in

business.

Never move DSL service from 1 location to another. Often your fax # is tied to the DSL, and a 3-9 day outage can result from the complex

process of unbundling and moving them. Instead, either order a NEW DSL circuit at the new location, or provision service from a different

carrier. Bonus - new service can be installed for testing prior to the required move-in date.

vi) Require certification pre-testing of broadband circuits eliminates the risk of moving into a space without internet or phone service.

ii)

iii)

v)

4) Equipment that was working and powered down at your legacy location will boot up with configurations and data in tact at the new location.

Taking a pre-move backup may cost some time or inconvenience, but it is completely worthwhile. Imagine the results if your server or phone system

were dropped or crushed in a traffic accident during the move.


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5) Youll be able to look up contacts, account numbers, passwords & escalation contacts during a move if unexpected situations arise.

Create a document with all your contacts, separate from a database, which you might not be able to access during a move. Carry it on your smart

phone and in a paper copy and have your cell phone charger with you at all times during the move.

6) Furniture & carpeting decisions wont affect the business technology relocation.

This is false in a multitude of ways:

a)Many carpets can serve as static electricity generators - especially in dry climates. Frequent crashes or reboots, even premature equipment

failures result from excess static electricity around your computers, phones and printers. Ensure your carpet choices are technologically safe.

b)The most frequent causes of schedule cramping (which can lead to premium labor charges for site preparation) are the delayed delivery and

installation of modular furniture and carpeting. Plan adequate time for cabling completion after furniture and carpeting are complete. Your cabling

vendor will be able to provide reasonable schedule expectations. Voice and network cabling cannot be completed through modular furniture until

its delivered and assembled. Quite often, delays in delivery and assembly create the need for cabling teams to work through the night. This is

needlessly expensive and stressful. When purchasing furnishings, put strict penalty clauses into your contracts so that furniture and carpet vendors

are responsible for any premium labor costs which are caused by their late delivery or installation.


TOP TIP:

Ensure you book the move date

as early as possible with the IT &

Telecom Solution Provider

(especially if you want to move

over the weekend). Short notice

can lead to disruption &

disappointment.

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1. IT RELOCATION PLANNING

Assign an internal manager (preferably from the IT Team) to co-ordinate this part of the move

Source, meet, brief and get quotes from IT & Telecom solution providers in your location

Select & hire an IT & Telecom Solution Provider

Confirm the move in date to your IT & Telecom Provider and devise a move day packing schedule

Arrange a site visit of both locations with IT & Telecom Solution Provider to review network cabling

requirements

Liaise with your Office Moving Company so that the IT move and the office move do not have conflicting

schedules

Contact all carriers, ISPs and technology vendors at least 75 days prior to the move and tell them when and

where you are moving to


TOP TIP:

An office move is the perfect

time to consider new business

communication solutions that

will boost your business

efficiency and productivity.

2. BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT REVIEW

Inventory all your business technology equipment to assess whether it is adequate for your needs and

suitable for the new environment.

Inventory all Business Communication Service Agreements; who the service provider is and what you are

paying for each service

If you are terminating service contracts with telecom carriers or IT vendors, ensure you give plenty of notice

as some insist on a 12 month notice period

Determine what equipment is and isnt required in the new office

Return any leased IT and phone equipment that is no longer required

Eco-dispose of any old or broken equipment.

Check with your ISP (internet service provider) what the internet speed is provided in your new office well

in advance, as it might even influence your choice of the new office location if the internet access is not

good - as its all too late once youve moved in!

List any technology equipment that needs upgrading or replacing

Order any additional computers and phones

Evaluate server room requirements

If you are buying new technology equipment, test it before you move and complete any necessary training

to staff


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3. BUSINESS COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS

Dont assume that the new office will already have the installed cabling and infrastructure you require. A previous tenants requirements may differ greatly

from your own needs. Arrange a site visit to your new office with your IT & Telecom Solution Provider to check whether the new office has the following:

INFRASTRUCTURE WE NEED NEW OFFICE HAS

How many phone lines?

How many analogue lines?

How many ISDN2 lines?

How many ISDN30 lines?

How many Cat 5 cables?

How many Cat 6 cables?

How many power outlets?

What is the broadband speed in the area?

What size is the server room?

How many servers will it hold?


TOP TIP: Try to plan & implement the

network cabling well in advance.

It will greatly minimize disruption

and avoid any delays to your

office move.

