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What to Plan for IT When Moving Offices

Internet lead times, cabling, Wi-Fi, phones and the cutover weekend, starting 90 days out.

An office move goes smoothly when IT planning starts at least 90 days out, because internet circuits, cabling and phone number porting all have lead times you cannot compress. Here is the sequence that keeps a move from turning into a week of downtime.

90 days out

  • Order internet. Business circuits, especially fiber, can take 30 to 90 days to install. Order two carriers if the business cannot tolerate an outage.
  • Survey the space. Where is the demarc, where will the server room or network closet go, does it have power, cooling and a locking door?
  • Plan cabling. Count drops for desks, phones, printers, TVs, cameras and access points. Get it installed while the walls are open. See what is structured cabling.
  • Run a wireless site survey on the new floor plan so access points are placed correctly. See what is a wireless site survey.

60 days out

  • Decide what moves and what gets replaced. A move is the right time to retire old servers, switches and phones.
  • Order network equipment, access points and any new hardware.
  • Start phone number porting if changing providers; see how to port a business phone number. Update the E911 address either way.
  • Plan the cutover: usually a Friday evening move with systems online by Monday.

30 days out

  • Confirm the internet install date and test the circuit when it is live.
  • Build and test the new network before anything moves in.
  • Label everything. Photograph the old rack.
  • Communicate the plan to staff: what to pack, what not to touch, when systems will be unavailable.

Move weekend

Shut down cleanly, move, reconnect in order (internet, firewall, switches, servers, Wi-Fi, printers), test every desk, and have a technician on site Monday morning.

Do not forget

Updating your address on Microsoft 365, Google Business Profile, bank records and vendor accounts; door access and cameras; the old lease's requirement to remove cabling; and who is holding the keys to the new closet.

Office and data center moves are one of Mentis Group's core IT Project Services, and we handle the cabling and wireless work in-house across Dallas-Fort Worth.

Have a question about your own environment? Schedule a consultation with Mentis Group or call (866) 901-7808.