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4. SITE VISIT CHECKLIST Review configuration plan of new office with IT & Telecom Solution Provider

Assess the existing voice and data networks and identify what can be moved, what should be replaced and

what extra network cabling is required Work out where you will need power jacks, telephone & network cabling points

Decide optimum location for printers, faxes, copiers, modems and scanners

Confirm whether minimum requirements for the server room are met (electrical, cooling, dimensions &

security)

Confirm whether new office supports structured cabling, if required

Not all buildings offer wireless networking so if wireless computing is a priority - be sure to confirm its

possible


TOP TIP:

With increasing telecom

deregulation, new offerings

are constantly becoming

available - so make sure you

shop around for the right

phone system & service

contract that best suits your

requirements.

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5. TELECOM CONSIDERATIONS Review line capacity to see whether you need to order new phone lines Order new phone lines (if necessary). Note that new phone lines can take up to 9 working days to install so plan

in advance

Try to install new telephone lines and internet routers well in advance of your move date so that issues can be

resolved before moving in

Work with voice & data carriers to obtain quotes for new telephone and internet circuits If you are changing phone numbers you will need to set up call forwarding Order internet access and ISDN for the new location. Be aware of that some carriers insist on long lead times

for installation so dont leave this till the last minute

Consider what phone system (and its capabilities) is best for the new office. You may want to look at options

such as VoIP, ISDN, PBX systems or KSU-less phone system

What kind of growth or expansion do you expect in the next 3-5 years? This will determine whether you need

to consider a new business phone system for your new office


TOP TIP:

A Business Continuity Plan is

vital to have at all times, but

never more so than during an

office move. Your BCP will

represent careful planning

that establishes procedures

and decision points for how to

continue serving customers

during a resource outage.

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6. DATA PROTECTION & BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING Make several backup copies of all company data systems including firewalls and servers

Arrange for copies of the backup to be stored at an off-site secure data center where it will not be affected by

the move

Create a Business Continuity Plan in case you encounter unexpected problems during the move. It should include: -

Inventory of all software and hardware, servers, storage and networking equipment

Use of temporary resources like disaster recovery shell offices, cloud or backup servers, virtual phone systems.

List of business priorities and data classified according to business criticality

(Emergency) contact details of telecom and IT vendors

Test your BCP to see whether the information and backups that have been provisioned actually allow a full

recovery

Evaluate the benefits of server consolidation, if appropriate

Ensure the collaboration between your IT & Telecom Solution Provider & your General Contracting Team to

ensure optimum location of workstations and network cabling are met

Work with ISP and other carriers to switch email and DNS to the new IP address


TOP TIP:

The safe transportation of

your business technology

equipment requires special

handling, expertize & transit

protection. It is therefore

strongly recommended you

hire a IT & Telecom Solution

Provider to conduct this part

of the move on your behalf.

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7. MOVE DAY PREPARATION

Transport copies of your data backup to the new location separate from the main system and each other

Ensure all wiring & data cables are labelled correctly and to which piece of equipment it belongs

If you are moving to a large multi-floor building and intend to use the goods elevator, establish what the call

out time is for a elevator engineer, and if necessary request an engineer onsite to avoid lengthy delay

Make a Contact List of everyone involved in the move, including IT and Telecom Vendor Technicians

Order new corporate stationery with new office address and dont forget to include new phone and fax

numbers if they are changing

Assist with the disconnection of services and technology equipment at the old office and ask staff for their

full co-operation in shutting down all equipment properly before leaving on the final day


TOP TIP:

Ask for feedback from staff

soon after the move about

whether they feel the

communication infrastructure

can be improved. After all,

they are the end users & need

to be happy with the layout

and services.

8. NEW OFFICE TEST PLAN Ensure all cabling, technology equipment and phones are in the right place

Triple check all individual telephone numbers and their locations, including each fax, DDI, modem, and any

other special devices you have on your system

Test to see whether the call forwarding from the old number is working and being forwarded to the right

phone

Test every aspect and feature of the phone system

Start all servers and test network capability and whether all data has successfully migrated

Check incoming and outgoing emails

Check website, intranet and extranet

Perform a Broadband Frequency Test on each network connection

Make sure your IT & Telecom Solution Provider is with you on day 1 to assist any staff with network

connectivity issues or functionality queries.


Best practice says that companies should use an office move as an opportunity to review all of their business communication equipment, IT and

telecom vendors & service agreements

Moving office provides a trigger for renewing and/or switching telecom vendor contracts on favorable terms

Speak to independently sourced and approved IT & Telecom Solution Providers as to what efficiencies and cost savings can be achieved - both

throughout the moving office process and beyond

IT RELOCATION - ACHIEVING BEST VALUE

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Cabling Solutions I 7000 Central Parkway, Suite 1700 I Atlanta, GA 30328 I 770-667-3338 Ext. 15 www.cablingtoday.com

IT Relocation Checklist

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